The Abdication of Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia

Last year, when the salon doors had not been open for so very long, I was pleased to tell the story of Marie Clotilde of France, one half of a most happy royal marriage. Today we meet the other half of that marriage, Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia, though it is not our privilege to join him at a happy time as today marks the anniversary of his abdication.

Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia

Charles Emmanuel became King of Sardinia in 1796, 21 years after he began his childless marriage to his beloved Marie Clotilde. His reign was not to be peaceful for long and just two years later the French First Republic declared war on Sardinia, leaving Charles with a vastly depleted kingdom. With Clotilde at his side he travelled to Italy and settled in Naples quite happily, surrounded by friends and family.

Marie Clotilde of France by Johann Julius Heinsius, 1780

Sadly Marie Clotilde passed away in 1802 aged just 42 and Charles was so distressed by her death that he decided that the life of a king was no longer for him. On 4th June 1802 he abdicated the throne in favour of his brother, Victor Emmanuel. Charles lived on until 1819 in contemplative seclusion, his life forever changed by the death of the wife he adored.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and the Court of the Muses

Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Wolfenbüttel, Germany, 24th October 1739 – Weimar, Germany, 10th April 1807)

Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by Angelica Kauffmann, 1788

Today we meet a royal lady who devoted her life to the arts, changing her court into a centre of cultural excellence and enjoying a career not only as a stateswoman, but also a respected composer in her own right. That lady is Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a woman to be reckoned with.

Anna Amalia was born into a powerful royal dynasty, daughter of Karl I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia. She was a fiercely intelligent child and dedicated student, well-prepared for her role as a royal wife by the time she married Ernst August II Konstantin, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach on 16th March 1756. The marriage was to be short lived and although the couple had two children, in 1758 the Duchess was left a widow. With her son and heir, Karl August, still in early infancy, Anna Amalia took the role of regent of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach until the boy reached majority.

Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel after Johann Ernst Heinsius 

Anna Amalia's regency lasted until 1775 and she proved herself a talented ruler. Politically and financially astute, against the challenges of the Seven Years' War she built up the the economy of the Duchy, strengthening its reputation, resources and cultural profile. She reformed the court too, her love of the arts informing the personalities who flocked to the Court of the Muses.

During her regency, Anna Amalia's court became home to artists, writers and composers including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Johann Gottfried Herder. A devotee of literature, in 1766 Anna Amalia established the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. Goethe would be an important figure in the development of this institution and the library stands to this day, home to almost a million volumes. 

Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel after Johann Georg Ziesenis

Not only did Anna Amalia provide a court in which creativity flourished, she proved herself a gifted composer too, writing accomplished operas and symphonies that were performed both at court and beyond. When her son reached majority she retired from the political roles she had known and devoted herself to culture. The Duchess toured Italy in the later part of her life with her good friend Goethe; here she befriended the artist, Angelica Kauffmann, who became a close and valued friend during her visit.

The latter years of Anna Amalia's life were devoted to the pursuit of culture and she remained much loved by the people of Saxe-Weimar. Upon her death in 1807 she was deeply mourned by both public and court alike.

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Gros Madame: Marie Clotilde of France

Marie Clotilde of France (Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière; Versailles, France, 23rd September 1759 – Naples, Italy, 7th March 1802)

Marie Clotilde of France by Johann Julius Heinsius, 1780

After leafing through my papers this last week and perusing my articles, my own grandpa Gilfliurt declared at dinner, "I don't know why you don't just move to France!", so Frenchified does he feel things have become here on Henrietta Street. He's a traditional old sort and his claret-fuelled outburst left me in no doubt that I may as well throw caution to the wind and gad back across the channel in search of a lady of France!

Marie Clotilde was born in Versailles, the daughter of Princess Maria Joseph of Saxony and Louis, Dauphin of France. Nicknamed Gros Madame on account of her weight, Marie Clotilde was a quiet girl who enjoyed a very close relationship with her sister, Élisabeth, the bond growing stronger than ever when the two girls were raised by Madame de Marsan following the death of their parents. When the young lady was just 15 her brother Louis Auguste, was crowned king and his wife, Marie Antoinette, queen.

On 27th August 1775, Marie Clotilde was married by proxy to Charles Emmanuel, the son of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia. The wedding had been planned for years as part of a wider scheme of political marriages and Marie Clotilde had been taught Italian to ensure she would be able to hold her own in the Sardinian court. She left Versailles and her devastated sibling immediately afterwards to travel to Turin in the care of her brother, the comte de Provence. On route to her new life she met her husband for the first time at Pont-de-Beauvoisin and the group went on together to join the Sardinian court at Chambéry, with a full wedding ceremony following soon afterwards. 

We have witnessed so many royal marriages that ended unhappily and it is gives me a very warm glow to write that Marie Clotilde and Charles Emmanuel developed a strong and lasting love for one another. Her husband dismissed jibes about his bride's weight out of hand and though the marriage was to remain childless, their union was one of mutual adoration. They shared a strong Roman Catholic faith and Marie Clotilde swiftly became part of the family in Sardinia, forging strong friendships with her new sisters-in-law.

Marie Clotilde never returned to the country of her birth and was understandably devastated by the fate that befell her family during the Revolution. Though the Sardinian court provided protection to those who were able to escape, her brother and adored sister went to the guillotine and Marie Clotilde felt their loss keenly.

Marie Clotilde became Queen of Sardinia at the age of 37 but the reign of Charles Emmanuel was to last only two years before the French First Republic declared war on Sardinia, leaving Charles with a vastly depleted kingdom. The couple travelled Italy together and settled in Naples happily, gathering Charles Emmanuel's family to them.

When Marie Clotilde died, Charles Emmanuel abdicated the throne of Sardinia and lived on quietly, mourning the loss of his beloved wife. There is a simplicity to Marie Clotilde's life that I found genuinely touching; her story is not often told and it is a pleasure to wish her a very happy birthday!

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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