Marie-Josèphe of Saxony

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Marie-Josèphe de Saxe

Princess Maria Josepha Carolina of Saxony, Dauphine of France, (4 November 1731-13 March 1767), was the daughter of Frederick Augustus II, Prince-elector of Saxony and king of Poland, and Maria Josepha of Austria, (1699-1757), the daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor.

On February 9, 1747, Marie-Josèphe married Louis-Ferdinand, Dauphin of France, son and heir of Louis XV. For the French prince it was already his second marriage. His wife, Maria Teresa of Spain, had died on July 22, 1746 after giving birth to a daughter, the couple's only child. The marriage came about on suggestion of Maurice de Saxe, an uncle of the future bride. This convinced Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour that the marriage would be advantageous to French foreign affairs.

The new Dauphine was grateful to Madame de Pompadour for helping to arrange her marriage. She was always kind to her towards and had good a relationship with the royal mistress. Marie-Josèphe ejoyed a happy marriage with the Dauphin. Politically she was reserved to a great extent, only once in 1762 she exerted herself, indeed, in vain, for the preservation of the Jesuit Order in France. The order was dissolved on incentive of the Duc de Choiseul and Madame de Pompadour by the king. Like her husband Marie-Josèphe was very devout, and together with the Queen they formed in this area a counterpole to the liberal behavior immoral in her eyes of the remaining court with the king at the head.

Marie-Josèphe

The couple's first child was a daughter named Marie Zéphyrine born in 1750 who died n 1755. Their first son was born on September 15th, 1751, and received the name Louis Joseph Xavier. He was given title of a Duc de Bourgogne, the father of Louis XV had previously carried this title. All together the royal couple had 11 children, of which three were future French kings. Nevertheless, their common predilection was towards the Duc de Bourgogne, whose talent stepped up early and big hopes not only with his parents, but with the whole French court. The children of the couple were neglected by this preference. The Duke of Burgundy died aon the March 22, 1761, of tuberculosis. After the Duc de Aquitaine, born in 1753, had passed away after one year, Louis Auguste Duc de Berry (Future Louis XVI), born on August 23, 1754, took the place of second in line to the French throne after his father as result.

Louis-Ferdinand, Dauphin of France, and husband of Marie-Josèphe.

The death of her husband on the December 20, 1765, delt Marie-Josèphe a devastating blow from which she never recovered, sinking into a deep depression for the rest of her life. To save her the grief to have to remain in the rooms of her conjugal apartments, Louis XV allowed her to move into the apartments of the late Madame Pompadour who died in 1764. There he visited her more often and discussed with her how the wedding of the new Dauphin. Maria Josepha was not taken with the idea of her oldest son marrying Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria, and she reached with the king in 1766 of the negotiations with Vienna. Indeed, her state of health got worse more and more. She suffered from the same illness like her late husband (lung tuberculosis). She died on March 13, 1767, and was buried in the royal crypt in Saint-Denis. The marriage of her son with Marie Antoinette was carried out two years later on May 16, 1770.