French Royalty. She was the oldest of the surviving children of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France, and his wife Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, a legitimized daughter of Louis XIV of France. She was given the honorary title of Mademoiselle d'Orleans at birth. In July 1710, at the age of 15, she married Charles, Duke of Berry. This union produced three children, all of whom died in infancy. Following the death of her husband from a hunting accident in May 1714, she took up residence at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, where she soon became a "merry widow", throwing lavish parties and going out in public, in spite of being officially in mourning. During the course of the next two years, she became pregnant three times, miscarrying one child and then delivering a baby girl for her last. She never fully recovered from the gruesome ordeal of her final childbirth, after which she took up residence at the Château de la Muette, where she died at the age of 23. She was interred in the Basilica of Saint-Denis and her heart was taken to the Val-de-Grace for entombment.
French Royalty. She was the oldest of the surviving children of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France, and his wife Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, a legitimized daughter of Louis XIV of France. She was given the honorary title of Mademoiselle d'Orleans at birth. In July 1710, at the age of 15, she married Charles, Duke of Berry. This union produced three children, all of whom died in infancy. Following the death of her husband from a hunting accident in May 1714, she took up residence at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, where she soon became a "merry widow", throwing lavish parties and going out in public, in spite of being officially in mourning. During the course of the next two years, she became pregnant three times, miscarrying one child and then delivering a baby girl for her last. She never fully recovered from the gruesome ordeal of her final childbirth, after which she took up residence at the Château de la Muette, where she died at the age of 23. She was interred in the Basilica of Saint-Denis and her heart was taken to the Val-de-Grace for entombment.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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