Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans

Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans
Élisabeth Charlotte as Venus about to bind the wings of Cupid by Pierre Gobert
Duchess of Lorraine
Tenure	13 October 1698 – 27 March 1729
Princess of Commercy
Tenure	1737 - 23 December 1744
Born	13 September 1676 Château de Saint Cloud,France
Died	23 December 1744(1744-12-23)(aged 68) Château de Commercy,France
Burial	Église Saint-François-des-Cordeliers,Nancy,France
Spouse	Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
Issue	Léopold, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine Louis, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine Léopold Clément, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor Elisabeth Therese, Queen of Sardinia Prince Charles Alexander Anne Charlotte, Abbess of Essen
Full name Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans
Father	Philippe of France
Mother	Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Signature

Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans(13 September 1676 – 23 December 1744) was a niece ofLouis XIVand wife ofLeopold, Duke of Lorraine.She was laterregentofLorraine.As a widow she was created Princess ofCommercy.Among her children wasFrancis I, Holy Roman Emperor,father ofMarie Antoinette.She also had much input in the construction of theChâteau de Lunéville.She also introduced the future architect "Germain Boffrand" to the royal courts in 1711.

Family

Élisabeth Charlotte was born at theChâteau de Saint-Cloudthe daughter ofPhilippe, Duke of Orléansand of his second wife,Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate.Her father was the only sibling of KingLouis XIV of France.

She was entitled to have the style ofHer Royal Highness.At birth, she was given the honorary styleMademoiselle de Chartres.After the marriage of her two older half-sisters,Marie LouiseandAnne Marieborn of the first marriage of their father toHenrietta of England,she was known asMadame Royale,according to her status as the highest-ranking unmarried princess in France.

Marriage

There were plans for her to marryJoseph Clemens of Bavaria(Élisabeth Charlotte herself refused),William III of England,Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I,Joseph was suggested byPope Innocent XIIhimself, as well as her widowed first cousinLouis, Grand Dauphin.Another wasLouis Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine,eldest son of Louis XIV andMadame de Montespan.

Élisabeth Charlotte was finally married on 13 October 1698 at thePalace of FontainebleautoLeopold, Duke of Lorraine,son ofCharles V, Duke of Lorraine,and of the ArchduchessEleonora of Austria.The marriage was the result of theTreaty of Ryswick,one of its conditions being that theDuchy of Lorraine,which had been for many years in the possession of France, be restored to Leopold, a son ofCharles V, Duke of Lorraine.Thus, Élisabeth Charlotte was but an instrument to cement the peace treaty. TheHouse of Lorrainereceived adowryof 900,000Livres.

To everyone surprise, what had been expected to be an unhappy union turned out to be a marriage of love and happiness. With the birth of her children, Élisabeth Charlotte showed great maternal instinct and a naturally caring character. The marriage produced thirteen children, of which five survived into adulthood. Three of them died within a week in May 1711 due to a smallpox outbreak at theChâteau de Lunéville,the country seat of the Duke's of Lorraine.

Regent of Lorraine

Her husband died in 1729, leaving his wife Regent of Lorraine for their son,Francis Stephen of Lorraine.After being educated inVienna,Francis Stephen returned to Lorraine in 1737, ending his mother's tenure as regent.

Élisabeth Charlotte tried to engage her youngest child Anne Charlotte to KingLouis XV;this project failed due to the intrigues ofDuke of Bourbon;Élisabeth Charlotte then tried to arrange the marriage of Anne Charlotte to her first cousinLouis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans,who had been recently widowed; Louis d'Orléans refused.

Later years

Unable to prevent her son from giving up the duchy of Lorraine toStanisław Leszczyńskiwhen he married theHabsburgheiress,Maria Theresa of Austria,Élisabeth Charlotte moved into theChâteau d’Harouéin nearbyCommercy,which was turned into a sovereign principality for her to enjoy during herdowageryears.

Élisabeth Charlotte died of astroke,on 23 December 1744, one week after her daughter-in-law and grandchild, at the age of sixty-eight. She was the last of her siblings to die and had outlived ten of her thirteen children. Nine months after her death, her son Francis Stephen becameHoly Roman Emperor.

She was buried in the funerary chapel of the Dukes of Lorraine in theSaint-François-des-Cordelierschurch inNancy.

Issue

The family of Léopold I of Lorraine in circa 1710 attributed to Jacques Van Schuppen.

1. Léopold, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine (26 August 1699 – 2 April 1700) died in infancy.
2. Princess Élisabeth Charlotte of Lorraine (21 October 1700 – 4 May 1711) died of smallpox.
3. Princess Louise Christine of Lorraine (13 November 1701 – 18 November 1701) died in infancy.
4. Princess Marie Gabrièle Charlotte of Lorraine (30 December 1702 – 11 May 1711) died ofsmallpox.
5. Louis, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine (28 January 1704 – 10 May 1711) died of smallpox.
6. Princess Joséphine Gabrièle of Lorraine (16 February 1705 – 25 March 1708) died in infancy.
7. Princess Gabrièle Louise of Lorraine (4 March 1706 – 13 June 1710) died in infancy.
8. Léopold Clément,Hereditary Princeof Lorraine (25 April 1707 – 4 June 1723) died unmarried.
9. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor(8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) marriedMaria Theresa of Austriaand had issue.
10. Eléonore of Lorraine (4 June 1710 – 28 July 1710) died in infancy.
11. PrincessElisabeth Therese of Lorraine(15 October 1711 – 3 July 1741) married KingCharles Emmanuel III of Sardiniaand had issue.
12. PrinceCharles Alexandre of Lorraine(12 December 1712 – 4 July 1780) marriedArchduchess Maria Anna of Austriaand had issue.
13. PrincessAnne Charlotte of Lorraine(17 May 1714 - 7 November 1773) died unmarried.
14. Stillborn daughter (28 November 1718).

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 13 September 1676 – 10 April 1684Her Royal HighnessMademoiselle de Chartres [Granddaughter of France]
• 10 April 1684 – 13 October 1698Her Royal HighnessMademoiselle
• 13 October 1698 – 27 March 1729Her Royal HighnessThe Duchess of Lorraine
• 27 March 1729 – 14 March 1737Her Royal HighnessThe Dowager Duchess of Lorraine
• 14 March 1737 – 23 December 1744Her Royal HighnessThe Dowager Duchess of Lorraine, Princess of Commercy

Namesakes

1. Élisabeth Charlotte de Beauvau (1705–1754) daughter of thePrince of Craonwho was close to the ruling family of Lorraine.
2. Élisabeth Charlotte of Lorraine (1700 –1711) her second child who died young.

Other websites

Media related toÉlisabeth Charlotte d'Orléansat Wikimedia Commons