Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France

**Maria Josepha of Saxony** (Maria Josepha Karolina Eleonore Franziska Xaveria; 4 November 1731 – 13 March 1767) was a Dauphine of France and daughter-in-law of Louis XV. Marie Josèphe was the mother of three kings of France, including the doomed Louis XVI, who died under the guillotine during the French Revolution. Her youngest daughter, Madame Élisabeth, also was beheaded during the Revolution.

## Family

Maria Josepha was born in Dresden to Augustus III of Poland. She was named after her mother Maria Josepha of Austria. Her mother was a first cousin of Maria Theresa of Austria. Maria Josepha was the eighth of fifteen children and the fourth daughter. Her oldest sister Maria Amalia had married the future Charles III of Spain.

## Marriage

She was married to the Dauphin of France on 9 February 1747, Maria Josepha of Saxony married Louis of France. The dauphin had been married to Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain who had died in childbirth in 1746. In France the Saxon princess was known as _Marie-Josèphe de Saxe_. The dauphin mourned the death of his first wife but would eventually fall in love with Marie Josèphe. Like her husband, Marie Josèphe was very devout. She was the mother of some eight children, her favourite being Louis, Duke of Burgundy who died young. Politically reserved, she exerted herself only once, in 1762, in vain, for the preservation of the Society of Jesus in France. The Society had been dissolved by the King on the initiative of the duc de Choiseul and Madame de Pompadour.

The death of her husband, in December 1765, she sank into a deep depression for the rest of her life. Her health declined and she died on 13 March 1767 of tuberculosis and was buried at Sens Cathedral and her heart was taken to the Basilica of Saint Denis.

## Issue

1. Marie Zéphyrine of France (26 August 1750 - 1 September 1755) died in infancy.
1. Louis Joseph Xavier of France, Duke of Burgundy (13 September 1751 - 22 March 1761) died in infancy.
1. Xavier of France, Duke of Aquitaine (8 September 1753 -22 February 1754_
1. Louis XVI of France (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) married Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria and had issue.
1. Louis XVIII of France (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824) married Princess Maria Giuseppina of Savoy but had no issue.
1. Charles X of France (9 October 1757 - 6 November 1836) married Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy and had issue
1. Marie Clotilde of France (23 September 1759 – 7 March 1802) married Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia but had no issue.
1. Élisabeth of France (3 May 1764 – 10 May 1794) died unmarried.

Maria Josepha also had a stillborn son in 1748 and again in 1749. A stillborn daughter in 1752; Stillborn son in 1756. She also miscarried a son in 1762.

### Titles and styles

- **4 November, 1731 - 9 February 1747** _Her Highness_ Duchess Maria Josepha of Saxony
- **9 February 1747 – 20 December 1765** _Her Royal Highness_ The Dauphine of France
- ** 20 December 1765 – 13 March 1767** _Her Royal Highness_ The Dowager Dauphine of France

## Infobox (royalty)

- **name**: Maria Josepha of Saxony
- **full name**: _French_: Marie Josèphe Caroline Eléonore Françoise Xavière
_German_: Maria Josepha Karolina Eleonore Franziska Xaveria
- **title**: Dauphine of France
- **image**: Frédou Marie-Josèphe de Saxe.jpg
- **birth place**: Dresden Castle, Dresden, Saxony
- **death place**: Palace of Versailles, France
- **issue**: Princess Marie Zéphyrine of France, Marie Zéphyrine
Louis of France (1751-1761), Louis Joseph, Duke of Burgundy
Louis XVI of France, Louis XVI
Louis XVIII of France, Louis XVIII
Charles X of France, Charles X
Marie Clotilde of France, Marie Clothilde, Queen of Sardinia
Princess Élisabeth of France, Élisabeth
- **house**: House of Wettin, Wettin
- **issue-link**: #Issue
- **father**: Augustus III of Poland
- **mother**: Maria Josepha of Austria
- **burial date**: 22 March 1767
- **burial place**: Sens Cathedral, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France
- **signature**: Signature of Dauphine Marie Josèphe of Saxony.png