Marie Leszczyńska

Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska was born on 23 June 1703, in Trzebnica; she was the second daughter of Stanislaw I Leszczyński and his wife, Catherine Opalińska. She had an older sister, Anna, who died in 1717.

She was born the year before her father was made King of Poland by Charles XII of Sweden, who had invaded the country in 1704. In 1709, her father was deposed, and the family was granted refuge by the King of Sweden in the city of Kristianstad. In Sweden, they were welcomed by the dowager queen Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, and became popular members of society life. During this period of her life, Maria began speaking Swedish and later, as Queen of France, she was known to welcome Swedish ambassadors with the phrase Welcome, dearest heart! in Swedish.

In 1714, the King of Sweden gave them permission to live in his fiefdom of Zweibrücken, where they were supported by the income of the fiefdom. They lived there until Charles XII died in 1718 and Zweibrücken passed to a cousin of his. Stanislaw appealed to the Regent of France (the Duke of Orléans) and the Duke of Lorraine for help, with the Queen of Sweden acting as his mediator.

In 1718, with the support of the Duke of Lorraine, the family settled in Wissembourg, a place suggested by Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. They lived a modest life in a town house at the expense of the Regent of France. They could not pay the salary of their small retinue, and the jewels of the former Queen Catherine were reportedly held as security by a moneylender.

While her mother and grandmother reportedly suffered from a certain degree of bitterness over their exile and loss of position. Maria, however, possessed the gift of suffering in silence and of never wearying others with her troubles. It was said she developed a profound and intense piety which gave to her youthful mind the maturity of a woman who no longer demands happiness.

Maria was not described as a beauty. Instead, she was considered pleasant, well-educated, and graceful in manner and movement. In 1720, she was suggested as a bride to Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (who preferred to be known as the Duke of Bourbon), but his mother refused to give consent. Louis George, Margrave of Baden-Baden, as well as the 3rd Prince of Baden were suggested, but the negotiations fell through because of her insufficient dowry.

In 1723, the Duke of Bourbon became the Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV; he was highly dominated by his lover, Madame de Prie. That same year, the young king fell ill and, fearing the consequences of the king dying without an heir, the Duke suggested marrying Louis as soon as possible. Louis was already engaged to Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain, who had been brought to France some years earlier. However, the Infanta was still a child, and could not be expected to conceive for several years, while Louis was already 15. The engagement was broken, and Mariana Victoria was sent back to Spain. The Regent and his mistress began negotiations for the immediate marriage of Louis to Maria.

Maria was on a list of 99 eligible princesses to marry the King. She had been placed there initially because she was a Catholic princess and therefore fulfilled the minimum criteria. When the list was reduced from 99 to 17, she was removed for being too poor. However, when the list of 17 was reduced to 4, the preferred choices presented various problems. Anne and Amelia of Great Britain were the favoured ones, but the British match was prevented because of religious reasons. The last two were the Regent's sisters, Henriette-Louise and Thérèse-Alexandrine, whom the King refused. In these complicated disputes over the choice of wife, Maria eventually emerged as an acceptable choice mainly because she was politically uncontroversial. Reportedly, Madame de Prie had a flattering portrait painted of Maria, in which she was deliberately made to look like the King's favourite portrait of his mother. When he was shown it, he was impressed and exclaimed: she is the loveliest of them all!

The formal proposal was made on 2 April 1725. The announcement of the wedding was not well received as court, as Maria was thought to be of inferior status and, as such, not worthy of being Queen of France. There were rumours before the wedding that the bride was ugly, epileptic and sterile. On 6 May 1725, Maria was forced to undergo a medical examination, which ruled out epilepsy and gave reassuring reports about her menstruation and ability to procreate.

The marriage by proxy took place on 15 August 1725, in the Cathedral of Strasbourg. Upon her marriage, Maria's Polish name was modified into French as Marie; she made a good impression upon the public from the beginning.

Louis and Marie first met on the eve of their wedding, which took place on 5 September 1725, at the Château de Fontainebleau; Marie was 22 years old and Louis was 15. The young couple was reported to have fallen in love at first sight. Their relationship was initially described as an happy one, and for the first 8 years of the marriage, Louis XV was a faithful husband.

In August 1727, Marie gave birth to twins: Louise Élisabeth and Anne Henriette. The King was delighted, stating that after it had been said that he could not be a father, he had suddenly become the father of two. A year later, another daughter was born: Marie Louise; this time, the King was disappointed. The long-awaited Dauphin, Louis, was born on 4 September 1729, to the immense relief of the country. In all, Marie had 10 children: Louise Élisabeth, Anne Henriette, Marie Louise, Louis, Philippe, Marie Adélaïde, Victoire, Sophie-Philippine, Marie Thérèse, and Louise Marie. Her children all regarded her as a role model of virtue, particularly the daughters, though Marie herself was not known to show them much affection.

Louis XV eventually became a notorious womaniser. In 1733, he entered into his first infidelity, with Louise Julie de Mailly. Marie tried unsuccessfully to find out who the mistress was and did display her displeasure over the state of affairs; she eventually became resigned to it.
In 1737, after the difficult birth of Princess Louise Marie, Marie was advised not to get pregnant again, as it might end her life. From 1738, she refused Louis entrance to her bedroom. In parallel with this, Louise Julie de Mailly was officially recognised as the King's royal mistress, and the relationship between the King and Queen was discontinued in all but name. Louise Julie de Mailly was followed by Pauline Felicité de Mailly, Marie Anne de Mailly and Diane Adélaïde de Mailly (yes, they were all sisters).

Finally, Madame de Pompadour was presented at court in 1745. She was given such an important and influential position at court, that she somewhat eclipsed the Queen. Louis' lovers were often given positions in the court of Marie, which placed her in a difficult position. She regarded Louise Julie de Mailly as the most hurtful because she was the first one. She disliked Marie Anne de Mailly on a more personal level because Marie Anne was haughty and insolent. Marie had a cordial and friendly relationship with Madame de Pompadour, who always treated the Queen with deference and respect.

Queen Marie never managed to developed political influence. Her father advised her to always be loyal to the Duke of Bourbon, to whom she owed her marriage and position. She sought advice from Maria Vittoria of Savoy, Princess of Carignano; she advised that, as Queen of France, Marie's duty was not to involve herself in political intrigues and plots, but to act as an example of virtue and piety and a role model of a Catholic consort of the Most Christian King. Marie accepted the advice and followed it fot the rest of her life. Despite her lack of influence, Marie did have political views, and also some indirect political importance. For example, during the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1736), she supported her father's candidacy to the Polish throne.

Marie played some part as a cultural patron. She was the benefactor of the painter Jean-Marc Nattier; she also loved music and promoted many artists (she met young Mozart in 1764). Her major contribution to life at Versailles was the weekly Polish choral concerts.

Queen Marie maintained the role and reputation of simple and dignified Catholic queen. She was an example of Catholic piety and was famed for her generosity to the poor and needy, which made her very popular among the public.

Marie Leszczyńska, Queen of France, died on 24 June 1768, at the age of 65.

Marie Leszczyńska, Queen of France

Carle Van Loo

1747