Mathilde Diamanté d'Este

### Siblings

Maria Teresa Felicitas d'Este, Duchesse de Penthièvre (6 October 1726 – 30 April 1754)
Ercole III d'Este, Duke de Modena (22 November 1727 - Present)

Marie Fortunée d'Este, Comtesse de La Marche (24 November 1731 – Present)

Benedetto Filippo d'Este (30 September 1736 – 16 September 1751)

Maria Elisabetta Ernestina d'Este (12 February 1741 – 4 August 1774) Comtesse de Serravalle

### Religion

Roman Catholic

**Mathilde Diamanté d'Este** (Matilda Diamanta d'Este; 7 February 1729 - 11 February 1781) was a Modenese Princesse. Unlike her sisters she did not go on to marry, instead having multiple failed betrothals. Sister to the Comtesse de La Marche, the Princesse in her later life spent much of her time at the French court.

## **Birth**

Mathilde Diamanté d'Este was born on the 7th of February, 1729, to Francesco III d'Este, Duc d’Este and his wife,Charlotte-Aglaé d'Orléans. Her birth was noted as hysterical, and her mother spent most of it in delirium.

## Early Life

Her childhood was simplistic and befitting of a Princess of Modena. Her education followed the standards of Italian Princesses with her being educated in the Italian language, with additional discipline in French, German, and Latin. Her youth was not one of luxury, compared to the other Italian courts, as Modena was recovering from bankruptcy following the Spanish and Austrian wars of succession, so her education met the bare minimum.

In her youth, she was described as a pretty and cheerful young Princess, with her parents and siblings adoring her jovial spirit. Mathilde often participated in ballets and recitals put on by the Duchess. Her governess described her as follows, “A beautifully happy young girl, with naturally blushed cheeks, a perfect smile accompanied by perfect teeth, and a soothing tone of voice.”

## Proposals and Betrothals

Throughout her adolescent years, her father negotiated and discussed many potential marriages and betrothals for Mathilde. However, most of the discussions did not get past the negotiation table. Some of the more notable matches include;

The first discussion of marriage for Mathilde was in 1739 with Louis Victor de Savoie, Prince de Carignano. However, the betrothal only lasted a week as the King of Sardnia preferred the Hessian match over the low-dowry Modenese match.

In 1742 discussions for marriage between Mathilde and Prince Charles de Lorraine, brother of the Holy Roman Emperor occurred. However, the Holy Roman Emperor declined the match in favour of his wifes sister.

In 1750, a match between Mathilde and Carlo Salomone, Count of Serravalle transpired. The marriage was set to take place in May of 1751. The Day of the wedding came and the two were at the altar when the Count decided he had changed his mind and abruptly refused to marry her. Serravalle would later go on to marry Mathilde’s sister Maria Elisabetta.

In 1754 her father and mother attempted to arrange a marriage between his sister's widower and Mathilde, the Duc de Penthièvre. Monsieur de Penthièvre, still in love with his late wife denied the match.

By 1756, all marriage discussions halted as no Italian Princes, foreign Princes, or Italian nobles wished to pursue the princess in marriage.

## Later Life

After constant rejection, heartbreak, and failure, in her late twenties, nearing her early thirties, Mathilde was bitter and envious of her sisters and brothers for their marriages. The court of her father mockingly referred to her as “La Principessa zitella” or “The Princess Spinster”.

When she was thirty her sister Marie Fortunée d'Este married the Comte de La Marche, heir to the Prince de Conti. Later, her sister Maria Elisabetta would marry her former betrothed the Comte de Serravalle, which created a rift between the two.

After years of torment and reminders by her failed marriage negotiations, the Princess left court in Modena and went to join her younger sister Marie Fortunée at the court in Meudon, where she died in 1781 of smallpox. She was 52 years old.