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.

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In Search of a Noble Husband: Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine

Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine (Lunéville, Lorraine, 15th October 1711 – Turin, Italy, 3rd July 1741) 

Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine, 1737

Not so long ago I told the story of a royal marriage that took place between Marie Leszczyńska and Louis XV. The young man was so eligible that a not-so shortlist of almost 100 possible brides was drawn up and our guest today was one of them, as well as the sister of another gentleman who has featured here in the past. A Princess of Lorraine who would become a Queen Consort, it is an honour to welcome Elisabeth Therese to the salon

Princess Elisabeth Therese was one of 11 children born to Leopold Joseph of Lorraine and Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans. She was a member of an illustrious line, counting monarchs and emperors among her family. There was never any doubt that the young girl was destined to make a good marriage and when her daughter was 10 years old, Élisabeth Charlotte took two of her daughters to the French court with the aim of matchmaking between these two powerful families. Presenting the bright and charming girls to the court, Élisabeth Charlotte used her considerable powers of persuasion to broker a marriage deal but found her efforts frustrated by advisors of the young king. 

Equestrian portrait of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia by Maria Giovanna Clementi, 1740

Once it became clear that Louis would marry Marie Leszczyńska, Élisabeth Charlotte turned her attention elsewhere and began marriage negotiations with her nephew, Louis d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans. Louis was bereft at the recent death of his beloved wife and flatly refused to even consider remarrying, much to his aunt's annoyance. Despairing that she would ever marry her daughter to an illustrious household, in 1734 Elisabeth Therese was installed at Remiremont Abbey, the convent where her sister would later become abbess.

However, Élisabeth Charlotte finally saw her chance when, in 1736, her brother married into the House of Habsburg. Thrust once more into court life, Elisabeth Therese attracted a proposition from her cousin, Charles Emmanuel III, the twice-widowed King of Sardinia. The acceptance was immediate; a dowry was raised and on 5th March 1737, the couple were married by proxy. The very next day the bride left to meet her new husband, with a lavish marriage ceremony taking place on 1st April. In their short, friendly if not passionate marriage. the couple would have three children, though only one would survive into adulthood.

Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine with her eldest son the Duke of Aosta, 1740

The birth of Elisabeth Therese's last child, Benedetto, Duke of Chablais, proved traumatic for the expectant mother and she fell ill with puerperal fever. She lingered for two weeks before succumbing to the fever, leaving her husband a widow for the third time and her son without a mother. Her short life at an end, Elisabeth Therese was buried in the Cathedral of Saint Giovanni Battista in Turin and remained there for over four decades before her body was moved and reinterred beside her late husband in the Royal Basilica of Superga.

As the only surviving child of the marriage, Benedetto enjoyed a noted career in the military before his own death, when he too was laid to rest with his parents in the Royal Basilica. He never married and left no heir to his title.

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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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