We all know who Marie Antoinette was, the guillotined queen of France after the French Revolution, and her husband, King Louis XVI. In Supercurious we have already told you about how the last days were and the death of Marie Antoinette, devoid of fear. However, in her last letter, she showed her regret for leaving her children, María Teresa and Luis Carlos, the child who, when her father died, became Luis XVII. She only asked the court that was going to try her, not to make her suffer too much. Marie Antoinette had suffered a previous ordeal with the death of two of her children; first, that of the eldest of the men and, secondly, that of the apple of her eye. Today we tell you about the short life and tragic death of Sofia from France. Can you come with us? Well, let’s get started!
Who was Sofia of France?
Marie Antoinette married Louis XVI when she was 14 years old, he was 15. From the first moment things were not easy for them as a couple. The Queen rejected her husband in her privacy, and he made no effort to get her.
Therefore, it was not until seven years after the wedding, when the marriage was finally consummated in the carnal field. Despite this, the fertility of Marie Antoinette was not long in coming. Together, they fathered four children, most of whom met with rather grim fates.
Marie Antoinette’s children were Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, Louis Joseph Xavier François, Louis Charles, and Sophie-Hélène-Béatrix. Of them, only the eldest daughter, María Teresa, would manage to survive the turbulent years of the French Revolution. But today we want to focus on the life of Sofía de Francia, and especially on her death, which left her parents plunged into a sadness from which they would never fully recover.
Sophie Hélène Beatrix of France was born in versailles on July 9, 1786. It was a real surprise for her parents, since Marie Antoinette thought that she would not have any more children. In fact, at first it was believed that the withdrawal of the menstruation it was due to suffering from the constant attacks he suffered after the well-known necklace scam, which greatly damaged the popularity of the queen.
Although at first she did not receive the news of the pregnancy happy, the birth of the girl filled her parents with happiness and Marie Antoinette repeated the phrase she had already said with her first daughter, Maria Teresa: “My children belong to France, but my daughters are mine.” Sofia from France came into the world successfully and in good health. She was a large baby who seemed to do well. Nevertheless, When he was a few days away from turning one year old, he passed away. The death left the entire family plunged into an unexpected and devastating mourning. But what happened to the girl?
Why did little Infanta Sophie die?
It was June 19, 1787 when Sofia of France left the earthly plane, less than a month before completing its first year of life. Now, what could have happened for a baby that was growing in an apparently very healthy state to die in such an unexpected way? Well, there were several hypotheses that were woven around this sudden death.
Some contemporary reports affirmed that the little infanta died of tuberculosis and the hypothesis of a cranial malformation was also considered. or a delicate health that led to her death. However, the court lady in charge of the royal children, Madame la Duchesse de Tourzel, wrote in her memoirs that she was not like that. That the girl was growing normally and was not afflicted with any disease at the time she died.
I narrate the facts in a very clear way. He said that they went for a ride in a carriage and that Sofia from France simply died on the way, asleep, without presenting any crisis. In fact, they returned to the Palace of Versailles already with the deceased girl. They took her to her room and between tears and laments the governesses commented that they did not know how to tell her mother who nicknamed her “mon fol amour” (“my crazy love”). For modern medical science, that tragedy could respond to the horrifying scenario of a sudden death.
At that moment they saw Marie Antoinette advancing down the corridor, upset, towards the children’s rooms. She had had a bad feeling. When she saw all the ladies and governesses crying in the girl’s room, Marie Antoinette understood what was happening and fainted. The in the Saint-Denis basilica.
The Marie Antoinette drama had only begun. She fell into a deep depression and in a letter to Madame Tourzel she wrote: “If I hadn’t had my other beloved children, I would have liked to die.” The death of the girl also deeply affected another person in the royal family: Madame Élisabeth, the sister of Louis XVI, who remained with the kings until the end and perished in the guillotine like them.
And you, had you heard about the story of Sofia from France? Did you know the drama of Marie Antoinette as her mother? Did you know that he not only lost her, but also had to go through the death of his son Louis Joseph Xavier François, when he was only ten years old? If you are interested in learning more about the tragic fates of these little ones, do not miss the article in which we tell you the stories of the children of Marie Antoinette. Also don’t stop reading Marie Antoinette quotes.