Marie Thérèse | |||||
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Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême (by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1817)
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Queen of France and Navarre | |||||
Tenure | 2 August 1830 (approx. 20 min.) | ||||
Born |
Château de Versailles, France |
19 December 1778||||
Died | 19 October 1851 Frohsdorf, Austria-Hungary |
(aged 72)||||
Burial | Kostanjevica Monastery | ||||
Spouse | Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême | ||||
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House | Bourbon | ||||
Father | Louis XVI of France | ||||
Mother | Marie Antoinette | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
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Full name | |
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Marie-Thérèse Charlotte |
Marie-Thérèse Charlotte of France (19 December 1778 – 19 October 1851), Madame Royale, was the eldest child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and the only one to reach adulthood (her siblings all dying before the age of 20). She was married to Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême who was the eldest son of the future Charles X, Louis XVI's brother. Therefore as both of them were grandchildren of the late Louis, Dauphin of France (1729-1765) and great grandchildren of the late King Louis XV of France, the bride and groom were also first cousins.
After her marriage, she was known as the Duchess of Angoulême. She became the Dauphine of France upon the accession of her father-in-law to the throne of France in 1824. Technically she was Queen of France for twenty minutes, on 2 August 1830, between the time her father-in-law signed the instrument of abdication and the time her husband, reluctantly, signed the same document.
Marie-Thérèse was born at the Palace of Versailles on 19 December 1778, the first child (after seven years of her parents' marriage), and eldest daughter of king Louis XVI of France and queen Marie Antoinette. As the daughter of the king of France, she was a fille de France, and as the eldest daughter of the king, she was styled Madame Royale at birth.
Marie Antoinette almost died of suffocation during this birth due to a crowded and unventilated room, but the windows were finally opened to let fresh air in the room in an attempt to revive her. As a result of the horrible experience, Louis XVI banned public viewing, allowing only close family members and a handful of trusted courtiers to witness the birth of the next royal children.
When she was revived, the Queen greeted her daughter (whom she later nicknamed Mousseline) with delight:
Poor little one, you are not desired, but you will be none the less dear to me! A son would have belonged to the state—you will belong to me.