Clothilde of France

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Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière de France (Versailles, September 23, 1759 – Naples, March 7 1802) was a French princess who became the Queen Consort of Sardinia in 1796. She was the younger sister of Louis XVI.

Life

Early life

She was the elder daughter of Louis, Dauphin of France, the only son of King Louis XV, and the Dauphin's wife, Princess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony. As the grand-daughter of the king, she was a Petite-Fille de France. Clothilde's oldest brother, Louis XVI, became the King of France in 1774 upon the death of their grandfather.

She and her younger sister, Élisabeth were raised by Madame de Marsan after the death of their father in 1765 and their mother in 1767. In youth, Clothilde was nicknamed "Gros Madame" after having grown quite overweight. Her other siblings were:

iblings

*Marie-Zéphyrine (26 August 1750–1 September 1755).
*Louis, duc de Bourgogne (13 September 1751–22 March 1761).
*Xavier, duc de Guyenne (8 September 1753–22 February 1754).
*Louis-Auguste, duc de Berry, the future king Louis XVI (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) (guillotined).
*Louis-Stanislas, comte de Provence, the future king Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824).
*Charles-Philippe, comte d'Artois, the future king Charles X (9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836).
*Élisabeth-Philippine (3 May 1764 – 10 May1794), known as "Madame Élisabeth" (guillotined).

Since she married soon after Louis XVI succeeded to the throne and left France to join her husband's family, Clothilde did not have enough time to form an intimate relationship with her sister-in-law, Queen Marie Antoinette.

Marriage

In 1775, she was married to Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia, the eldest son of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and his wife Maria Antonietta of Spain. Charles Emmanuel's younger sister, Marie Josèphe, had married Clothilde's older brother, the Comte de Provence in 1771.

The marriage was to stay without children, and thus heirs, but the couple eventually became very close and loving. In 1773, another of Charles Emmanuel's sisters, Marie Thérèse, had married Clothilde's youngest brother, the Comte d'Artois.

Although the union was arranged for political reasons, Charles Emmanuel and his wife became devoted to each other, united in their piety and strong belief in the Roman Catholic faith. Their attempts to have children, however, were unsuccessful.

Revolution

Clothilde, after her marriage, did not return home to visit France. The French Revolution proved to be a disaster for Clothilde's family. Her oldest brother, King Louis XVI, his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette, and her younger sister, Madame Élisabeth, were all guillotined. Her youngest brother, the Comte d'Artois, escaped from France in 1789 and fled to Turin to stay under her protection.

Clothilde also harboured her aunts, Madame Adélaïde and Madame Victoire, after they too managed to escape.

Queen Consort of Sardinia

In 1796, upon the succession of her husband to the throne, Clothilde became the Queen of Sardinia. At that time, the kingdom was at war with the French First Republic. By 1798, Charles Emmanuel had been forced to abdicate all his territories on the Italian mainland and to withdraw to the island of Sardinia. As Charles Emmanuel took little interest in the rule of what was left of his kingdom, he and Clothilde lived in Rome and then in Naples as guests of the wealthy Colonna family.

Death

On March 7, 1802, Clothilde died from disease. Charles Emmanuel was so moved by her death that he decided to abdicate on June 4, 1802 in favour of his younger brother, Victor Emmanuel.

Clothilde of France was buried in the Church of Santa Caterina a Chiaia in Naples.

Clothilde did not live long enough to see her family, the House of Bourbon, restored to the throne of France after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. Her two surviving brothers both became kings of France. The Comte de Provence became King Louis XVIII of France in 1814, while her other brother, the Comte d'Artois, became King Charles X of France in 1824.

Ancestors

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1= 1. Clothilde of France
2= 2. Louis, Dauphin of France
3= 3. Princess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony
4= 4. Louis XV of France
5= 5. Maria Leszczyńska
6= 6. Augustus III of Poland
7= 7. Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria
8= 8. Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Burgundy
9= 9. Princess Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy
10= 10. Stanisław Leszczyński
11= 11. Katarzyna Opalińska
12= 12. Augustus II of Poland
13= 13. Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
14= 14. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
15= 15. Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick
16= 16. Louis, Dauphin of France
17= 17. Maria Anna of Bavaria
18= 18. Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
19= 19. Anne Marie of Orléans
20= 20. Rafał Leszczyński
21= 21. Anna Jabłonowska
22= 22. Jean-Charles Opaliński
23= 23. Catherine-Sophie-Anne Czarnkowska
24= 24. John George III, Elector of Saxony
25= 25. Anne Sophie of Denmark
26= 26. Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
27= 27. Sofie Luise of Württemberg
28= 28. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
29= 29. Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg
30= 30. John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
31= 31. Benedicta-Henrietta of Simmern