Thérèse of France

Thérése of France
Princess of France
File:Posthumous portrait of Thérèse, daughter of Louis XV.jpg Posthumous portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier. The dark sky and black veil on her hair may symbolize death.
Born	(1736-05-16)16 May 1736 Palace of Versailles, Versailles, Kingdom of France
Died	Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Kingdom of France
Burial	Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Kingdom of France
Full name Marie Thérèse Félicité de France
House	Bourbon
Father	Louis XV
Mother	Marie Leszczyńska
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Thérèse de France (Marie Thérèse Félicité; 16 May 1736 – 28 September 1744) was a French princess, a fille de France, as the daughter of King Louis XV of France and Marie Leszczyńska.

Biography

File:Portrait d'une fille de France, ( Thérèse de France, fille de Louis XV?).jpg

Possible posthumous portrait of Princess Thérése, by David Luders

Princess Marie Thérèse Félicité of France was born at the Palace of Versailles in France. She was the seventh daughter and ninth child of King Louis XV of France and his Polish-born consort Marie Leszczyńska. Known as Madame Sixième from her birth, she was later baptised Marie-Thérèse-Félicité and was known as Madame Thérèse.

As the daughter of a king of France, she was a fille de France (daughter of France). This rank allowed her the style of Royal Highness, and she was the most important lady at court after her mother and her elder sisters. However, daughters of the king were usually known as Madame followed by their baptismal name. In the case of Louis XV's daughters, when they were young, their baptismal name was replaced by an ordinal number as per their "arrival"; accordingly, Madame Thérèse was Madame Sixième, as the sixth daughter.

When she was barely two years old, Thérése was taken to the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud in the Anjou province of France. This was done because Cardinal Fleury, the king’s chief minister, thought that the cost of raising them in Versailles would be too expensive with all the luxuries they were entitled to. She left with her sisters Princess Victoire of France (1733–1799), Princess Sophie of France (1734–1782) and Princess Louise of France (1737–1787). The Queen protested and was saddened over their departure but Louis XV did not dare opposed the Cardinal's decision thus their mother refused to sleep with their father again by July 1738. The princesses left Versailles on 6 June 1738, accompanied by a furniture and military escort.

During her childhood, Thérése was often ill, and her governess noted that it was probably due to the warm climate of the region. Duke de Luynes noted that she resembled her maternal grandfather King Stanislas I of Poland. As she grew, the princess was described as having a gentle and good personality as well as having a pious and reflective outlook in life. This made her much loved by her attendants at Fontevraud and by the Queen and her elder siblings as they were sent regular reports. Her sad mother, Queen Marie Leczinska was forbidden multiple times from seeing her daughters in Fontevraud by the Cardinal Fleury and later by their own father Louis XV as he deemed the 2 weeks travel time too expensive and thus the depressed Marie Leczinska resorted to regularly sending them gifts and writing to them. In mid-September 1744 as her father Louis XV was also sick and thought to be dying at Metz, Thérése fell ill after with smallpox these happened during the height of the war on Austrian succession. Her mother and elder siblings were also at Metz that time after being summoned by the King. On 27 September, she was baptised with her nurse and valet stood in as godparents. She died the following day. The princess was eight years old and had never seen her parents since her arrival at Fontevraud Abbey. According to the memoirs of the Duke de Luynes, by the time the initial letters of Therese illness reached Metz she had already died as the travel time for the post took 20 days. The Queen was devastated over her daughter's death that she refused to see anyone that day and informed the King via letter. Louis XV was preoccupied at that time in winning back his mistress Marie Anne de Mailly.

Madame Thérèse was buried at the Abbey of Fontevraud, which, in earlier times, had been the traditional burial place of members of the House of Plantagenet. A mass was held for her soul in Notre Dame de Paris in October 1744 with the King and Queen and her elder siblings in attendance.

Further reading

• Zieliński, Ryszard (1978). Polka na francuskim tronie. Czytelnik.