Marie Louise D’Orléans Was One Of History’s Saddest Queens

Marie Louise D’Orléans Was History’s Saddest Queen
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Sad And Suspicious Facts About Marie Louise d'Orléans, The Childless Queen Of Spain
Mar 9
PEOPLE
Brendan Da Costa
She Had A Childless Marriage—And A Suspicious End
Marie Louise d'Orléans was the  petite-fille de France  who went on to become the Queen consort of Spain. But, without producing an heir, her new Spanish home was far from welcoming. She downed her sorrows in sweets—then fell fatally and curiously ill, just like her mother. Louis Ferdinand Elle the Elder, Wikimedia Commons
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1. She Came From Powerful Blood
Marie Louise d’Orléans graced the French court with her birth on March 26, 1662, inside the elegant Palais Royal. As the eldest daughter of  Philippe I of Orléans  and  Princess Henrietta of England , she belonged to Europe’s most elite bloodlines. But her lineage came with baggage.
Workshop of Jean Nocret, Wikimedia Commons
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2. Her Parents Were Close—Too Close
Marie Louise’s lineage was as royal as it got—though, perhaps, too royal. Even at a time when royal inbreeding barely shocked anyone, her family tree was terrifyingly intertwined. Philippe’s father and Henrietta’s mother had been siblings, making Marie Louise the child of first cousins. She would never truly escape the consequences of a tainted bloodline.
Antoine Mathieu, Wikimedia Commons
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3. She Was The Little Mademoiselle
As  Louis XIII’s  granddaughter, Marie Louise earned the lofty title “Her Royal Highness Petite-fille de France”—a mark of immense royal prestige. Yet, the French court was simply home to Marie Louise, and she kept things informal, going instead by the honorific  Mademoiselle d’Orléans . Comfy as her childhood was, it wasn’t without hardship.
Workshop of Jean Nocret, Wikimedia Commons
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4. She Lost A Brother
Marie Louise’s childhood included both laughter and loss. Her younger brother Philippe Charles never lived to see his third birthday, leaving her as her parents’ only surviving child. Fortunately, a sister, Anne Marie, arrived in 1669. That little sister would one day thrive as the Queen of Sardinia through marriage.
Marie Louise, however, wouldn’t be so lucky.
Jean Nocret, Wikimedia Commons
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5. She Became Her Father’s Favorite
It seemed that Marie Louise had qualities that won her father’s absolute affection. Philippe I utterly adored her and made it no secret that she was his favorite child. Sadly, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the love and protection of her father forever.
Pierre Mignard I, Wikimedia Commons
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6. She Enjoyed A Golden Childhood
Marie Louise’s childhood years had none of the suffering she would later endure. Drifting between the bustling Palais Royal and the idyllic château de Saint-Cloud, she grew up surrounded by gardens, roomfuls of attendants, and a loving extended family. But joy rarely lasted long in the Orléans family.
Sebastián Muñoz (1650-1690), Wikimedia Commons
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7. She Delighted Her Dot­ing Grandmother
Between her father and her paternal grandmother,  Anne of Austria , Marie Louise wanted for nothing. In her youth, she spent countless hours with her grandmother. One source said Anne “doted on her and left the bulk of her fortune to her”. Losing Anne in 1666 shattered the young princess.
Fortunately, she had other grandparents.
After Peter Paul Rubens, Wikimedia Commons
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8. She Had Another Royal Granny
Anne of Austria wasn’t Marie Louise’s only loving grandmother. The young  petite-fille de France  visited her maternal grandmother, the exiled Queen Henrietta Maria, often. But it was a more somber affair, as Henrietta Maria's husband, the late Charles I, had lost his head—literally. Tragedy had a way of haunting her family.
Workshop of Anthony van Dyck / Possibly Anthony van Dyck, Wikimedia Commons
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9. Her Mother Fell Mysteriously Ill
True tragedy struck in 1670 when the doe-eyed eight-year-old Marie Louise witnessed her mother, Henrietta, fall dangerously ill. Within hours, her mother had perished. The body wasn’t even cold before whispers of poisoning spread through the court. Modern historians have since concluded that the illness was likely the result of a ruptured ulcer.
But the rumors persisted—and would come back to haunt Marie Louise herself.
Peter Lely, Wikimedia Commons
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10. Her Remarried In A Heartbeat
Only a year after Marie Louise lost her mother, she prepared herself to welcome a replacement when her father remarried. Her new stepmother was Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate—better known as Liselotte. Thankfully, this was no “Cinderella” situation. In fact, it was just the opposite.
After Pierre Mignard I, Wikimedia Commons
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11. She Gained A True Ally
Unlike the wicked stepmothers in fairy tales, Liselotte wasn’t out to torment Marie Louise. Instead, she embraced Marie Louise and her younger sister, Anne Marie, with warmth and humor, forming a sincere bond with both girls. They found comfort in her—just as everything else began slipping away.
Studio of Hyacinthe Rigaud, Wikimedia Commons
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12. She Trusted Liselotte Deeply
For Marie Louise, who had lost so many maternal figures in her life, Liselotte stepped seamlessly into the role of mother. She guided Marie Louise, soothed her, and later kept up long, heartfelt correspondence through her troubles in Spain. Troubles that were about to begin.
After Hyacinthe Rigaud, Wikimedia Commons
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13. She Became A Diplomatic Pawn
In 1678, Marie Louise’s uncle, King Louis XIV, signed a treaty with Spain. But the tenuous peace between the two kingdoms needed some reassurances—namely, Marie Louise. To solidify the Treaties of Nijmegen, King Louis XIV agreed to marry Marie Louise off to Spain’s troubled young king, Charles II.
At just 16, her fate was sealed.
Juan Carreño de Miranda, Wikimedia Commons
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14. She Learned Her Fate
In July 1679, Marie Louise’s father and uncle, Philippe I and Louis XIV, summoned her to deliver the news. Whether she wanted to or not, she would marry Charles II, King of Spain. In that moment, she knew that her life would change. Suffice to say, she didn’t take the news particularly well.
Hyacinthe Rigaud, Wikimedia Commons
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15. She Broke Down Completely
When her betrothal became official, Marie Louise didn’t hide her feelings. She was “distressed by the arranged marriage” and, according to witnesses, “spent most of her time weeping”. But the real bad news wasn’t that she was a political pawn—it was that her heart belonged to someone else.
Pierre Mignard I, Wikimedia Commons
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16. She Loved The Wrong Man
Marie Louise wasn’t just crying over having to marry the King of Spain. She was crying because her heart was broken. Ever since she was a child (or, a younger child), she had grown up alongside her cousin, Louis, the Grand Dauphin. And everyone knew; they were in love. Her uncle, the King of France, didn’t seem to care.
After François de Troy, Wikimedia Commons
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17. She Begged For A Different Husband
Desperate not to marry Charles II, Marie Louise confronted King Louis XIV himself. His respo…

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