Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria | |||||
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Dauphine of France | |||||
Posthumous portrait of Maria Anna Victoria holding the coronet of a Dauphine, François de Troy
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Born |
Munich, Bavaria |
28 November 1660||||
Died | 20 April 1690 Palace of Versailles, France |
(aged 29)||||
Burial | Royal Basilica of Saint Denis, France | ||||
Spouse | Louis, Dauphin of France | ||||
Issue |
Louis, Dauphin of France Philip V of Spain Prince Charles, Duke of Berry |
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House |
House of Wittelsbach (by birth) House of Bourbon (by marriage) |
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Father | Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria | ||||
Mother | Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy |
Full name | |
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Maria Anna Christine Victoria |
Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, Dauphine of France (Maria Anna Christina Victoria; 28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) was Dauphine of France as spouse of Louis, Grand Dauphin, son and heir of Louis XIV. She was known as the Dauphine Marie Anne Victoire or la Grande Dauphine. The dauphine was a 'pathetic' figure at the court of France, isolated and unappreciated due to the perception that she was dull, unattractive and sickly.
Maria Anna was the eldest daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and his wife Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and Christine Marie of France, the second daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici, thus her husband the dauphin was her second cousin.
Born in Munich, capital of the Electorate of Bavaria, Maria Anna was betrothed to the dauphin of France in 1668, at the age of eight, and was carefully educated to fulfill that role. Besides her native language of German, she was taught to speak French, Italian and Latin. She was said to have looked forward to the fate of becoming dauphine of France. Maria Anna was very close to her mother, who died in 1676. Her siblings included Violante of Bavaria, future wife of Ferdinando de' Medici as well as the future Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian II Emanuel.
Prior to her marriage to the dauphin, there was a proxy ceremony in Munich on 28 January 1680; the couple would meet for the first time on 7 March 1680 in Châlons-sur-Marne. She was the first dauphine of France since Mary, Queen of Scots married Francis II of France in 1558.