There is this very mysterious story surrounding Marie-Thérèse de France (alias Madame Royale), the first child of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.
Is the woman who married Louis-Antoine, Louis XVI's nephew, actually Madame Royale? Or was she replaced by someone else?
I started to get very interested after reading this book:
It is said that Marie-Thérèse was truly and absolutely traumatized by the Revolution, her solitary time in the Temple (the now destroyed place where the royal family was together, for the last time) after all her direct relatives were taken away and executed, and her young brother died because of ill-treatment, neglect and solitude. She didn't want to marry her Austrian cousin, the emperor, considering him as someone who had never done anything to save her parents. He was an enemy to France, the country that hurt her so much but that she still considered her own.
So to find again some peace of mind, did she really exchange her place with someone else who looked like her enough.?
The question is worthy to be asked: for several years, at the beginning of the 19th century, a mysterious lady, always veiled by a black fabric, travelled through Europe, accompanied by a man, Vavel von Versay, while receiving the protection of important people. She was even protected by Marie-Antoinette's childhood friend's descendant. After years of moving from place to place, she and he finally settled in the castle of Eishausen:
Servants couldn't see her face: it was completely forbidden. This rule had to be strictly respected, otherwise, the servants were fired (it happened several times). Nearly no one saw her face.
However, a few caught sight of her features, and perceived a beautiful woman, with probably a very fair complexion and big blue eyes, like the Queen of France's.
The lady never got out by herself, and only daily strolled through the park and the near forest of the castle. Her life was very enigmatic. Moreover, she received lot of fashionable dresses (Parisian fahion), was treated with utter respect by Vavel who got letters, only for himself. She ate good food, she lived in a relative luxury. Not a gaudy one, but one which could arise questions within the small group of servants. How could she afford all of this? Questions were simply not allowed; Vavel made everything in his power to ensure her safety and tranquillity.
It was also said that she cried at night, and her sobs were heard through the walls. What pained her so much? Why did she seclude herself this way? The "count" Vavel asserted she was never isolated against her will. We can conclude she had looked for this solitude herself.
One time when Vavel got seriously sick, the countess ran towards the cook for some help. Her veil was lifted and her face, visible. This new situation completely astonished the cook, who didn't quite understand what was happening. The only thing she could say was that the mysterious lady was beautiful, she was crying at the thought of losing her only companion and direct protector. Vavel had the cook promise to look after the lady, which she agreed to, but he recovered and he outlived the countess.
She died in 1837, after a long illness and didn't receive religious observations. The count had her buried in a part of the forest that she used to enjoy very much.
He never told who she was exactly, finally answering "Sophie Botta, originated from Westphalie, 58 years of age, single woman". As a result, they were not a couple. No birth certificate could be found in the registers of the region about this woman of such name and age.
The only things people assured were: 1) the few people who eventually saw her face, before she was buried, swore she totally looked like Marie-Antoinette when they saw the queen's portraits some time after. 2) Her age matched the year 1778 as her birth year. 3) Marie-Antoinette's second daughter's name was Sophie.
Marie-Thérèse Charlotte of France was born in December, 19th, 1778.
Beneath that black veil, was Madame Royale concealing herself after being released from the Temple? Did she feel so unhappy that she needed to run away from a royal existence?
The doubt is allowed, yet, people's refusal to believe in such a "romanesque" speculation is pretty valid, in my opinion.
People were kind of put off by the Duchess of Angoulême, officially Louis XVI's daughter (this was her new title after marrying the Duke Louis-Antoine of Angoulême, her cousin). She behaved in a cold, rude way, seemed to have forgotten things she had been firmly taught as a child and early teen. She spoke in a harsh tone, lacked grace and seemed dismissive. Furthermore, some said she didn't look like her mother.
So many people started to doubt her identity.
However, what they don't understand is how horrible and cruel her teenagehood had been.
How would people feel like if they had to undergo jail time, (from age 14 to 17), nearly one year all alone, under the protection of people who hated their family, see all their relatives die one by one, and have to rely on themselves after living in a castle, surrounded by a court and servant? She felt so alone and abandoned at that time that she said she would love anyone, if they were not monsters. She seriously lacked support and affection for several years after her family's death.
So I can't think we can doubt that such a situation could trigger big psychological trauma and damages. It is no wonder that the Duchess of Angoulême became a "cold" woman filled with sadness and a certain bitterness. She was born to be happy but her life completely and brutally changed. Not a lot of people could live with lightness and complete happiness after such events. Furthermore, as a child, she was said to have been quite serious and a bit haughty, from time to time. Maybe had the Revolution and the execution of her family accentuated these traits in her.
She needed to build a carapace in order to protect herself and to keep living, otherwise, she'd fall into despair.
The official Duchess of Angoulême died in 1851, nearly reaching the 100th anniversary year of her father and mother's birth year.
In this site, you can hear more about this story, and how people try to solve this mystery:
Do people think that these two women don't look alike? I do see some resemblance but I also understand people saying she looked like Louis XVI more. What I find both touching and a bit scaring was the mysterious lady's remains were tugged out of her tomb on the anniversary of Marie-Antoinette's death (October, 16th).
The results of her identity research will be given this year, and a film is in preparation. Maybe will this case which has haunted a plethora of historians for 200 years, be solved and concluded.
She wrote this when she was the young teen in the Temple, after her parents' death:
Here is a video about the film made for this strange story:
She wrote this when she was the young teen in the Temple, after her parents' death:
“J'entrevois une vie
paisible dans la campage. Je ferme les yeux et je rêve que ma vie
s'écoule dans un château solitaire, entourée de personnes fidèles
qui m'aiment comme je les aime; où je promène dans un jardin
tranquille en nourrissant mes bêtes, comme jadis à Trianon. Et les
gens que je rencontre ne se doutent pas qui je suis!”
“I perceive a
peaceful life in the countryside. I close my eyes and I dream that I
spend my life in a solitary castle, surrounded by loyal people who
love me as I love them; where I stroll in a tranquil garden, feeding
my animals, as I used to, at Trianon. And the people I meet don't
doubt who I am!”
http://www.presseportal.de/pm/7880/2791830/-die-dunkelgraefin-von-hildburghausen-video
