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

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

References

Other websites

Category:1731 births
Category:1767 deaths
Category:Burials at the Basilica of St Denis
Category:Dauphins and Dauphines of France
Category:House of Bourbon
Category:House of Wettin
Category:People from Saxony