Élisabeth Charlotte Gabrièle of Lorraine (21 October 1700 – 4 May 1711) was a Princess of Lorraine. She died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

aged 10. She was the Titular

Abbess of Remiremont Remiremont Abbey was an abbey that was founded as a house of nuns near Remiremont, Vosges, France. It later became a community of secular canonesses. History It was founded about 620 by Romaric (580–653), a lord at the court of Chlothar II, w ...

Biography

Élisabeth Charlotte Gabrièle de Lorraine was born at the Ducal Palace of Lorraine, in Nancy, the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine in which her father was the

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-prince of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kings, the Franks, List of ...

ing

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

. Her mother was a member of the House of Bourbon, then ruling the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

. She was the couple's first daughter and second child, an older brother had been born the previous year. Her father,

Leopold, Duke of Lorraine Leopold the Good (11 September 1679 – 27 March 1729) was Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1690 to his death. Through his son Francis Stephen, he is the direct male ancestor of all rulers of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, including all Emperors o ...

, had wanted her to become the Abbess of the prestigious abbey at

Remiremont Remiremont (; german: Romberg or ) is a town and commune in the Vosges department, northeastern France, situated in southern Grand Est. The town has been an abbatial centre since the 7th century, is an economic crossroads of the Moselle and Mos ...

, a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

near

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

. The abbey had been closely associated with the House of Lorraine, many of its abbesses being members of the Lorraine family. Her father pressed the then abbess, Dorothea Maria of Salm to press the Professors in

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, the historic

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in Paris. Louis XIV, her mother's uncle, instead imposed Élisabeth Charlotte as sovereign of the territory. Despite this, the professors did not reply before her death aged 10. The princess died of

at the

Château de Lunéville The Château de Lunéville, which had belonged to the Dukes of Lorraine since the thirteenth century, was rebuilt as “the Versailles of Lorraine” by Duke Léopold from 1703 to 1723, from designs of Pierre Bourdict and Nicolas Dorbay and then ...

("country residence" of the Dukes of Lorraine) having passed the illness to her other brother, the Hereditary Prince of Lorraine and their younger sister Marie Gabrièle Charlotte. The three children died within seven days of each other. She was buried in the Ducal Crypt at the Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers, Nancy,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Her younger brother Francis Stephen became the Holy Roman Emperor. Her youngest sister, Anne Charlotte, whom she never met, was later Abbess of Remiremont. At the time of her death, her mother was pregnant with a future

Queen of Sardinia This is a list of consorts of the Savoyard monarchs. Countess of Savoy, 1003–1416 Duchess of Savoy, 1416–1713 ;As courtesy title Queen of Sardinia, 1720–1861 Between 1859 and 1861 the Kingdom of Sardinia incorporated the majo ...

Ancestry

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorraine, Princess Elisabeth Charlotte Of 1700 births 1711 deaths Deaths from smallpox 18th-century French women Nobility from Nancy, France Abbesses of Remiremont Elisabeth Charlotte Royalty who died as children