Maria Leszczyńska

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Note that this name is very often misspelled in various ways.

Maria Leszczyńska

Noble Family

Leszczyński

Coat of Arms

Wieniawa

Parents

Stanislaw Leszczyński
Katarzyna Opalińska

Consorts

Louis XV of France

Children

with Louis XV of France
Louise-Elisabeth
Henriette-Anne
Marie-Louise
Louis (dauphin)
Philippe
Adélaïde
Victoire-Louise
Sophie-Philippine
Thérèse-Félicité
Louise-Marie

Date of Birth

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Place of Death

Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (1703–1768) was a queen consort of France and a Polish princess. She was a daughter of King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland (later Duke of Lorraine) and Katarzyna Opalińska. She married King Louis XV of France and was a grandmother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X.

[edit] Early life and royal marriage

According to Polski Słownik Biograficzny her name was Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska h. Wieniawa, which agrees with the entry for Louis XV in Burke's Royal Families of the World, where she appears as Marie-Caroline-Sophie-Félicité.

Marie's early life was troubled by her father's political misfortune. Ironically, King Stanisław's hopeless political career was eventually the reason that his daughter Marie became queen of France. Cardinal Fleury, Louis XV's Prime Minister, wanted to find his king a royal bride who would not drag France into any complicated political alliances. Since Stanisław's royal power no longer existed, Marie was chosen to marry the young French king.

Their marriage was initially happy and they had many children, most of whom were incredibly loyal to their mother. Louis XV was a notorious womanizer, and several of his mistresses—particularly the glamorous Madame de Pompadour—eventually eclipsed Queen Marie's social status at Versailles. Most of his affairs were with her knowledge, and she either simply accepted them, or was powerless to stop them.

Marie was a devout Roman Catholic. Her major contribution to life at Versailles was the weekly event of Polish Choral Concerts. She also met the young Mozart, whom she found very charming.

Her son Louis was married to Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of her father Stanislaws' rival - August III of Poland, which caused initial friction, but was soon overcome, reportedly because the young princess was an admirer of the romantically unlucky former king of Poland. Marie's several grandsons received the name Stanislas among their christened names.

Marie died in 1768, six years before her husband. His new mistress was a former prostitute, Madame du Barry. Marie's children and grandchildren sincerely grieved at Marie's death. Two years later, her grandson Louis-Auguste (Louis XVI) was married to a young Austrian archduchess, Marie Antoinette, who was destined to become the last legitimate queen of France.

Two of Marie's grandchildren met their deaths on the guillotine during the French Revolution: Princess Elisabeth and Louis XVI (as well as the latter's wife Marie Antoinette). Another two grandchildren, Louis XVIII and Charles X, became kings of France (after the restoration of the monarchy in 1814).

Marie is a major character in the novel The Royal Merry-Go-Round, the story of Louis XV's adventurous love life.

Though presumed to be not too clever, Maria Leszczyńska was an author of at least a few quips. It is said that following the death of the Protestant marshall Maurice de Saxe she remarked: "How sad, that we cannot sing "De Profundis", for a man thanks to whom we sung so often "Te Deum""