Marie Fortunée d'Este

## Comtesse Douairière de La Marche

Comtesse de La Marche by Alexander Roslin

**Maria Fortunata d'Este** (24 November 1731 – present) is a Modenese princess by birth and a princess du sang by marriage. Through her marriage in 1759 to *Louis de Bourbon-Conti*, she assumed the style of Comtesse de La Marche. Despite, or perhaps thanks to her subtle and graceful bearing, the Comtesse commanded a keen notoriety among her peers, her unobtrusive, cultured comportment winning her a formidable standing in Louis XV’s court.

While she may have been countered by the boldness of her fellow courtiers, her poise blended with a fondness for 'enlightened' literature and a committed religious observance granted her an esteemed equilibrium. Vintage in her mannerisms — yet daring in her taste of art, having been influenced by the radical works of Rousseau and the ilk — she was a respected bibliophile and a patron of literature, who was widely admired for her extreme poise and exemplary intellect at the Royal Court of Meudon.

## Biography

### Birth and Childhood

Uniting in herself Italian temperament of preseverance and Teutonic composure and stoicism, Maria Fortunata d'Este was born a Modenese princess to *Francesco III, Duke of Modena*, and his wife, *Elisabeth Auguste of Neuburg*. At the time of her birth Modena served as a vibrant center of arts and culture, and that passion was contagious; it’s little wonder why the princess inherited such an appreciation for the arts as she matured. It was amidst this zenith of Modenese artistic excellence, the ring of the Duomo's bells and the serene sway of verdant vineyards that Fortunata enjoyed her formative years. As the fifth child and a daughter, Fortunata was too much of a nonentity in her family to be of interest for politics, thus her father afforded her freedom unprecedented in her youth, an untroubled period in which she nurtured her dream of marrying into the French aristocracy to remain near her older sister, Maria Teresa, the Duchess of Penthièvre, through the bonds of wedlock.

### Marriage and Arrival at Court

The budding bloom of her naïve ambition and innocence to follow her sister to the court of France withered away with the devastating news of her perish in childbirth. Having no other options or prospects, her mother, the Duchess, diligently prepared to arrange her marriage to the Conti heir, Comte de La Marche, in the hope of a secure future. In Milan on the third of January 1759, a marriage contract was ceremoniously signed by the French ambassador to the illustrious Turin court. On the seventh of February, a wedding by proxy was held, followed by a celebration in person on the 27th at Nangis-en-Brie in France. As part of the arrangement, Maria Fortunata's father provided her with a dowry of one million livres, and upon her arrival in France, King Louis XV graciously gifted the newly-married couple an additional 150,000 livres. Finally, on the fifth of March, the Countess of La Marche was ceremoniously introduced to the Royal family, courtesy of a presentation made by the widowed Princesse de Conti, who happened to be her husband's grandmother.

At the time of their union, the Count had many romantic involvements with other women, leaving him displeased with the imposition of a hated wife. The couple's rocky relationship was riddled with strife and, although an intimate connection existed, they had no legitimate children of their marriage. Whether the cause lay in the Comtesse's inability to bear offspring or the Count's unfaithful nature, his two illegitimate children, born in 1761 and 1767 to the Italian soubrette and dancer *Marie Anne Véronèse*, alias Mademoiselle Coraline, were undeniable facts. Moreover, the Count had several liaisons, the most noteworthy being with Anne Victoire Dervieux, a courtesan and ballerina.

### Personality

The Comtesse de La Marche was a study in composure and grace, her meekness and bookishness belying a wisdom and underlying strength that were keys to her royal appointment as the Dauphine's Premiére dame d'honneur. Despite her husband's infidelity causing her a certain level of humiliation, and, therefore, distance from court, she was still discovered and valued for her modesty and unwavering equanimity. When the Dauphine arrived at court in 1775, King Louis XV had no doubt that the Comtesse's demure temperament, enthusiasm for books, and calming gentility would be of service to his future queen, and appointed her to the role prior to the official handover ceremony, marking the start of a necessary period of Comtesse de La Marche's royal service.

### Appearance

The petite Comtesse de La Marche stood out in her subtle bearing. Her dark-brown locks, tucked into an elegant, but unpretentious coiffure, contrasted with her small stature and thin alabaster complexion. Adorning her visage was an 'unfortunate' nose, the legacy of her father — a gentle reminder of a shared heritage. Her softer-than-silk voice, as well as her dainty frame, completed the picture of a woman of distinguished tenderness and refined grace.

## Titles and Styles

* **24th November 1731 — 7th February 1759:** *Sua Altezza Serenissima,* La principessa di Modena e Reggio
* **7th February 1759 — present:** *Son Altesse sérénissime,* Madame la Comtesse de La Marche
* **19th August 1775 — present:** *Son Altesse sérénissime,* Madame la Comtesse Douairière de La Marche