In August 1727, Queen Marie Leszczynska was nearing the end of her first pregnancy. Finally, on 14 August she went into labour and was safely delivered of a healthy set of twin girls. The first to be born was given the names Marie Louise Élisabeth but would be known simply as Louise Élisabeth or Babette by her close family members. Due to her status as the first-born girl, she was also referred to by the traditional Madame Royale.
Louise Élisabeth spent her childhood in the company of her beloved twin sister, Henriette, and her faithful governess the Duchesse de Tallard. As the years passed, she would welcome a seemingly endless line of new siblings; she would therefore spent the majority of her days with Henriette, Adélaide and Louis Ferdinand while the younger of her siblings were shipped of to a nunnery during their formative years.
As the young Madame Royale grew up, she became increasingly the centre of attention for other courtiers. They remarked on her vivacity which was only interrupted occasionally by periods of indolence. Added to that came a strong streak of determination, intelligence and an ability to exert her will. Meanwhile, her looks were considered to be inferior to those of her twin sister Henriette. Louise Élisabeth's nose was quite short while her forehead was high and her complexion - that much-noticed feature - was described as "blotchy". Still, she possessed the talent of pleasing those around her by her natural charm.
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| Louise Élisabeth in 1749. Her much criticised nose does appear to be somewhat broad but her eyes are definitely those of her father |
The eldest daughter of a king was naturally the focus for marriage projects from a very early age. At the age of 11, Madame Royale was officially betrothed to Infante Philip of Parma. The choice of a Spanish husband was not surprising; after all, Louis XIV had married a Spaniard and the bride's father was the nephew of the then-reigning Philip V of Spain. As such, the houses of France and Spain were clearly linked.
What was surprising was the rank of the groom. The eldest daughter of a king was usually betrothed to a high-ranking man - most often either a king himself or a future monarch. Philip, however, was remarkably far down the line of succession to the Spanish throne. Of the Spanish king's numerous sons, he was the third to survive childhood and by the time of their marriage in 1739, his elder brother was already married and had a child on the way. Therefore, the proud French courtiers considered the match to be beneath a Fille de France. As for Louise Élisabeth herself, she appears to have shared their disappointment when she admitted that her destiny was "less glorious than she had the right to expect".
Grumble as they may, the proxy wedding took place on 26 August 1739 in the chapel of Versailles. Immediately afterwards, she was packed into a carriage and sent south for the Franco-Spanish border.
Once she arrived in Madrid, Louise Élisabeth had remarkably success with the male members of her new family. Both her husband and the king were very pleased with the new addition to their family but her new mother-in-law, Elisabeth Farnese, was less so. Louise Élisabeth had not become any less determined but this presented a challenge for the Spanish queen who was used to being able to dictate to her husband. Their strained relationship meant that Louise Élisabeth increasingly stayed in her chambers were she sent letter after letter to her father.
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| Six years after her wedding |
Her new life in Spain did nothing to diminish her pride in her French origins. Like all daughters of Louis XV, she was imbued with a keen sense of French pride and did what she could to advance French culture. Meanwhile, she kept an avid correspondence with Henriette at Versailles with whom she hoped to be able to carve out a more independent and influential position for herself and her husband.
As for her relationship with Philip, it was a somewhat neutral one. Whereas he regarded her with affection, she soon realised - much like her mother-in-law had - that he shared his father's submissiveness. With her determined nature, Louise Élisabeth quickly found ways of asserting her influence over him. By 1741, he was dispatched to fight in the War of the Austrian Succession. Meanwhile, Louise Élisabeth was pregnant which did not prevent her from working behind the scenes to achieve on of the principalities of Italy for herself and her husband. She would have to wait seven long years for that to happen whereas her first delivery was far sooner than that. On the very last day of 1741, she gave birth to a girl who was given an almost indecent amount of first names: Isabella Maria Luisa Antoinette Ferdinanda Gieuseppina Gieuseppa Saveria Giovinna.
By 1748 the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war and led to several advantages for Philip and Louise who were made Duke and Duchess of Parma - much due to the interference of Louis XV. Yet, there was one thing missing in order for the new Duchess to achieve her dreams: an independent income. To finally achieve this, she was able to do what few royal princesses ever could: return to her homeland.
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| The new Duchess of Parma - notice that she is wearing the French fleur-de-lys, indicating both her birth and the French influence over Parma |
On 11 December 1748, Louise Élisabeth arrived back at Versailles after almost ten years away. Immediately, the courtiers took stock of the young woman's appearance. Having always been somewhat well-endowed it was noted that that particular feature had become more prominent following her first pregnancy. Her eyes were fine and penetrating but her wardrobe was shockingly lacking. Still, the years of political maneuvering had certainly not dimmed her intelligence; it had, however, given her a sense of practicality.
As could be expected after so many years apart, Louise Élisabeth spent most of her time with her siblings and her father. Louis XV was immensely glad to see her again and permitted her to use a small private staircase leading directly into his private apartment. The time she spent at Versailles was a happy one; considering that she had lived in a position beneath that she had left, she undoubtedly relished being back where her position was well-known.
Sadly, it could not last and she was obliged to leave for Parma again on 18 November 1749. This time, her family were adamant that she were to leave with a sufficient wardrobe which cost the treasury quite a large sum. Once properly established at Parma, she set about creating a court entirely to her tastes. Her new abode - the Palace of Colorno - was entirely redone as the previous inhabitant had taken most of the interior furniture with him. A regiment of carabineers were added and the courtiers were treated to frequent balls and operas.
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| Louise with her husband and children |
With such an independent spirit as Louise Élisabeth possessed the position of an 18th century wife was initially daunting. Her contemporaries expected her to be solely in charge of the court whereas her husband were to deal with the substantial matters of state. Undoubtedly, such a way of living would have been unbearable to the former Madame Royale. However, she was remarkably lucky in that aspect. As noted earlier, Philip was neither dominant nor jealous of his prerogatives. He trusted his wife's intelligence and had come to depend upon her to such an extend that she was involved in almost all decisions at court - a thing that would have been unthinkable back in France.
Despite having her own duchy now, Louise Élisabeth remained very much a frenchwoman. As such, she rarely every made a political decision without considering how it would affect her beloved France. This was far from popular with her people and the court soon ran into financial problems. The only positive seemed to be that she found herself pregnant again. This time, she gave birth to a son and heir, Ferdinand, on 20 January 1751. Very shortly afterwards, Louise conceived for the third and final time. She would give birth in September 1751 to her second daughter, Luisa Maria Theresa Anna.
As if these concerns were not grave enough, Louise Élisabeth was soon deprived of her best friend: her sister, Henriette. Henriette died in 1752 after a short illness and Louise Élisabeth once again returned to France to visit her tomb. While there, she took the opportunity of pleading her duchy's cause and took an active part in the political negotiations with both Paris and Madrid. She was remarkably successful: 25.000 francs, 2.000.000 in taxes and ad-hoc assistance when needed was agreed upon. In return, France's influence at the court of Parma became official.
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| Louise Élisabeth with her eldest daughter at Fontainebleau |
Returning to Parma, her influence was immense. It was she who appointed the new principal minister - naturally a frenchman - and continued her political works. In an effort to further both her son's heritage and the interests of France, she completely supported the new alliance between France and Austria. Eyeing the opportunity for carving out a kingdom for her husband - the Austrian Netherlands were to be ceded - she returned to France again in 1757. For once, she was not successful and had to see not only her hopes for the Austrian Netherlands crushed but the confirmation of the Spanish king as the successor to Parma, should their line die out.
Louise Élisabeth had other mattes to attend to as well while she was at Versailles. Her eldest daughter was of an age to be married - and what better candidate than France's new ally, Austria? In a triumph, she managed to marry off her daughter to Joseph II, brother of Marie Antoinette. Meanwhile, she also found a suitable wife for her only son: Maria Amalia of Austria. A double marriage was therefore concluded between Parma and Austria.
At Versailles, Louise Élisabeth was feeling increasingly unwell. To the horror of her family, she was diagnosed with smallpox which she would not survive. Louise Élisabeth died on 6 December 1759 and was buried next to her twin sister.
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