by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023
Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, Dauphine of France; Credit – Wikipedia
Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, Dauphine of France was the first wife of Louis, Dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV, King of France. Neither Maria Teresa Rafaela nor Louis lived long lives. Maria Teresa Rafaela, aged twenty, died due to childbirth complications after giving birth to her only child, a daughter who died before her second birthday. Louis married again, had eight children – five survived childhood and three of the five were Kings of France – but he died from tuberculosis, at the age of thirty-six. Louis, Dauphin of France predeceased his father and so he never became King of France.
Maria Teresa Rafaela’s parents Felipe V, King of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia
Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain was born on June 11, 1726, at the Royal Alcazar in Madrid, Spain. She was the fourth of the six children and the second of the three daughters of Felipe V, King of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Maria Teresa Rafaela’s father was born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, the grandson of Louis XIV, King of France. He became King of Spain when the Spanish House of Habsburg became extinct because his paternal grandmother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain was the daughter of Felipe IV, King of Spain. Maria Teresa Rafaela’s paternal grandparents were Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the heir apparent to the throne of France who died before his father Louis XIV, King of France, and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma and Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg.
Family of Felipe V, King of Spain by Louis-Michel van Loo – Maria Teresa Rafaela is fourth from the right; Credit – Wikipedia
Maria Teresa Rafaela had five siblings:
- Carlos III, King of Spain (1716 – 1788), married Maria Amalia of Saxony, had thirteen children including Carlos IV, King of Spain
- Mariana Victoria, Infanta of Spain (1718 – 1781), married José I, King of Portugal, had four daughters
- Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma (1720 – 1765), married Louise Élisabeth of France, had three children, Felipe was the founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma
- Louis, Count of Chinchón (1727 – 1785), Archbishop of Toledo, Primate of Spain and Cardinal renounced his ecclesiastical titles, married morganatically María Teresa de Vallabriga, had four children
- Maria Antonietta Fernanda, Infanta of Spain (1729 – 1785), wife of Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia, had twelve children
Maria Teresa Rafaela had four siblings from her father’s first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy:
- Luis I, King of Spain (1707 – 1724), married Louise Élisabeth of Orléans, no children
- Felipe, Infante of Spain (born and died 1709)
- Felipe, Infante of Spain (1712 – 1719)
- Fernando VI, King of Spain (1713 – 1759), married Bárbara of Portugal, no surviving children
Louis, Dauphin of France, Maria Teresa Rafaela’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia
In 1725, the Spanish court had been greatly insulted by the French when the engagement of Louis XV, King of France and Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain, the elder sister of Maria Teresa Rafaela, had been called off. The marriage of Maria Teresa Rafaela and Louis, Dauphin of France marked the reconciliation of Spain and France. The betrothal was announced in August 1739, however, Maria Teresa Rafaela’s mother would not allow her thirteen-year-old daughter to go to France until she was older.
Marriage of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia
Maria Teresa Rafaela and Louis, Dauphin of France were married by proxy in Madrid, Spain on December 18, 1744. She left Spain to travel to France in January 1745 and arrived at the Palace of Versailles on February 21, 1745. Two days, later Maria Teresa Rafaela and Louis, Dauphin of France were married in person in the Chapel Royal at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. The marriage was not immediately consummated and this caused great embarrassment to Maria Teresa Rafaela because of the court’s gossip that Louis was impotent. Her shy nature further isolated her from the court. Finally, the marriage was consummated in September 1745, ending court gossip. The couple became very close and devoted to each other spending most of their time together.
Maria Teresa Rafaela soon became pregnant, with the baby due in July 1746. On July 9, 1746, her father, Felipe V, King of Spain, died of a stroke but Maria Teresa Rafaela was not told of his death because of her advanced pregnancy. On July 19, 1746, she gave birth to a daughter, named Marie-Thérèse by her husband in honor of his adored wife. Maria Teresa Rafaela initially recovered from childbirth but then her condition deteriorated quickly and she died on July 22, 1746, aged 20, at the Palace of Versailles. The sorrow of Louis, Dauphin of France was so intense that his father King Louis XV had to physically drag his son away from Maria Teresa Rafaela’s deathbed. Louis and Maria Teresa Rafaela’s daughter did not survive to her second birthday, dying on April 27, 1748. Maria Teresa Rafaela was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, the traditional burial site of the French royal family.
In 1747, nineteen-year-old Louis, Dauphin of France reluctantly married fifteen-year-old Maria Josepha of Saxony. Louis was still grieving for Maria Teresa Rafaela but Maria Josepha was patient and won his heart a little at a time. Louis and Maria Josepha of Saxony had eight children including three Kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. Louis never succeeded to the French throne. He died of tuberculosis at the Château de Fontainebleau in France on December 20, 1765, at the age of 36. According to Louis’ last wishes, he was buried at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France, but his heart was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, near the grave of his first wife Maria Teresa Rafaela.
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Works Cited
- Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Felipe V, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-v-first-bourbon-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: 29 July 2023).
- Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Louis, Dauphin of France, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/louis-dauphin-of-france/ (Accessed: 29 July 2023).
- María Teresa Rafaela of Spain (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Teresa_Rafaela_of_Spain (Accessed: 29 July 2023).
- Marie-Thérèse d’Espagne (2023) Wikipedia (French). Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_d%27Espagne (Accessed: 29 July 2023).
- María Teresa Rafaela de España (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Teresa_Rafaela_de_Espa%C3%B1a (Accessed: 29 July 2023).