Princess Marguerite of France

**Marguerite of France**

Former Ombrelune ✵ Sixth In Line

 **MODEL** | Jodie Comer

For as long as wizardkind can remember, the French monarchies, muggle and otherwise, coexisted in peace. They exerted equal control over the populace, often interchanging as one of the pure-blooded royals ascended to the throne. On the horizon approached an age of struggle, though. As the 18th century drew to a close, France's expensive involvement in the American revolution - coupled with the extravagant spending by King Louis XVI - left the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Royal coffers depleted, two decades of poor harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread priced had kindled unrest among peasants. Many expressed desperation and resentment towards the monarchy, who imposed heavy taxes without providing relief, by the means of looting, rioting and striking.
During fall of 1786, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged classes would no longer be exempt. To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing aristocratic revolt, the king summoned les états généraux - an assembly representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class. The meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates from each locality would compile cahiers de doléances to present to the king. Moreover, in the lead-up to the May 5 meeting, the Third Estate began to mobilize support for equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto – in other words, they wanted voting by head and not by status.
While all of the orders shared a common desire for fiscal and judicial reform as well as a more representative form of government, the nobles in particular were loath to give up the privileges they enjoyed under the traditional system. On June 12, as the National Assembly continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the capital. Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate. A popular insurgency culminated on July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and weapons; many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the start of the French Revolution.
Few royals foresaw the events leading and following the storming of Bastille, but those that did went into hiding, seeking safety from the wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria that quickly swept the country of France. Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords and the seigniorial elite. Known as la Grande peur, the rural insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789.
As they bore witness to the rising tensions in the country, the royals of magical blood fled muggle land. They needed a new place to call 'home' - the muggle world was a losing fight, they knew, and thus poured their efforts into a new, unexplored world; one befitting wizardkind.
For as long as they had known, French wizards coexisted peacefully with their moldus counterparts, but this had begun to change, their relationships evolving in unison with the growing discomfort towards the French crown. In what is now known as the magical sector of France, hidden behind a statue in Paris, a select group of wizards tried founding what would have been known as the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France, based on a motto akin to their moldus siblings': Incanté, Envouté, Conjuré. Unfortunately, the government was structurally weak and had little support. Not long before it was established, it collapsed in itself, as the populace were unable to thrive under a government clouded by uncertainty. This led to the implementation of the French Monarchy, under King Charles XI.
Wanting to make it clear their rule would be nothing like their counterpart, which found itself in shambles at the time, Charles declared the Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen a general - very loose, as well, solely to fit the idea of a Monarchy - basis for their ideals. In what modern-day historians argue was a highly controversial thing to do, however, the King extended these human rights to everyone - man, woman and child. Furthermore, certain attributes of the muggle crown remained in place - a council of twelve noble families, selected from the pure-blooded population, each with a specific task to oversee. While the council has evolved over time, the general idea has transcended time. While it was something French wizards weren't initially keen on, they recognized it was better than the turmoil in the non-magical world.
Over time, the magical crown distanced itself further and further from the non-magical world. There came a point where, while not outright prohibited, many wizards found it 'taboo' to interact with molduses, making their community one of the purest out of all magical societies. Furthermore, now living in an era of prosperity under King Louis XVII, they've become much more inclusive, and has become more common to see their own marrying into moldus families and living in their world.
King Louis XX's second son — of his six children — Auguste, married Catherine several years before he conceived his first daughter, Marguerite. Given her full name, including the last name used when one was necessary, she was Marguerite Cerise Alexandria Éliane Valois.
She was not long the only child of the two, however, as she was shortly followed by two others. A sister, Lucinde, and a brother, Ferdinand, with one even year between each of the three. Though Marguerite was too young, of course, to understand why, she was largely kept apart from her younger sibling. Royal society was rife with rumours about Prince Auguste's 'infidelity' — true or not, those rumours had to be dealt with.
It was not that they wanted to keep Lucinde away from Marguerite and Ferdinand who were, in the book of society as a whole, definitely their children; it was that their hand was forced. If she were to be seen to be too close with the two the whole family regarded 'truly' royal, then that could have repercussions for all three — a risk they could not take with their reputations. It was not particularly hard, given the fact that Marguerite preferred independence and her own company, and if she did want it, she generally sought it from her younger brother, Ferdinand.
Now, as an adult, she regrets allowing it so easily, though (being so young) she could not possibly be to blame, given what she believes happened. Though in reality, she was simply taken away by other relatives of theirs and hidden away as an adopted child — and is still alive — as far as Marguerite, Ferdinand, and their parents are aware, Princess Lucinde died in a tragic accident at the age of six, leaving the others to regret not having spent more time around her. This had a distinct impact on Marguerite's mannerisms and relationship with her family. Easily the most noticeable is that the amount of time she spent with her brother, Ferdinand, increased exponentially, and the two are still to this day very close.
Though her first sign of magic was before Lucinde's 'death', when Marguerite was five and she slowed her own fall after tumbling from a royal horse, they became more erratic afterwards. Her parents couldn't understand why, given that Marguerite had had less of a relationship with her sibling than most siblings did. In fact, it was less that and more of the fact that the young girl was still far from understanding the concept of death, and it took several long conversations to resolve the issue.
Her first year at Beauxbatons — at the age of eleven — was quite a relief in that she finally got to experience what it was like not to be surrounded by one's own relatives all the time. Why she was sorted into Ombrelune initially confused her, but the colour of the sparks was justified as she grew. Marguerite certainly was independence, and her life was centred around herself, with the exception of Ferdinand when he arrived at Beauxbatons. She had no interest in those who sought her companionship on account of her royal status and, in fact, she rarely made use of it except to keep those who decided they could threaten Ferdinand away from him.
By far and away her favoured subject was History of Magic, and she sought to understand each and every facet of it. Every perspective, every moment, so that she might be able to puzzle out why the greats in history were remembered that way, and cast judgement on which greats she thought were credited falsely, or who deserved to fall from grace. Historians can paint history however they like given they have evidence for it, and, she found, she wanted to do that herself.
So, though she did not ignore the rest of the classes she was obligated to take (and was in fact very bright, so would be considered competent at most of them) she thrived in History and other intellectual subjects like Arithmancy where there was a reality, or fact, to be found. Though positions of privilege such as Prefect or Duelling Captain piqued the interest of those around her, Marguerite felt as though that was not something she needed — her time was better spent unpicking mysteries or puzzles and, besides, she already had as much privilege as any one person ought. Thus, she graduated with grades to be proud of, though not the wide circle of friends others might have had, and without the badges pinned to the chosen ones' lapels, but she went back home with pride.
Over the past six years, Marguerite has become a historian as a full-time job (largely because she can afford to) and spends much of her time in libraries to add notes to a considerable stack of journals, unless someone makes a concerted effort to get her outside, or if she has duties she should or must fulfil. She does, however, remain close to both her parents, and her brother Ferdinand, and spends at least some time with her cousins.

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To an outside observer, Marguerite Valois would — fairly enough — be pegged as an introvert by the large majority of people. However, while this is true, once you get down to what she would refer to as the 'nitty-gritty' of the matter, the princess is, quite simply, an academic. A reclusive one, as much as a woman who simply also forgets the so-called "necessity" of social interaction when she is absorbed by her work. Credit must be given to Marguerite where it is due; she is excellent at balancing the other parts of her life, whether it be self-care, or her royal duties (even if she does end up sleeping on a sofa in the library of her home more often than she does not) not shirking on either. One aspect of her life just had to not quite make it to par, and that turned out to be social interaction outside of royal obligation.
Her brother Ferdinand is more of the natural philanthropist than she, and she recognises that, truly believing that she might have more than a thing or two to learn from her compassionate younger sibling. The truth is simply that, being so interested in the past, she can often become disassociated from the present — and in these phases, she needs someone to 'pull her back' into the modern world. Often these events to put her back into the outside world lead to the limelight, opening museums, visiting Beauxbatons to try and make History of Magic more interesting, and the like, but it means she's breathing air not from within the palace library.
It is often typical of Marguerite to drift off into her own head, too, not quite having the anchor some do to the physical. Her organised nature makes itself best known in her journals, all filled, organised neatly by the era written about in them — even by monarch, if applicable — and the general neatness of them. As for the antics of her other family members, you will find Marguerite to be quite amenable, so long as what is sought does not interfere with her personally undertaken studies. While others might object to parties being thrown, the woman is quite indifferent as long as they don't disturb her. Another notable aspect is that she does not enjoy the limelight in the way some of the others do, and is thus glad of the five people ahead of her in the succession line, and certainly won't rue the day she is shunted further when the heirs have children.

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 **BODY TYPE** | Ectomorph

 **FIRST LOVE** | N/A

* Family
* Friends
* Romances
* Enemies

WIP

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© credits to brockosaurus for inspiration and base coding; miggy for the page structure