Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy-Carignano was born in Turin on September 8, 1749, into a family steeped in European royalty. She was the daughter of Louis Victor of Carignano and Landgravine Christine of Hesse-Rotenburg, and her childhood was one of privilege and learning. She spoke several languages, read widely in Italian poetry and the works of Machiavelli and Dante, and built an extensive personal library. She was described as having a pretty face with luxurious blonde hair that, when loosened, flowed down to her feet.
Her family’s wealth and education placed her in excellent standing for a prestigious marriage. In 1767, the Duke of Ponthièvre asked King Louis XV to help him find a suitable wife for his son, the Prince de Lamballe. The king suggested the Princess of Savoy. A portrait was shown to the prince, and at just seventeen years old, her fate was sealed.
She arrived in France on January 30 and was met by an inquisitive-looking young man carrying a bouquet of flowers. At first confused, she soon realized this was her future husband. They were married that same day in the chapel of the Château de Nangis. The marriage was short-lived.
The princess showed her husband affection, and the two initially seemed content, but the court of Versailles was notorious for its scandals, and it was not long before she found herself at the center of one. The Prince de Lamballe engaged in adulterous affairs with two actresses, and Marie was devastated by his betrayal. Her father-in-law consoled her, but a year into the marriage she faced even greater grief. In 1768, her husband died of a venereal disease before reaching the age of twenty-one.
She had found it in herself to forgive his transgressions, caring for him tenderly until his death. She then moved permanently to Rambouillet, near Versailles, where her father-in-law had his seat as the Duke of Ponthièvre. The duke treated her as his own daughter and recommended she take a vow of chastity and become a nun. Though she never entered a convent, she chose to remain faithful to her husband for the rest of her life.
After inheriting her husband’s wealth, she joined her father-in-law in his many charitable works. The duke became known as the King of the Poor, and Marie de Lamballe earned the nickname the Angel of Ponthièvre. In 1770, the Dauphin Louis married Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Empress of Austria. Louis ascended to the throne four years later as King Louis XVI.
Over time, the relationship between Marie Antoinette and the Princess de Lamballe began to blossom. The queen found a confidante in the princess, and in 1775 Marie de Lamballe was proclaimed superintendent of the queen’s household. She accompanied the queen on excursions and to parties. The Duke of Ponthièvre also began hosting international royalty, including the crown prince of Sweden and the king of Denmark, with the princess acting as hostess.
The court of Versailles was home to lavish balls and extravagant entertainments, a lifestyle that had once nearly bankrupted the state under Louis XIV. France’s financial situation was severe, and Louis XVI hired Anne Robert Jacques Turgot to take control of the nation’s finances. Turgot wrote to the king declaring he wanted no bankruptcy, no increase in taxes, and no borrowing. He was pro-monarchy, but only so long as the monarchy worked on behalf of the people.
As new laws came into effect, the king needed to bring the estates of Brittany into stricter compliance, as the region had operated as a largely autonomous state. He called upon the Duke of Ponthièvre as a reliable diplomat to quell any backlash. The princess accompanied her father-in-law to Rennes on December 17, 1774. Their venture into the region was a success, and she won the hearts of the local population.
She had been gone from court for two months, and the queen eagerly anticipated her return. The queen even had her portrait painted on glass and placed in the room where she spent most of her time. Yet amid this life of courtly favor, the princess’s interests began to wander. Parisians had long been captivated by the supernatural.
The Count of Saint-Germain claimed to have lived for centuries and to have met Jesus Christ. Others studied animal magnetism and demonology. The Princess de Lamballe was intrigued by such things. She corresponded with the cartomancer Madame Lenormand and an astrologer of Welsh ancestry named Mrs.
Williams. In 1777 she became a member of a Masonic lodge and rose to become one of its most prestigious members. In 1781 she became the grand mistress of a lodge of adoption. In 1775, a mass revolt broke out.
The harvest had yielded very little grain, and the country found itself in a food shortage. People blamed the monarchy, claiming the reserves were being held back. Riots broke out. Looters were everywhere, and farmers were forced to sell their grain at much lower prices.
Throughout April and May the rioters caused chaos in what became known as the Flour War. Tragedy struck the princess again in 1778, when she lost both of her parents. By 1785, the population of France had grown increasingly hostile toward the throne and the lavish lifestyle of the royal family while much of the country suffered extreme poverty. Marie Antoinette became a public hate figure.
The years from 1786 to 1789 were free of personal tragedy for the princess. In a letter written by Horace Walpole, it is recorded that she visited England in mid-1787. The situation in France, however, was not improving. The king became more interested in his personal collections than in governing, and the queen spent large sums on diamonds and luxury goods while owing money in unpaid gambling debts.
On May 5, 1789, Louis XVI assembled the Estates General at Versailles for the first time since 1614. He called the meeting to introduce a new tax law that would impose a higher tax rate on landowners and wealthy nobles. The middle class, including lawyers and teachers, called for a constitution. The king was outraged.
He believed the monarchy should maintain absolute power with no set of rules or government to limit it. On June 20, 1789, those attending formed an oath at a nearby tennis court, declaring they would not go home until the king agreed to a constitution. On June 27 they formed their own parliament, which they called the National Assembly. Some nobles and clergymen joined them.
The king was angered but gave in. Bread prices remained high and people were still going hungry. The king refused to accept the National Assembly and even sacked a minister known to be working on behalf of the poor. Outraged, thousands of residents gathered in protest and stormed the fortress of the Bastille.
The king’s men did nothing to stop them. The governor of the Bastille handed over the keys to the protesters, but it was too late to earn their sympathy. He was a man who had helped lock up hundreds of prisoners who had spoken out against the king. In a rage, the mob beheaded him.
For the first time, the peasants of France had revolted against the absolute power of the king and won. Spurred on by their victory, the protests grew in ferocity. Louis knew he had lost Paris. In October, the royal family was taken to the palace at the Tuileries, where the people could keep an eye on the king.
Still defiant, the king and his family tried to escape France. The plan was to reach Austria and seek help from Marie Antoinette’s brother, the Emperor of Austria. In June 1791 they made the attempt but were stopped at Varennes and brought back to Paris in their carriage. In 1791, the Princess de Lamballe had managed to avoid capture and traveled to England once again, visiting Blenheim, Oxford, and Bath.
This time it appears she was on a quest for protection. Marie Antoinette had already sent messages asking for assistance, but the princess arrived in person to ensure the severity of the situation was heard. The Queen of England received her with affection, but when she asked King George III for assistance, he refused, telling her the French royal family had brought about their own misfortunes. The King of France wrote to the princess telling her not to return, as things had become too dreadful.
She wrote back saying the queen needed her, and that she must live or die at her side. She wrote her will at Aix-la-Chapelle, even including her beloved dogs, and returned to France. Marie Antoinette had held secret meetings with royalist sympathizers in the National Assembly. The Princess de Lamballe, known as the queen’s confidante, was also suspected by the people of sympathizing with the Austrians.
On August 10, 1792, the monarchy was officially overthrown, and the princess was imprisoned in the Temple prison alongside Marie Antoinette. She was then transferred to La Force prison on August 19. There she was ordered to take an oath denouncing the monarchy and her best friend as Queen of France. She refused.
On September 3, she met her brutal punishment. After a short trial, she was dragged outside the prison and struck numerous times with weapons wielded by the angry mob that awaited her. She fell to her knees after being hit in the head and eye. Her blood gushed over her dress.
She was struck again over the head and knocked unconscious. The mob stripped her body and mutilated her until she was no longer recognizable. Her head was cut off and stuck on a pike, which the mob paraded in front of Marie Antoinette’s cell. Her charitable and kind works counted for nothing.
She was a friend to the monarchy, and the mob treated her no differently. She was forty-two years old at the time of her death.