Marie Sophie de Grandelumiere

Marie Sophie (14th September 1721 - 19th February 1770) was the youngest daughter of the Sun Emperor, Louis XI and Empress Elisabeth Justine of Grandelumiere. She was the Princesse de Monaco following her marriage. 
== Reign of Louis XI ==
=== Birth ===
Marie Sophie was born in the Chateau de Saint-Etienne on 14th September 1721. She was the eighth daughter of Emperor Louis XI and Empress Elisabeth Justine, as a result, was known at the court of her father as "Madame Huitieme". The ceremony continued to be carried out at her birth, with her position being lauded by the court as a further example of their sovereigns continued virility. 
=== Education ===
Marie Sophie was sent to Fontevraud Abbey at the age of just one, as was traditional for all female members of the Imperial family from the reign of Marie IV. Heading to Fontevraud with her included three of her sisters: Madame Cinquieme, Madame Sixieme and Madame Septieme. Here she would be described as being moderately intelligent, not comparable to Madame Premiere, but not lacking wit. She would particularly enjoy dancing lessons and writing. Though she enjoyed the writing and reading lessons she had, she never particularly took to language. During her time at the Abbey she had studied Latin, English, Spanish and Italian, but only understood Spanish and Italian to any able degree. She would return to could for a short time for her Baptism, being given the name Marie Sophie, with her godparents the Cardinal Etienne Henri and Viola Marie. Sophie would return to court to stay at the age of 11.
Marie Sophie would be particularly close to her father which was unusual for the time, as Louis was particularly distant from many of his children as was the strict court protocol. It was at this time that she would have a marriage proposal arranged for her in order to ensure her good position and stable standing. To this degree, she was arranged to be wed to the Prince de Monaco. The Prince was considerably older than Marie Sophie, while she was but 13 in 1734, the Marquis was 32. This was not generally considered a problem by the nobility as it was a common marriage tactic but, nevertheless, Marie Sophie disliked the proposal. She would finally accept the marriage at her father's insistence on its good standing. Her sisters, while all married to Ducs, considered the marriage an insult personally but did not word this openly. The Prince, only being a Prince Etranger, was of a lower rank and held little territory.
=== Marriage ===
The wedding would not take place for some time as the Prince was serving the Empire in the north American colonies and had been appointed Governor of Lower Louisiana in the New World. Eventually, the Prince was recalled to the court for the marriage and arrived in 1738. The two would be wed in a lavish ceremony at the Chapelle-Imperiale. The new couple would not consummate for some time, giving much concern to the Emperor and the House Grimaldi itself. The reason for this inability to produce children had less to do with the fact they could not, and more to do with the Prince's distaste for commerce which left the pair rarely together in bed. 
The Emperor himself would fall ill by 1739, causing much distress to Marie Sophie who cared deeply for her father. As a result of his illness and ensuing delirium, he was moved to the south to Chartreuse abbey to recover. Meanwhile, her aunt, Sophie Antoinette, and her husband the Prince de Bretagne became the Regents of the Government at the time. This was originally a celebrated move, as they were both capable and intelligent leaders. However, a rebellion would break out in Dijon, and Marie Sophie, with her husband, would leave for Orange to escape the situation. By the time that order was regained, Marie Sophie would make a return to court.
Regardless, much to the relief of the court, in 1743 Marie would fall pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy in a small ceremony held by her ladies, family and friends. The boy would be put in the care of the Baronne de Parthenay. She would come to treat the boy with the same dispassion expected of her family and the strict court protocol which forbade much closeness. 
She would be overjoyed at the return of her father in 1744, and welcomed him with a curtsy and a smile. The two exchanged polite conversation upon meeting once again before continuing with their individual lives. It was obvious that the same closeness once experienced was gone as she'd grown, both fully aware of their positions. This would give little pain to her as she understood the necessity for such matters, and took to organising her charities and tapestry works. 
=== Later life ===
During the remainder of Louis XI's court, she was known as a modest and charitable woman, who would donate much of her pension to Abbey's and Churches, and became a great patron of the arts, often taking on smaller, less well-known artists to do her portraits for her unless sitting for her father's court portraits. She would go on to have a further 3 children, 2 of which died in childhood, while the third, a daughter named Marie-Denise Louise, picked after her favourite Saints. 
In 1752, she would be devastated by the death of her mother, Elisabeth Justine. She would insist on wearing mourning wear for a year, and had a picture of Saint-Elisabeth, mother of Saint-John the Baptist, hung in her rooms. This would be accompanied by visits to her tomb in the Imperial Crypt, making frequent prayers. 
The remainder of her life was kept fairly quiet until the death of her husband in 1766. He would be aged 64 years at his death, and again she would return to the familiar practice of adorning mourning wear. Her husband, Louis-Marie Matthieu, would be buried in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée in Monaco. She would have portraits of Saint-Matthew in her rooms while mourning.
Seemingly just out of mourning, her father would die in 1767, ending the longest reign in Grandelumierian history. This would devastate her and much of the country. She would remain in mourning wear for another year, adorning herself with religious artefacts for the death of her sovereign and father. Again, she would frequently visit the tombs of her father, now buried alongside her mother in the Imperial Crypt. 
== Reign of Louis XII ==
The reign of her nephew Louis XII would be the beginning of the end of the Empire as she knew it. While the court was increasingly indulgent and unrepentant, the death of many elderly courtiers was occurring, bringing about a new age. Marie Sophie, clinging to the old etiquette, would continue her customs, and rarely visited her son, as court protocol once would have enforced. Eventually, a revolution would begin to brew outside the Chateau walls, much to her concern.
When the court was informed that an angry mob of peasant women were storming on the Palace, Marie Sophie, with her daughter and her son the Prince Chretien-Baptiste, aged 25 himself, fled to the south. Taking a carriage and some provisional items, they would make their way towards the Papal states held territory in Avignon. It was here they would be granted rest and food for which they had been unable to prepare. Before long they were forced to move east to Spain. 
== Reign of Charles III ==
Having arrived in Spain, she was settled into the Palace of Madrid under the reign of Charles III of Spain. She took much pleasure in the strictest protocol here which became a welcome refuge from the rebellion breaking out across her homeland. She would write frequently to her family when she could, and managed with what Spanish she could understand.
She would never see her home again, as she died in 1770 due to a suspected heart attack, likely caused by stress. Her body would be moved back to the Empire after a temporary burial in Spain. Her final resting place was the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée-de-Monaco.
== Issue ==
With her husband, Marie Sophie had 4 children in all;
* Chretien-Baptiste Marie, Prince de Monaco (13th November 1743 - Present)
* Auguste-Louis Georges, Baron of Sabran (6th September 1744 - 23rd December 1747)
* Charles Clement, Prince (20th June 1746 - 1st January 1749)
* Marie-Denise Louise, Princesse (31st March 1748 - Present)
== Titles, styles and honours ==
=== Titles and Styles ===
* 14th September 1721 - 6th December 1738 Her Imperial Highness, Madame Huitieme
* 6th December 1738 - 25th June 1766 Her Serene Highness, Princesse de Monaco
* 25th June 1766 - 19th February 1770 Her Serene Highness, Douairiere Princesse de Monaco
=== Honours ===
* Dame of the Order of Saint-Marie
Category:1700s births
Category:Grandelumierian Nobility
Category:House Lowell-Burgundy
Category:Births in Saint-Etienne
Category:Fils de Grandelumiere
Category:House Grimaldi d'Orange
Category:Princes of Monaco