Princess Louise-Marie of France

Portrait of the young Marie-Louise by Jean-Marc Nattier. Later portrait of Marie-Louise by François-Hubert Drouais. House of Bourbon Henri IVSister Catherine, duchesse de LorraineChildren Louis XIII Elisabeth, Queen of Spain Christine Marie, Duchess of Savoy Nicholas Henri, duc d'Orléans Gaston, duc d'Orléans

Henriette-Marie, Queen of England

Louis XIIIChildren Louis XIV Philippe, duc d'Orléans Louis XIVChildren Louis, Dauphin Anne-Élisabeth Marie-Anne Marie-Therèse Philippe-Charles, duc d'Anjou Louis-François, duc d'AnjouGrandchildren Louis, Dauphin King Felipe V of Spain Charles, duc de BerryGreat Grandchildren Louis, Dauphin Louis XV Louis XVChildren Louise-Elisabeth, duchesse de Parme Madame Henriette Louis, Dauphin Madame Adélaïde Madame Victoire Madame SophieMadame Louise Grandchildren Marie Clotilde, Queen of Sardinia Louis XVI Louis XVIII Charles X Madame Élisabeth Louis XVIChildren Marie-Thérèse, duchesse d'Angouleme Louis-Joseph, Dauphin Louis XVII Sophie-Beatrix Louis XVII Louis XVIII Charles XChildren Louis XIX Charles, duc de BerryGrandchildren Henri V Louise, duchesse de Parme French monarchy, 843-1870This box: view • talk • edit

See also Louise-Marie of France (1812-1850), Queen of the Belgians.

Princess Louise-Marie of France (15 July 1737 - 23 December 1787) was the youngest of the 10 children of Louis XV of France and his Queen consort Maria Leszczyńska. As the daughter of the king, she was a Fille de France. Louise outlived her father, mother, and all of her siblings except for her two older sisters, Adélaïde and Victoire.

Louise was born at Versailles, and was known as "Madame Septième" (one of her seven older sisters died before her birth) or "Madame Dernière", later "Madame Louise". She was brought up at the Abbey of Fontevraud with Louis' three other youngest daughters, Victoire, Sophie and Thérèse-Félicité (who died aged 8).

None of her father's projects for her marriage came to fruition, and she sought sanctuary from the world in her religion. In 1748, there were rumours that Louis would have her engaged to Charles Edward Stuart (also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie", the Young Pretender to the throne of England). She said: "N'ai-je pas sujet d'être bien inquiète puisqu'on me destine un époux, moi qui n'en veux d'autre que Jésus-Christ?" ("Shouldn't I be anxious when I am destined for a husband, when I don't want any other than Jesus Christ?").

She returned to the court in 1750. In 1770, to general amazement, Louise asked her father to allow her to become a Carmelite nun. She believed that becoming a nun would compensate for her father's lax morals. She joined the convent at Saint-Denis, where the order's rule was obeyed strictly, taking the name Thérèse of Saint Augustine. She became Mother Superior of the convent, and interceded with her father to allow Austrian Carmelites persecuted by the Emperor Joseph II to enter France. She died at Saint-Denis, suffering from a stomach complaint which may have been caused by poisoning. Her last words were: "Au paradis! Vite! Au grand galop!" ("To heaven! Quickly! At the gallop!")

Along with other royal tombs at Saint-Denis, her remains were desecrated during the French Revolution. Pope Pius IX declared her Venerable on 19 June 1873. Her life is celebrated on 23 December.

Her nephews included (among others) Ferdinand, Duke of Parma, Louis XVI of France, Louis XVIII of France, Charles X of France. Her nieces included Madame Élisabeth and Queen Maria Louisa of Spain.

Ancestry

16. Louis XIV of France 8. Louis, Dauphin of France 17. Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain 4. Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Burgundy 18. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria 9. Maria Anna of Bavaria 19. Henriette Adelaide of Savoy 2. Louis XV of France 20. Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy 10. Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia 21. Princess Marie Jeanne of Savoy-Nemours 5. Princess Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy 22. Philippe I, Duke of Orléans 11. Anne Marie of Orléans 23. Princess Henrietta Anne of England 1. Princess Louise-Marie of France 24. Bogusław Leszczyński 12. Rafał Leszczyński, Duke of Lesno 25. Countess Anna von Denhoff 6. Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland 26. Prince Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski 13. Anna Jabłonowska 27. Countess Marianna Kazanowska 3. Maria Leszczyńska 28. Count Krzystof Opaliński 14. Count Jan Karol Opaliński 29. Countess Teresa Konstancya Czarnkowska 7. Countess Katarzyna Opalińska 30. Count Adam-Uryel Czarnkowski 15. Countess Zofia Czarnkowska 31. Countess Teresa Zaleska