Maria Leszczyńska, reine de France et de Navarre

• Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska

Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (June 23, 1703 – June 24, 1768) was a queen consort of France and a Polish princess. She was a daughter of King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland (later Duke of Lorraine) and Katarzyna Opalińska. She married King Louis XV of France and was the grandmother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. In France, she was referred to as Marie Leczinska

According to Polski Słownik Biograficzny, her birth name was Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska h. Wieniawa, which agrees with the entry for Louis XV in Burke's Royal Families of the World, where she appears as Marie-Caroline-Sophie-Félicité.

Maria's early life was troubled by her father's political misfortune. Ironically, King Stanisław's hopeless political career was eventually the reason that his daughter Maria became queen of France

Cardinal Fleury, Louis XV's Prime Minister, wanted to find his king a royal bride who would not drag France into any complicated political alliances. Since Stanisław's royal power no longer existed, Maria was chosen to marry the young French king. Upon her marriage, her name was modified into French as Marie Leczinska.

The young couple's marriage was initially happy and they had many children, most of whom were incredibly loyal to their mother. Louis XV was a notorious womanizer, and several of his mistresses—particularly the glamorous Madame de Pompadour—eventually eclipsed the Queen's social status at Versailles. Most of his affairs were with her knowledge, and she either simply accepted them, or was powerless to stop them.

Marie was a devout Roman Catholic. Her major contribution to life at Versailles was the weekly event of Polish Choral Concerts. She also met the young Mozart, whom she found very charming.

Her son, Louis, was married to Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of her father's rival, King August III of Poland. Initially, this connection caused some friction between the Queen and her new daughter-in-law. However, the friction was soon overcome, reportedly because the young German princess was an admirer of the Queen's romantically unlucky father. In honor of him, several of the Queen's grandsons received the name Stanislas at their christenings.

• (Trzebnica, 23 juin 1703–Versailles, 24 juin 1768), princesse de Pologne, reine de France (1725–1768), fille du roi détrôné de Pologne Stanislas Leszczyński.

Sommaire 1 Biographie 1.1 Dates 1.2 Enfants 1.3 Vie 2 Reine de France 3 Citations 4 Notes et références 5 Voir aussi 5.1 Articles connexes 5.2 Bibliographie

Biographie

Dates 1703, 23 juin : Naissance à Trzebnica 1725, 5 septembre : Mariage à Fontainebleau avec le roi de France Louis XV 1727, 14 août : Naissance de ses premières filles : Marie Louise Élisabeth († 6 décembre 1759) et Anne Henriette († 10 février 1752), jumelles, surnommées respectivement Madame (en tant que fille aînée du roi) ou Madame Première (puis Madame Infante) et Madame Seconde (puis Madame Henriette, puis Madame) 1729 : Naissance de son fils, le dauphin Louis de France 1738 : Introduit à Versailles le sapin de Noël 1768, 24 juin : Décès à Versailles
Enfants Marie Leszczyńska eut de Louis XV de France dix enfants[2] :
14 août 1727 : Marie Louise Élisabeth († 6 décembre 1759) et Anne Henriette († 10 février 1752), jumelles, surnommées respectivement Madame (en tant que fille aînée du roi) ou Madame Première (puis Madame Infante) et Madame Seconde (puis Madame Henriette, puis Madame) 28 juillet 1728 : Marie Louise, Madame Troisième (puis Madame Louise) († 19 février 1733) 4 septembre 1729 : Louis († 20 décembre 1765), dauphin 30 août 1730 : Philippe, duc d'Anjou († 7 avril 1733) 23 mars 1732 Marie Adélaïde († 27 février 1800, Madame Quatrième (puis Madame Troisième, puis Madame Adélaïde, puis Madame) 11 mai 1733 : Victoire Louise Marie Thérèse († 7 juin 1799), Madame Quatrième (puis Madame Victoire) 27 juillet 1734 : Sophie Philippine Élisabeth Justine († 2 mars 1782), Madame Cinquième (puis Madame Sophie) 16 mai 1736 : Thérèse Félicité, Madame Sixième (puis Madame Thérèse) († 28 septembre 1744) 15 juillet 1737 : Louise Marie († 23 décembre 1787), Madame Septième (puis Madame Louise), entrée au Carmel en 1770 sous le nom de Sœur Thérèse de St-Augustin

Vie

la Reine Marie Leszczynska.Seconde fille (l'aînée, Anne Leszczynska, était née en 1699 et morte de maladie en 1718) de Catherine Opalińska et de Stanislas Ier Leszczyński, bref roi de Pologne et Duc de Lorraine et de Bar (seulement à titre viager), Marie-Catherine-Sophie-Félicité Leszczyńska naquit à Trzebnica, en Silésie, le 23 juin 1703.

Marie Leszczyńska a toujours conservé des liens étroits avec son père, qui s'est chargé lui-même de son éducation alors qu'il était en exil.

Née alors que son père avait été placé sur le trône polonais par les armées de Charles XII de Suède, elle le suivit dans ses exils dès l'année suivante. Elle confia à Voltaire qu'elle avait failli être oubliée par les femmes chargées de préparer la fuite du roi: au moment de partir l'une d'elle avisa un tas de linges qui gisait dans la cour et alla le ramasser: c'était la petite Marie dans ses langes...

Exilée d'abord dans la principauté de Deux-Ponts (Zweibrücken), propriété du roi de Suède, puis dans la ville alsacienne de Wissembourg suite à de nombreuses tractations politiques, elle est d'abord pressentie en 1721 par un jeune officier français mais celui-ci n'étant pas au moins duc, son père refuse. On songe alors au prince de Schwarzenberg, noble de Bohême mais celui-ci préfére une candidate plus argenté. Elle est alors convoitée par le marquis de Courtanvaux, mais le roi Stanislas refuse un prétendant qui n'est même pas duc.Chose plus sérieuse, la marquise de Prie la propose pour être la seconde épouse de son amant duc de Bourbon, veuf de sa cousine Marie- Anne de Bourbon-Conti, alors premier ministre du royaume. Elle pense qu'une jeune princesse sortie du ruisseau ne lui portera pas ombrage mais le projet prend une autre tournure.

Quand Louis XV tombe une énième fois malade en février 1725, le duc de Boubon craint que le duc d'Orléans, fils du défunt régent et son rival ne monte sur le trône.Pour éviter qu'une telle chose se produise, il faudrait que Louis XV ait, au plus vite, une descendance. C'est pourquoi, après avoir dressé une liste des princesses d'Europe à marier, on choisit Marie Leszscynska qui, à 22 ans, est en âge d'avoir des enfants, contrairement à la jeune fiancée du roi, l'Infante-reine Marie-Anne-Victoire d'Espagne, que l'on renvoie.

Le roi, orphelin à peine âgé de quinze ans, et son précepteur, le cardinal de Fleury, rival du duc de Bourbon, acceptent cette alliance sans avantage avec cette princesse quasiment vieille fille qui compte déjà vingt deux ans —- soit sept de plus que son futur mari.

Le 2 avril, M. le Duc demande à Stanislas sa fille en mariage au nom de Louis XV.

L'annonce du mariage n'est pas très bien accueillie à la Cour et à l'étranger, où l'on se récrie sur les origines de la famille Leszczyński et sur sa nationalité polonaise. Élisabeth-Charlotte, duchesse de Lorraine et de Bar, sœur du défunt régent et qui pensait asseoir sa fille aînée sur le trône des lys écrit ainsi :

« J'avoue que pour le Roi, dont le sang était resté le seul pur en France, il est surprenant que l'on lui fasse faire une pareille mésalliance et épouser une simple demoiselle polonaise, car (…) elle n'est pas davantage, et son père n'a été roi que vingt-quatre heures. »

Des rumeurs vont même jusqu'à annoncer que la future reine est laide, scrofuleuse, épileptique, ou stérile.

Néanmoins, le 15 août 1725, le duc d'Orléans, premier prince du sang, épouse Marie par procuration dans la cathédrale de Strasbourg, devant le cardinal de Rohan, grand aumônier de France. Pendant son repas, elle est servie par Mademoiselle de Clermont, sœur du duc de Bourbon, un membre de la famille royale. Il faut à Marie un solide bon sens et de la simplicité pour ne pas se laisser étourdir par le destin qui lui échoie.

Marie se fait vite aimer du peuple en distribuant des aumônes sur le chemin de Fontainebleau, en Champagne et en Brie. Le 4 septembre, Marie rencontre Louis XV, et le 5 septembre, ils se marient à Fontainebleau. Le mariage est consommé le soir même, et le roi fera durer la « lune de miel » à Fontainebleau jusqu'en décembre. Marie tombe aussitôt amoureuse du Roi, et lui-même en est, à l'époque, très épris (elle est son premier amour).

On donne à la nouvelle reine le cardinal de Fleury comme grand aumônier, et des serviteurs qui ont veillé sur Louis XV enfant, afin de lui permettre de mieux connaître son mari. Elle lui donne rapidement des enfants, et en grand nombre : 10 en 10 ans (huit filles dont des jumelles et deux fils), dont seul un garçon, le dauphin Louis-Ferdinand, survivra à l'enfance.

La naissance de Madame Septième (1737) puis une fausse couche l'année suivante marquent la fin du bonheur conjugal du couple royal : Louis XV, vingt trois ans, jeune et plein d'allant, s'ennuie auprès d'une femme d'âge mûr (trente ans était délà le seuil de la vieillesse à cette époque), fatiguée par ses nombreuses grossesses et plutôt terne. Malgré ses scrupules moraux et religieux, le Roi a déjà pris secrètement sa première maîtresse, la comtesse de Mailly, première des « sœurs de Nesle ».

La reine Marie avait commencé à s'aliéner son époux dès le début de son mariage en se mêlant de politique malgré les mises en garde de son père. N'étant pas née dans une cour, ne connaissant pas encore tout à fait les usages ni l'étiquette de Versailles, elle "convoqua" le Roi dans ses appartements pour lui demander de conserver le ministère à son bienfaiteur, l'impopulaire duc de Bourbon qui risquait la disgrâce. Elle perdit dès cette instant toute influence politique sur son mari (1726).

En 1733, elle soutint les efforts de son père qui tenta de remonter sur le trône de Pologne (guerre de succession de Pologne).

Petit à petit, Louis XV la délaissa complètement, notamment à partir du moment où elle lui refusa l'entrée de sa chambre (1738). Malgré une réconciliation maladroite après la maladie du Roi à Metz en 1744, ce délaissement fut définitif.

Marie Leszczyńska vécut les vingt dernières années de sa vie à Versailles, entourée d'un cercle restreint de courtisans : « La maison de la reine était formée de gens d’esprit, de conditions sociales diverses, sur le modèle des fameux salons parisiens si caractéristiques de l’époque ».

Marie, reine de France, par François Stiémart.Marie demeura pourtant très attachée à son époux[3] et réussit bien à s'adapter à la vie de Versailles : elle se fit instruire sur les questions de cérémonial et d'étiquette et assuma ses devoirs de représentation lors des fréquentes absences de Louis XV, à la chasse ou ailleurs.

Grande amatrice de musique et de peinture (elle peignait elle-même des aquarelles), elle fut la véritable mécène de la culture à la cour. Elle contribua, avec sa bru Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, à faire venir à Versailles des artistes de renom, comme le castrat Farinelli en 1737, qui lui donna des cours de chant, et le jeune prodige Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart en 1764.

Confrontée à l'adultère du Roi, elle garde discrétion et dignité, entretenant même pendant vingt ans des relations cordiales avec la plus cèlèbre des maîtresses de Louis XV, la Marquise de Pompadour. Cependant il faut avouer, comme le note Talleyrand, que « ses vertus [ont] quelque chose de triste qui ne port[e] à aucun entraînement vers elle ». Après la désaffection de Louis XV, elle se réfugia dans l'affection pour ses enfants qui tentaient maladroitement de prendre son parti et son père, qui venait la visiter souvent et lui conseillait la patience et la soumission.

Elle obtint de Louis XV, le Roi cherchant peut-être à se faire pardonner, un grand appartement privé (détruit par les aménagements de Marie-Antoinette) où elle put mener une vie plus calme et moins tournée vers l'apparat. Un groupe d'amis se forma autour d'elle, dont le couple de Luynes. Elle disposait d'une cassette de 96 000 livres, somme assez médiocre pour une Reine, à affecter à son divertissement, à ses aumônes et à son jeu. Elle aura fréquemment quelques dettes, dues à sa passion pour le jeu (surtout pour le cavagnole), épongées par Louis XV ou par son père Stanislas.

Elle s'éteignit le 24 juin 1768, à Versailles. Son corps est inhumé à la Basilique Saint-Denis tandis que son cœur repose auprès de ses parents, en l'église Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours de Nancy.

Reine de France Précédé par Marie Leszczyńska Suivi par 

Françoise d'Aubigné Marquise de Maintenon (épouse du roi) Marie Leszczyńska reine de France 1725-1768

Marie-Antoinette d'Autriche 

Citations « Votre majesté, il vaut mieux écouter ceux qui vous crient de loin, soulagez notre misère, que ceux qui vous disent de près, augmentez notre fortune. » Marie Leszcyńska à Louis XV. « C'est une chose sotte que d'être reine ! Pour peu que les troubles continuent, on nous dépouillera bientôt de cette incommodité. » « Je n'ai pas besoin de robes quand les pauvres n'ont pas de chemises. » « La miséricorde des rois est de rendre la justice, mais la justice des reines est d'exercer la miséricorde. » À Louis XV, pour demander la grâce d'un déserteur. « Tout le bien d'une mère n'appartient-il pas à ses enfants ? A son trésorier, qui jugeait ses aumônes excessives. »

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This is the correct spelling of the surname in modern Polish; various other spellings are also used in English and French.
Marie Leszczyńska Portrait of Marie Leszczyńska by Nattier (1748) Queen consort of France and Navarre Tenure 4 September 1725 – 24 June 1768 Spouse Louis XV of France Issue Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Parma Princess Henriette Princess Louise Louis, Dauphin of France Philippe, Duke of Anjou Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Louvois Princess Victoire Sophie, Duchess of Louvois Princess Thérèse Louise Marie, Abbess of Saint Denis Full name Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska House House of Bourbon House of Leszczyński Father Stanislaus I of Poland Mother Catherine Opalińska Born 23 June 1703(1703-06-23) Trzebnica, Poland Died 24 June 1768 (aged 65) Versailles, France

Marie Leszczyńska (Trzebnica, 23 June 1703 – Versailles, 24 June 1768) was a queen consort of France. She was a daughter of King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland (later Duke of Lorraine) and Catherine Opalińska. She married King Louis XV of France and was the grandmother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. In France, she was referred to as Marie Leczinska. She was the longest serving Queen consort of France. Contents [show]

   * 1 Background

   * 2 Marriage

   * 3 Issue

   * 4 Queen

         o 4.1 Death

   * 5 Sources

   * 6 In Culture

   * 7 References

   * 8 Further reading

   * 9 Ancestry

[edit] Background

Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska h. Wieniawa[1] was the second daughter of Stanisław Leszczyński and his wife Katarzyna Opalińska. Her older sister Anna Leszczyńska (1699–1717) died at the age of 18 of pneumonia.

Maria's early life was troubled by her father's political misfortune. Ironically, King Stanisław's hopeless political career was eventually the reason why his daughter Maria was chosen as the bride of King Louis XV of France. Devoid of political connections, his daughter was viewed by the French as being free from the burden of international alliances.[citation needed]

Born in Trzebnica in Lower Silesia, she was born in the year before her father was made King of Poland by Charles XII of Sweden who invaded the country that year. She would be brought up as a fugitive princess living for a while in Stockholm in Sweden.

Very close to her father, Maria was tutored while in her father's exile in Wissembourg in Alsace, a region of France. This place was a suggestion by the French de facto ruler Philippe d'Orléans, a nephew of Louis XIV and regent of France for the infant king Louis XV.

The family was supported by a pension from the Duke of Orléans, and during their time in Wissembourg, the young Maria was asked for her hand in marriage by Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, who was a grandson of Louis XIV and the prime minister of France beginning in 1723. That same year, the young king of France, Louis XV, fell ill. The prime minister became afraid of the consequences of the young, unmarried king dying without an heir. In order to ensure the succession of the Crown, the prime minister suggested a marriage between the young princess and the even younger king. [edit] Marriage Maria Leszczyńska in 1730, by Alexis Simon Belle Arms of Marie as queen of France

Maria was on a list of 99 eligible ladies in Europe to marry the young king.

Cardinal Fleury, the replacement of the Duke of Bourbon as Louis XV's Prime Minister, wanted to find his king a royal bride who would not drag France into any complicated political alliances and supported the marriage. One aspect in the choice of Marie was the fact that she was old enough to have children, while the former designated bride, Marie Anne Victoire of Spain, was too young to bear children.

The announcement of the wedding was not received well as the royal court, who considered the match to be a misalliance, as the father of Marie had been a monarch for such a short time. There were rumours before the wedding that the bride was ugly, epileptic and sterile.

Marie earned popularity among the public from the beginning, when she handed out money on her way to her wedding in Fontainebleau. Marie is reported to have fallen in love with Louis, and her feelings was initially mutual and answered by him. Cardinal Fleury, who took care of Louis as a child, was appointed the grand chaplain of Marie to give her an opportunity to understand Louis better.

Upon her marriage, Maria's Polish name was modified into French as Marie Leczinska.

The young couple's marriage was initially happy and they had many children, most of whom were incredibly loyal to their mother. In August 1727, Maria gave birth to her first children, twin daughters named Louise Élisabeth and Henriette Anne, at the Palace of Versailles. The elder twin, Louise Élisabeth, later married the Infante Felipe of Spain and eventually became the Duchess Consort of Parma. Through Louise Élisabeth, Marie became an ancestor of Juan Carlos I of Spain.

Louis XV was a notorious womaniser, and several of his mistresses, particularly the glamorous Madame de Pompadour, eventually eclipsed the Queen's social status at Versailles. Most of his affairs were with her knowledge, and she either simply accepted them, or was powerless to stop them.

The birth of Marie's last child, Louise Marie in 1737, was a childbirth that nearly took her life: she was warned not to have any other children in her life and she did not. In 1738, she refused Louis entrance to her bedroom, and after this, their private relationship ended, though the formal marriage continued. It was during this time that the king decided to take to his more famous mistresses, most prominently Madame de Pompadour who was introduced to the royal court at the wedding of her son Louis to Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain - Louis XV's cousin, in 1745. Marie displayed an attitude of discretion and dignity toward Louis adultery. She uphold a relatively good relationship toward Madame de Pompadour. Marie made a difficult reconciliation to Louis during his illness i Metz in 1744, but this did not restore the relationship.

Marie had a very close relationship to her children who often visited her. Maria Leszczyńska, Queen of France. [edit] Issue

On 4 September 1725, she married Louis XV of France. They had eleven children:

   * Louise Élisabeth (14 August 1727 – 6 December 1759) Duchess of Parma, had issue;

   * Henriette Anne (14 August 1727 – 10 February 1752) died unmarried.

   * Marie-Louise (28 July 1728 – 19 February 1733) died in childhood:

   * Louis, Dauphin of France (4 September 1729 – 20 December 1765) married Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain; had issue then married Duchess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony and had issue;

   * Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou (30 August 1730 – 17 April 1733) died in childhood

   * Marie Adélaïde (23 March 1732 – 27 February 1800) died unmarried

   * Victoire Louise Marie Thérèse (11 May 1733 – 7 June 1799) died unmarried

   * Sophie Philippine Élisabeth Justine (17 July 1734 – 3 March 1782); died unmarried

   * Stillborn Child (28 March 1735 – 28 March 1735)

   * Marie Thérèse Félicité (16 May 1736 – 28 September 1744) died in childhood

   * Louise Marie (5 July 1737 – 23 December 1787) was a nun

[edit] Queen Marie Leszczynska in formal attire as the Queen of France.

Queen Marie never managed to acquire any political influence. She made an attempt to involve in politics at the very beginning of their marriage when she, in 1726, asked Louis to appoint the impopular Duke of Bourbon as minister of Cabinet, despite her father's warnings. King Louis took her attempt to involve in politics very badly, and after 1726 she was completely separated from the affairs of state and any political influence on Louis. In 1733, she declared her father her support in his demand on the Polish throne as a private person.

Queen Marie represented Louis many times in at rituals in the ceremonial etiquette of Versailles Court life during his many absences from such matters. Louis provided her with a large appartement in the palace were she could live more informally with her circle of friends. Among her most noted guests were the couple de Luynes. She was given an allowance of 96,000 for pleasure, charity and gambling, which was not considered to be very large. She enjoyed a game called cavagnole, and was often in debt because of the reluctance of her husband and father to pay her debts.

Marie was a devout Roman Catholic. Her major contribution to life at Versailles was the weekly event of Polish Choral Concerts. She also met the young Mozart, whom she found very charming and acted as a go between for her husband and family who did not understand German. She also started a correspondence with the famous Voltaire, for whom she secured a pension. Marie was a great lover of music and painting and the protector of many artists. She met the castrato singer Farinelli in 1737, and Mozart in 1764, with whom she spoke in German.

During an era when France was a very powerful nation, Austria was often in conflict with the French and the ambassador Count Mercy (who later helped secure the marriage of Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette) was said to have had an affair with the queen; this seems highly unlikely and was disregarded as court gossip. Marie was known for her good manners, grace and her piety.

Her daughter-in-law, the infanta of Spain, died at the age of 20 after giving birth to a granddaughter named Marie Thérèse. The Queen, very fond and loving of her only son encouraged the marriage of her Louis to Duchess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of her father's rival, Frederick Augustus Wettin of Saxony, King August III of Poland. Initially, this connection caused some friction between the Queen and her new daughter-in-law. However, the friction was soon overcome, reportedly because the young German princess was an admirer of the Queen's romantically unlucky father. In honour of him, several of the Queen's grandsons received the name Stanislas at their christenings. [edit] Death

Marie died in 1768, six years before her husband. His new lover was a former prostitute, Madame du Barry. Marie's children and grandchildren sincerely grieved at Marie's death. At her death she was known as the Bonne Reine Marie (Good Queen Marie). Two years later, her grandson, the future Louis XVI was married to a young Austrian archduchess, Marie Antoinette. [edit] Sources

   * This page is a translation of its French equivalent.

[edit] In Culture

   * Marie is a major character in the novel The Royal Merry-Go-Round, the story of Louis XV's adventurous love life. In the anime Le Chevalier D'Eon, she is one of the characters manipulating many of the events in the story.

   * Though presumed to be not too clever, Marie Leczinska was an author of at least a few quips. It is said that following the death of the Protestant marshall Maurice de Saxe she remarked: "How sad, that we cannot sing "De Profundis", for a man thanks to whom we sang so often "Te Deum""

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maria Leszczyńska [edit] References

  1. ^ According to Polski Słownik Biograficzny which agrees with the entry for Louis XV in Burke's Royal Families of the World, where she appears as Marie-Caroline-Sophie-Félicité.

[edit] Further reading

   * Zieliński, Ryszard (1978). Polka na francuskim tronie. Czytelnik. This page was last modified on 30 June 2010 at 00:25.

Maria Leszczyńska From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (June 23, 1703 – June 24, 1768) was a queen consort of France and a Polish princess. She was a daughter of King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland (later Duke of Lorraine) and Katarzyna Opalińska. She married King Louis XV of France and was a grandmother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X.

Early Life

According to Polski Słownik Biograficzny her name was Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska h. Wieniawa, which agrees with the entry for Louis XV in Burke's Royal Families of the World, where she appears as Marie-Caroline-Sophie-Félicité. Marie's early life was troubled by her father's political misfortune. Ironically, King Stanisław's hopeless political career was eventually the reason that his daughter Marie became queen of France. [edit]Marriage to Louis XV

Cardinal Fleury, Louis XV's Prime Minister, wanted to find his king a royal bride who would not drag France into any complicated political alliances. Since Stanisław's royal power no longer existed, Marie was chosen to marry the young French king. Their marriage was initially happy and they had many children, most of whom were incredibly loyal to their mother. Louis XV was a notorious womanizer, and several of his mistresses—particularly the glamorous Madame de Pompadour—eventually eclipsed Queen Marie's social status at Versailles. Most of his affairs were with her knowledge, and she either simply accepted them, or was powerless to stop them. Marie was a devout Roman Catholic. Her major contribution to life at Versailles was the weekly event of Polish Choral Concerts. She also met the young Mozart, whom she found very charming. [edit]Children

Her son Louis was married to Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of her father Stanislaws' rival - August III of Poland, which caused initial friction, but was soon overcome, reportedly because the young princess was an admirer of the romantically unlucky former king of Poland. Marie's several grandsons received the name Stanislas among their christened names. On September 4, 1725 she married Louis XV of France. They had ten children:

Children:

Name Birth Death Notes Louise-Elisabeth August 14, 1727 December 6, 1759 Duchess of Parma, had issue Henriette-Anne August 14, 1727 February 10, 1752 died unmarried, no issue. Marie-Louise of France July 28, 1728 February 19, 1733 died in childhood Louis, Dauphin of France September 4, 1729 December 20, 1765 Philippe of France August 30, 1730 April 17, 1733 died in childhood Adélaïde March 23, 1732 February 27, 1800 died unmarried, no issue Victoire-Louise May 11, 1733 June 7, 1799 died unmarried, no issue Sophie-Philippine July 17, 1734 March 3, 1782 died unmarried, no issue Stillbornd Child March 28, 1735 March 28, 1735 Thérèse-Félicité May 16, 1736 September 28, 1744 died in childhood Louise-Marie July 5, 1737 December 23, 1787 a nun, died unmarried, no issue

Death

Marie died in 1768, six years before her husband. His new mistress was a former prostitute, Madame du Barry. Marie's children and grandchildren sincerely grieved at Marie's death. Two years later, her grandson Louis-Auguste (Louis XVI) was married to a young Austrian archduchess, Marie Antoinette.

Trivia

Two of Marie's grandchildren met their deaths on the guillotine during the French Revolution: Princess Élisabeth and Louis XVI (as well as the latter's wife Marie Antoinette). Another two grandchildren, Louis XVIII and Charles X, became kings of France (after the restoration of the monarchy in 1814). Marie is a major character in the novel The Royal Merry-Go-Round, the story of Louis XV's adventurous love life. In the anime Le Chevalier D'Eon she is one of the characters manipulating many of the events in the story. Though presumed to be not too clever, Maria Leszczyńska was an author of at least a few quips. It is said that following the death of the Protestant marshall Maurice de Saxe she remarked: "How sad, that we cannot sing "De Profundis", for a man thanks to whom we sung so often "Te Deum"" [edit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Leszczynska

Filhos:

Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon, princesse de France * 14.08.1727 + Filippo I, duca di Parma

Henriette-Anne de Bourbon, princesse de France * 14.08.1727 nc, gémea com a anterior

Louise-Marie de Bourbon, princesse de France * 28.07.1728

Louis, dauphin de France, duc de Bourbon * 04.09.1729 + Maria Teresa de Borbón, infanta de España + Maria Josepha, Prinzessin von Sachsen

Philippe de Bourbon, duc d' Anjou * 30.08.1730

Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon, princesse de France * 23.03.1732 + 1800 nc

Victoire-Louise de Bourbon, princesse de France * 11.05.1733 + 1799 nc

Sophie-Philippine de Bourbon, princesse de France * 27.07.1734 + 1782 nc

Thérèse-Félicité de Bourbon, princesse de France * 16.05.1736

Louise-Marie de Bourbon, princesse de France * 15.07.1737 + 1787 nc