[go: up one dir, main page]
Jump to content

María Teresa Rafaela of Spain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 81.158.112.249 (talk) at 23:45, 15 February 2012. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle d'Espagne
The future Dauphine by Louis Michel van Loo
Dauphine of France
Tenure23 February 1745 – 22 July 1746
Born11 June 1726
Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain
Died22 July 1746 (aged 20)
Palace of Versailles, France
Burial6 August 1746
Royal Basilica of Saint Denis, France
SpouseLouis, Dauphin of France
IssueMarie Thérèse, Madame Royale
Names
María Teresa Antonia Rafaela
HouseHouse of Bourbon
FatherPhilip V of Spain
MotherElisabeth Farnese

Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (María Teresa Antonia Rafaela; 11 June 1726 – 22 July 1746) was an Infanta of Spain by birth and was later the wife of Louis, Dauphin of France, son of Louis XV of France. She died in childbirth aged 20, leaving no surviving descendants.

Infanta of Spain

Born at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in Spain, she was the second daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese. Baptised María Teresa Antonia Rafaela she was an Infanta of Spain (infanta de España) by birth and was granted the style of address of Royal Highness. She was known as María Teresa Rafaela.[1]

Prior to her marriage, the Spanish and French royal courts had been on poor terms: the Spanish had been greatly insulted by the French, when the engagement between Louis XV of France and Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain, elder sister of Maria Teresa, had been broken off in 1725 and Louis XV had instead married Marie Leszczyńska and by her fathered the Dauphin, Louis. The marriage between the Infanta María Teresa Rafaela and the Dauphin was announced in August 1739 after the marriage of Princess Louise Élisabeth of France (sister of the dauphin) and Infante Felipe of Spain (brother of María Teresa Rafaela) the same month. Under the influence of her mother Elisabeth Farnese, María Teresa Rafaela was not to go to France till she reached a more mature age.[2]

Dauphine of France

The Infanta was married to the dauphin by proxy in Madrid on 18 December 1744 and departed Spain in January 1745. She arrived at Versailles on 21 February 1745. The official marriage took place at the Palace of Versailles on 23 February 1745 and was performed by the Cardinal de Rohan.[1] In France she was known as Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle d'Espagne or de Bourbon. The marriage was intended to improve relations between the cousin courts of France and Spain; during the infancy of Louis XV, he had been engaged to Maria Anna Victoria of Spain, oldest daughter of Philip V of Spain. The marriage had been broken off and relations between the two countries had been cold. This latest union was meant to improve links between them both. As the Dauphine of France, she was the highest ranking female in the kingdom after Queen Marie. She was the first Dauphine since 1712 when Marie Adélaïde of Savoy died at Versailles in 1712. She was styled as Madame la Dauphine at Versailles.

Portrait of Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle in circa 1745 by Daniel Klein the younger

On 24 February there was a ball in honour of the newly-weds. Named the "Ball of the Clipped Yew", it was the same time that Madame de Pompadour arrived at Versailles. The ball was attended by the king, the queen, Madame Henriette, Madame Adélaïde; the Duchess of Chartres the Dowager Princess of Conti and the Duchess of Modena along with other princesses of the Blood.

The marriage did not get off on a good start as it was not consummated on the first night. This was a major embarrassment to the young dauphine and as a result her position at court was undermined. Despite this, she had a good relationship with the king and queen and her husband fell quickly in love with her. Described as beautiful, dignified, pious and well educated, negative remarks were made because of her red hair. Her shy nature further isolated her from the court and she was openly hostile to the king for his affair with Madame de Pompadour. The Dauphin and Dauphine disliked the royal mistress for the way she drew attention away from Queen Marie Leszczyńska.[3] Finally the marriage was consummated in September 1745 thus ending court gossip. The couple became very close and devoted to each other spending most of their time together. On 19 July 1746, Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle gave birth to a daughter before dying herself on 22 July at Versailles. Her death caused an intense sorrow to the Dauphin a sorrow which persisted into his second marriage. Louis XV had had to physically drag his son away from the death bed of his wife.[4] The child was baptised Marie Thérèse and was styled as Madame Royale but died at Versailles in 1748.[5]

Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle was buried at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis, the French royal necropolis outside Paris on 6 August 1746. At her death, her half brother, Ferdinand VI of Spain, proposed that the Dauphin marry her sister the Infanta Maria Antonia Fernanda but Louis XV refused.[6] The following year, her husband married again to Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony a daughter of Augustus III of Poland and Maria Josepha of Austria by whom he had some seven children including the future Louis XVI. When the Dauphin died in 1765, he requested that his heart be placed beside the grave of Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle.

Issue

  1. Princess Marie Thérèse of France (19 July 1746 – 27 April 1748) died in infancy.

Ancestors

Family of María Teresa Rafaela of Spain
16. Louis XIII of France
8. Louis XIV of France
17. Anne of Austria
4. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin
18. Philip IV of Spain
9. Maria Theresa of Austria
19. Elisabeth of France
2. Philip V of Spain
20. Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
10. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
21. Maria Anna of Austria
5. Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria
22. Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy
11. Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
23. Christine Marie of France
1. Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain
24. Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma
12. Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma
25. Margherita de' Medici
6. Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma
26. Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena
13. Isabella d'Este
27. Maria Caterina Farnese
3. Elisabeth Farnese
28. Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg
14. Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine
29. Magdalene of Bavaria
7. Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg
30. George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
15. Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
31. Sophia Eleonore of Saxony

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 11 June 1726 – 23 February 1745 Her Royal Highness the Infanta Doña María Teresa Rafaela of Spain
  • 23 February 1745 – 22 July 1746 Her Royal Highness the Dauphine of France

References

  1. ^ a b van de Pas, Leo. "Infanta María Teresa Rafaela of Spain". Genealogics .org. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  2. ^ Armstrong, p 343
  3. ^ Mitford, p 45
  4. ^ Mitford, p 80
  5. ^ Emmanuel, p 101
  6. ^ Emmanuel, p 124

Bibliography

  • Armstrong. Edward: Elisabeth Farnese: The Termagant of Spain, London, 1892
  • Broglie. Emmanuel de: Le fils de Louis XV, Louis, dauphin de France, 1729-1765, E. Plon, 1877
  • Mitford. Nancy: Madame de Pompadour, Sphere, London, 1964

Media related to Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain at Wikimedia Commons

See also

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=María_Teresa_Rafaela_of_Spain&oldid=477096391"