Marie Therese Charlotte of France

Marie Thérèse Charlotte of France was the eldest child and only surviving daughter of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. She was born on 19 December 1778 at the Palace of Versailles and was given the title of Madame Royale as the king's eldest daughter. She was raised in a privileged environment and received a good education. She was close to her parents and her younger brother, Louis Joseph, who died in 1789. During the French Revolution, Marie Thérèse witnessed the storming of the Tuileries Palace and the imprisonment of her family in the Temple. She was separated from her parents in 1793, after they were executed by guillotine. She remained in captivity until 1795, when she was exchanged for prominent French prisoners held by Austria. She then lived in exile with her uncle, Charles X, and his family in various European countries. In 1799, she married her cousin, Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, the eldest son of Charles X. The couple had no children and their marriage was reportedly unhappy. Marie Thérèse was loyal to her uncle and supported his claim to the French throne. She became Dauphine of France in 1824, when Charles X succeeded his brother, Louis XVIII. She was briefly Queen of France in 1830, after Charles X abdicated in favor of her husband during the July Revolution. However, her husband also abdicated a few minutes later and they both left France for England. Marie Thérèse spent the rest of her life in exile, mostly in Scotland and Austria. She was known for her piety, courage and loyalty to the royalist cause. She wrote her memoirs of the French Revolution, which were published posthumously. She died on 19 October 1851 at Frohsdorf Palace in Austria, at the age of 72. She was buried at Kostanjevica Monastery in Slovenia, where her husband's remains were also transferred later.