Louis XIV married the Spanish Infanta Marie Thérèse in 1660 and their marriage was shortly followed by the announcement that the queen was with child. She went into labour on 1 November 1661 and gave birth to a healthy son - the much-desired heir of the young French monarch. So far, their union had been ideal - a harmonious marriage which had quickly resulted in a son and heir. But the young infant - named Louis for his father and grandfather - would be the last child of the couple to survive infancy. He would be followed by five siblings; all of whom would be buried at a very young age.
Marie Thérèse was soon pregnant again and hopes rose that she would give France another prince. Instead, she gave birth to a girl on 18 November 1662 and the child was named Anne Élisabeth. Around Christmas, the young princess suddenly fell seriously ill. The doctors noted that she suffered from a "chest infection" - sadly, due to the disparages between modern and 17th century medicine, there is no set definition for exactly what was meant by this diagnosis in modern medical terms. It has been suggested that she potentially caught a type of pneumonia. She died on 30 December 1662. The following day, her heart (as per custom) was taken to Saint-Denis by her grand-mother, Anne of Austria.
In eerily similar circumstances to their first daughter's short life, Marie Thérèse went into labour almost on the very same day; this time, the queen's pains began on 16 November 1664. Her efforts resulted in another girl who was given the names Marie Anne. Much like her sister, Marie Anne would not live for long. She died on 26 December 1664. Unlike her siblings, there appear to have been no given explanation for her untimely death.
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| Marie Thérèse and her son, Louis - ca 1663 |
One could easily understand that the couple would wait a few years before attempting to conceive a fourth child. It was not until 2 January 1667 that Marie Thérèse went into labour for the fourth time - much to the irritation of her contemporaries, the queen gave birth to a third daughter in a row. The infant was named after its august mother: Marie Thérèse. For a while, the young girl seemed to outdo her sisters in strength. She passed the ominous one month, then two months - eventually she had passed an entire year. By this time she was referred to as Madame Royale or La Petite Madame.
She was absolutely adored by her parents who had her painted despite her young age. Her mother were already eagerly arranging for a prestigious match - preferably with a Spanish prince. Sadly, at the age of 5, when the family was at Château Neuf at Saint-Germain, Marie Thérèse fell seriously ill. As with her siblings there has been some speculation as to what ailed the little princess. Elizabeth Lurgo (author of Marie-Louise d'Orléans) assert that Madame Royale suffered from acute tuberculosis. Through the memoirs of Madame (Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate) we are led to believe that the doctors had performed a procedure on the child. More specifically, Madame recalls that they had performed a "cautery" on the nape of her neck which had "drawn her mouth all to one side" - exactly in connection to what the doctors had seen fit to cauterize her neck is not mentioned. Madame does say that shortly before she died her mouth resumed its normal position.
The young princess was cared for by her own parents and several other courtiers whose names are known to history; including those of Mesdames de La Vallière and de Montespan. Both of the king's mistresses were noted as caring for the child as she lay in her bed.
Exactly what she suffered from is - and will probably remain - unknown. What is certain is that the young Marie Thérèse succumbed to her illness. She died on 1 March 1672.
Her father was said to be completely distraught and could not stop weeping. Meanwhile, her mother had not been allowed to be present at the moment of death, as she was pregnant again - it was thought that the shock might endanger the new baby.
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| Marie Thérèse with a lemon - she looks remarkably like her mother in this portrait |
Louis XIV was given the news that his wife was pregnant again in 1668. This time, the queen gave birth to a boy. He arrived on 5 August 1668 and was promptly named Philippe Charles. As was customary for young male heirs, he was immediately given a title. Thus, Philippe Charles became known as the Duc d'Anjou. Particularly the child's mother had plans for his future; she was noted as having approached La Grande Mademoiselle with less-than-subtle suggestions that she should leave her immense fortune to Philippe Charles. Understandably, La Grande Mademoiselle found the hint somewhat distasteful. However, they would not have to bicker over it for long.
The couple were again staying at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye when the young prince became seriously ill. To the horror of his parents, he seemed to be suffering from a similar chest infection to Anne Élisabeth. On 10 July 1671, the young Duc d'Anjou followed his three sisters to the grave.
It would appear that the king was not with his son when he died as the Abbé Bousset was charged with informing the king of his death. Louis took refuge - with his court - at the nearby Château de Maisons.
Marie Thérèse would conceive her final child in the late autumn of 1671; on 14 June 1672 she gave birth to a boy: Louis François. He was given the same title as his older brother whose death had preceded his own birth by 11 months. Thus, Louis François became the Duc d'Anjou and would be baptized on 1 November. Sadly, he would not live to see his first birthday - he died on 4 November 1672 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Because Louis François had died so young, there are no portraits of him. Like his sister, Marie Anne, there are no available explanation for his death. By this time, tongues at court were wagging and the deaths of the king's children were seen by some as divine punishment for the king's incessant infidelities.
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| Detail of a family portrait from 1670 with nearly all their children: 1) Louis, le Grand Dauphin, 2) Philippe Charles, 3) Marie Thérèse, Madame Royale, 4) Anne Élisabeth and 5) Marie Anne |
The couple never had more children nor did Marie Thérèse conceive again. Upon the birth of their last son, Marie Thérèse was 34 years old. While this is not an age that excludes pregnancy by any means, it should not be ignored that the royal couple had suffered immense heartbreak over the last decade. They had had the euphoria of welcoming six children into the world - and the heartbreak of burying five of them.
There are several factors that must be considered when posing the question: what happened to the royal children? First, child mortality was rampant in the 17th century. For once, this was an aspect of life in which rich and poor were very similar. While the numbers for the 17th century are murky at best, we do know that 18th century France had an infant mortality rate of one in three. As such, it was hardly surprising that Louis and Marie Thérèse were almost bound to lose a child. Still, the fact that the couple lost five out of six children far surpasses the 1/3 rate.
Naturally, it cannot be ruled out that the very place of privilege enjoyed by the young children did little to aid their chances of surviving infancy. As any other child of their time they were at risk of catching a myriad of deadly diseases and the doctors had no vaccines. In reality, even the "cures" used by the leading medical men of the day would be just as likely to further weaken the patient than to restore them - especially if the patient was an exhausted infant.
It is interesting that three of the children died while staying at the same place: Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the birthplace of their father. Located near the river Seine, Louis XIV had Le Nôtre rebuilt the gardens with all the marvels of a baroque garden which included fountains and other waterworks - perhaps the presence of so much water made the place susceptible to diseases such as pneumonia? One can only speculate.
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| The Grand Dauphin as a child |
Finally, there is one aspect that should not be ignored. Louis and Marie Thérèse were first cousins. A study by H. Delacour, F. Ceppa and P. Burnat ("Louis XIV et Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche: un couple à travers le prisme de la génétique") looked into exactly whether this close familial connection had an impact on the remarkably high child mortality of the couple. The authors examined the remains of the sole surviving child of the couple: the Grand Dauphin. The result was quite as could be expected: the Grand Dauphin were far more inbred than the king's other children by his mistresses. This meant that he was more vulnerable to the physical and mental disabilities brought on by inbreeding - he was also more likely to have genetic diseases.
It therefore seems likely that the rampant infant mortality combined with a high degree of inbreeding had a direct impact on the offspring of the Sun King and his wife. Considering that Madame Royale would have been married off to a Spanish prince, had she lived through childhood, it is all too easy to imagine how this tragic circle could have continued for generations.
