Thérèse of France (1736–1744)

Thérèse de France,^[1] (Marie Thérèse Félicité; 16 May 1736 – 28 September 1744) was a French princess, daughter of Louis XV of France and Marie Leszczyńska.

Biography

Marie Thérèse Félicité de France was born at the Palace of Versailles as the sixth daughter and ninth child of 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 older 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, Madame Sixième was taken to the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud in the Anjou province of France. 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 princesses left Versailles on 6 June 1738 accompanied by furniture and a military escort. During her childhood, Madame Sixième was often ill, and her governess noted that it was probably due to the warm climate of the region. In mid-September 1744, Madame Sixième fell ill with smallpox. On 27 September, she was baptised. Her nurse and valet stood in as godparents. She died the following day. She was eight years old and had never seen her parents since her arrival at Fontevraud.

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.

Ancestry

References