, title =
Countess of Provence
, image = Portrait de Marie-Joséphine-Louise de Savoie, comtesse de Provence (1786)1.jpg
, caption = Portrait by
Joseph Boze, 1786
, birth_date =
, birth_place =
Royal Palace of Turin
The Royal Palace of Turin ( it, Palazzo Reale di Torino) is a historic palace of the House of Savoy in the city of Turin in Northern Italy. It was originally built in the 16th century and was later modernized by Christine Marie of France (1606– ...
,
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...
, death_date =
, death_place =
Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire, England
, spouse =
, house =
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
...
, father =
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amadeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia from 1773 to his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until he declared war on Revolut ...
, mother =
Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain
, burial_place =
, religion =
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, signature = Signature of the Countess of Provence at the baptism of her nephew the Duke of Berry.jpg
, module =

Marie Joséphine of Savoy ( it, Maria Giuseppina Luigia; 2 September 1753 – 13 November 1810) was a princess of France and countess of Provence by marriage to the future King
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...
. She was regarded by Bourbon Royalist Legitimists as the titular
queen of France' when her husband assumed the title of king in 1795 upon the death of his nephew, the titular King
Louis XVII of France, until her death. She was never practically queen, as she died before her husband actually became king in 1814.
Early life and marriage (1753–1773)

Marie Joséphine was born at the
Royal Palace of Turin
The Royal Palace of Turin ( it, Palazzo Reale di Torino) is a historic palace of the House of Savoy in the city of Turin in Northern Italy. It was originally built in the 16th century and was later modernized by Christine Marie of France (1606– ...
on 2 September 1753 as the third child and second daughter of
Prince Victor Amadeus of Savoy and
Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. At the time of her birth, her paternal grandfather,
Charles Emmanuel III, was the
King of Sardinia
The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861.
Early history
Owing to the absence of written sources, litt ...
, thus her parents were styled
Duke and Duchess of Savoy.
Her brothers included the last three kings of Sardinia from the senior line of the
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
: the future
Charles Emmanuel IV
Charles Emmanuel IV (Carlo Emanuele Ferdinando Maria; 24 May 1751 – 6 October 1819) was King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802. He abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I.
Biography
Carlo Emanuele Ferdinando Maria di Savoia was b ...
,
Victor Emmanuel I, and
Charles Felix.
Marriage
Marie Joséphine was engaged to the French prince
Louis Stanislas, the Count of Provence. Her aunts,
Maria Luisa of Savoy
Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (17 September 1688 – 14 February 1714), nicknamed ''La Savoyana'', was Queen of Spain by marriage to Philip V. She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influence as ...
and
Eleonora of Savoy, were once proposed as brides for Louis Stanislas's father
Louis.
Marie Joséphine was by view of rank and connections deemed very suitable for a marriage to a French prince, and she had been regarded as a suitable bride of the
dauphin prior to his marriage in 1770.
[Sandars, Mary Frances. ]
Louis XVIII
' (Kelly - University of Toronto, 1910). The marriage was supported by
Madame du Barry
Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last '' maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly be ...
, who wished to create an ally within the royal family and who the king allowed to form the household of the new princess with her allies, notably the Duchess de Valentinois as the principal lady-in-waiting.
Marie Joséphine was married on 16 April 1771
by proxy in the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
,
then again in person on 14 May 1771 at the
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
. The wedding ceremony by proxy, followed by a
bedding ceremony and a banquet, was held at the Savoyard royal court in Turin, after which the bride crossed the Bridge of Beauvoisin between Savoy and France, where she left her Italian entourage and was welcomed by her new French retinue. She was introduced to the French royal family and court at the
Palace of Fontainebleau
Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of mo ...
, where she was met by her cousin, the
Princesse de Lamballe Princesse (French 'princess') may refer to:
*"Princesse", single hit for Julie Zenatti
*Princesse (Nekfeu song)
*La Princesse
La Princesse is a 15-metre (50-foot) mechanical spider designed and operated by French performance art company La Mac ...
.
A ball followed the wedding on 20 May.
The marriage was arranged as a part of a series of Franco-Savoyard dynastic marriages taking place in a time span of eight years: after the wedding between her first cousin the Princesse de Lamballe and
Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Prince of Lamballe,
and the wedding between Marie Joséphine and Louis Stanislas, her younger sister
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
was married to her younger brother-in-law, the Count of Artois (future
King Charles X of France
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
) in 1773, and her eldest brother Prince Charles Emmanuel of Savoy (the future king of Sardinia) was married to her sister-in-law
Princess Clotilde of France in 1775. Her eldest brother-in-law,
Dauphin Louis Auguste (the future
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
), had married
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...
one year earlier.
Her marriage to a ''
Petit-fils de France'' (''Grandson of France'') allowed her to assume the rank of ''petite-fille de France'' (''Granddaughter of France''). At the death of her husband's grandfather
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
in 1774, her brother-in-law succeeded as Louis XVI; as the eldest brother of the king, her spouse took on the style ''Monsieur'', and Marie Joséphine was thus under the reign of her brother-in-law known under the style of ''
Madame''.
Countess of Provence (1773–1791)
The marriage of Marie Joséphine had been deemed necessary by Louis XV because the
dauphin had not consummated his marriage, and there may thus prove to be necessary to leave the task to provide the next heir to the throne to the
Count of Provence
The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...
, who was second in line in succession after his brother.
The Franco-Savoyard marriage alliance was greatly disliked by Austria and
Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...
, who feared that Marie Joséphine might gain influence upon Louis XV in France in favor of Savoy, (which was the rival of Austria) in Northern Italy, and that she would undermine the position of the childless
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...
if she gave birth to an heir to the French throne while the marriage of the dauphin was still unconsummated.
Marie Joséphine received 300,000 livres' worth of jewels from Louis XV, three-quarters of the dauphine's casket, and from the Count of Provence his portrait as "a pledge of the sentiments that are engraved in my heart for you."
[Fraser, Antonia, ]
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
' ORION, London 2002,
She did not make a good impression upon her arrival in France, and was described as small, plain, with sallow skin and what Louis XV called “a villainous nose”, and as a person as timid, gauche and "ill educated in all those graces considered so important at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
", coming from the more strict Savoyard court, where rouge was found repugnant.
It was alleged that she never brushed her teeth, plucked her eyebrows, or used any perfumes.
[Mansel, 13–14] In order to rectify the bad impression of her appearance, the ambassador to France from Savoy was required to ask her father to tell her about the necessity for a careful toilette, in particular with regard to her teeth and hair: “It is embarrassing for me to discuss such things, but these mere details to us are vital matters in this country”.
After
Madame du Barry
Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last '' maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly be ...
told Marie-Josephine rouge would please her husband, she bought an ample supply and told her chief lady-in-waiting, the
Duchess de Valentinois, to apply it copiously, agreeing to adjust herself to the customs in France.
Her spouse Louis Stanislas, aware of the gossip surrounding the unconsummated marriage of his elder brother the dauphin, made a point of boasting of vigorous conjugal relations between him and his spouse, so as to avoid the suspicions that their marriage was not consummated.
It was widely doubted that the marriage was consummated. Later in his life Louis Stanislas suffered from obesity—all existing painted portraits and engravings of him in 1771 show him to be of normal weight, and the idea that he was too obese to consummate his marriage is without historical supporting evidence. Marie Antoinette did dismiss the Count of Provence's boasting, and assured her mother that a consummation of his marriage “would need a miracle.”
Some contemporaries thought Louis Stanislas reportedly proclaimed his wife to be pregnant merely to spite Louis Auguste and Marie Antoinette, who had not yet consummated their marriage. Years later the Savoyard ambassador to France reported that there was never a question of a physical union between them. Marie Joséphine herself reported in February 1772 that she was quite sure she was not pregnant “and it’s not my fault.”
The first of two confirmed pregnancies occurred in 1774, indicating consummation between the years 1772 and 1774. Marie Joséphine reportedly suffered a miscarriage in 1774. A second pregnancy in 1781 also miscarried, and the marriage remained childless.
During these first years of their marriage, the couple lived together in some affection, and Marie Antoinette commissioned a sketch by Fragonard where a couple sits in front of a fireplace with cotton caps and muffs in their laps: the sketch was meant to mock the Count and Countess with a motive which hinted that they preferred to live secluded together.
During her first years in France, the three royal couples - the count and countess of Provence, the count and countess of Artois, the Dauphin and Dauphine - as well as the princesse de Lamballe, who was the favorite of Marie Antoinette, formed a circle of friends and acted in
amateur theater plays together, before an audience only consisting of the dauphin.
During these years, the count and countess of Provence are frequently mentioned as accompanying the crown prince couple on sleigh rides, masquerades, opera performances and other entertainments.
[Bertin, Georges: ]
Madame de Lamballe
', New York : G. A. S. Wieners, 1901 As the second lady of the French court after the queen, she alternated with the ''
Mesdames de France
''Mesdames'' (, ''My Ladies'') is a form of address for several adult females. In the 18th century, ''Mesdames de France'' was used to designate the daughters of Louis XV of France, most of whom lived at the royal court and never married.
...
'' in accompanying Marie Antoinette on official representational assignments.
[Joan Haslip (1991). ''Marie Antoinette''. Stockholm: Norstedts Förlag AB. ]
The seemingly good relationship between the four couples somewhat deteriorated, however, after the succession of Louis XVI to the throne in 1774.
Louis XVI and Louis Stanislas did not enjoy a harmonious relationship. They often quarreled, as did their wives. The Count of Provence actually challenged the legitimacy of Marie Antoinette's first child, and until the birth of a male heir by Marie Antoinette, he did everything in his power to promote himself and his wife as better fitted to be next-in-line for the throne.
Without children or political influence, Marie Joséphine intrigued against the Queen, but without much success, while her spouse orchestrated a true country-wide opposition against her. She was well educated in literature - she had her own library installed in her apartments - and was estimated to have been of no small intelligence and with a good ability to accustom to court intrigues.
The brother of Marie Antoinette,
Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 u ...
, said of her during his visit to France in 1777 that she was "ugly and vulgar, not a Piedmontese for nothing, a mess of intrigues."

After the first few years, the Count and countess of Provence lived largely separate lives. Louis Stanislaus was reputed to have a romantic relationship with his favorite courtier, the
Duke d'Avaray (other biographers, like Mansel and Sanders, believe it was a friendship and nothing more). Marie Joséphine for her part was reputed to have a romantic relationship with her favorite lady-in-waiting
Marguerite de Gourbillon
Jeanne-''Marguerite'' de Gourbillon, née ''Gallois'' (1737, Gray, Haute-Saône - 1817), was a French noble and lady-in-waiting. She was the lady in waiting, ''lectrice'', and favorite of the Countess of Provence, Marie Joséphine of Savoy, consort ...
.
She preferred to spend most of her time in her private retreat villa, the ''
Pavillon Madame'' in Montreuil, on which she spent lavishly and constructed a fashionable model village with a pavilion of music, and a model village with twelve houses, dovecotes and windmills, a dairy made of marble with silver vessels, as well as allegorical temples consecrated to love and friendship, a hermitage and a belvedere.
Prior to the meeting of the
Estates General, every member of the royal family was publicly mocked by libelous verses, in which Marie Joséphine was satirized for her alleged alcoholism.
Revolution
In contrast to her sister and brother-in-law the count and countess of Artois, who left France soon after the
Storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. A ...
in July 1789, the count and countess of Provence remained in France after the outbreak of the revolution. They were present at the Palace of Versailles during
The Women's March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles, also known as the October March, the October Days or simply the March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. The march began among women in the marketplaces ...
, which took place on 5 October 1789.
After the Women's March, they were forced to move to Paris along with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. However, while the rest of the royal family stayed in the
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, fr ...
, Marie Joséphine and her spouse lodged in the
Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of t ...
, which was their normal city residence in Paris.
They regularly attended court in the Tuileries and were also present at the evening family suppers, where Marie Joséphine was described as humorous and entertained with character reading of people's faces.
Their presence was welcomed by the queen at this point, as Marie Antoinette came to distrust strangers for political reasons and turned to her family for company.
Already in November 1790, the count of Provence made plans for him and his spouse to leave France, but the plans were complicated because it was deemed necessary to leave at the same time as the king and queen, as it was considered dangerous to remain in France after their departure, but risky for the king and queen if the Provence party were to leave before them.
Therefore, Provence made sure to ascertain the time plan for the departure of the king, although the escape plans of the two parties were otherwise made separately. Provence planned the escape in cooperation with his favorites Anne de Balbi and d'Avaray; Marie Joséphine was not informed of the plans because she was considered to lack self-control, but her favorite Gourbillon was informed so as to make all arrangements around her departure.
In February 1791, a crowd gathered outside the Luxembourg, alarmed by rumours of a planned escape, and a delegation of women were sent in, to which Provence assured that he had no such plans.
On 2 June, de Balbi left for Brussels, leaving an English passport issued for a Monsieur and Mademoiselle Foster, which would be altered by d'Avaray to suit their purpose. When the queen informed Provence of the date of the departure of the king's party, their escape plan could be set in action.
In June 1791, the Provence couple successfully escaped to the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...
in the same operation that led to the royal family's failure, the
Flight to Varennes
The royal Flight to Varennes (french: Fuite à Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessful ...
. On the 20 June, Marie Joséphine attended a dinner with the royal family at the Tuileries with her spouse. On that night, she was awoken in her bed by Gourbillon who announced that she was ordered by the king and her husband to leave the country at once, and swiftly taken to her designed rented carriage by Gourbillon, while Louis Stanislaus left with d'Avaray to a different carriage.
The escape of the Provence couple was more successful than the royal couple's, as they left separately and more discreetly. Louis Stanislaus left dressed as an English merchant only accompanied by his favorite d'Avraye and travelled by route of Soissons, Laon and Maubeuge to Madame de Balbi in Mons, while Marie Joséphine travelled via the northerly road by Douai and Orchies with her favorite Gourbillon. They each passed the border with no difficulty whatsoever, and reunited in Namur.
Exile and death (1791–1810)
From Namur, Marie Joséphine followed Louis Stanislaus to Brussels in the Austrian Netherlands, where they reunited with the count of Artois. Provence and Artois unsuccessfully asked the governor of the Austrian Netherlands,
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (Maria Christina Johanna Josepha Antonia; 13 May 1742 – 24 June 1798), was the fifth child of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Married in 1766 to Prince Albert of Saxony, the cou ...
, to intervene with military force across the border before the king and queen, whose party had been arrested, could be brought back to Paris, but she refused as she needed the permission from the emperor to do so, by which time it was already too late.
After a meeting with
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
at Aix-la-Chapelle, they continued via Bonn to Koblenz, where they were welcomed by their uncle, the Arch Bischop-Elector
Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, who gave them the Palace of
Schönbornslust to their disposal, and where they installed their émigrée court in exile.
Louis Stanislaus, who proclaimed himself regent, installed a court life regulated by the court etiquette of the l'ancien regime, in which Marie Joséphine had a ceremonial role to play. Koblenz was full of French royalist emigrees, and the social life was described as hectic and extravagant, with regular receptions by the Elector and the Princes.
However, though formally the first lady of the emigree court, Marie Joséphine seems to have been eclipsed by the aristocratic female emigrees termed as the 'Queens of the Emigration', namely the Prince of Condé's mistress,
Maria Caterina Brignole, her brother-in-law's mistress,
Louise de Polastron, and the mistress of her own husband, her lady-in-waiting Countess
Anne de Balbi
Anne, Countess de Balbi (19 August 1753 – 3 April 1842) was a French aristocrat and lady-in-waiting. She is foremost known as a mistress of the Count of Provence from 1780 to 1791, who later became Louis XVIII.
Life Family
Anne was born in th ...
, who was courted for her influence over Louis Stanislaus.
Early on, Marie Joséphine prepared to separate from her husband and return to her birth country. Already on 25 July 1791 the Duke of Genevois wrote in his journal that she was coming home to the court of her father in Turin:
:"Piedmont has told me, that Madame is coming here, but that the King insists on her coming alone.... Anyhow, one thing is certain — where she is at present, she is starving and without a penny."
She was asked to come without her spouse, as her father was already in a difficult diplomatic situation with the French government due to the great number of aristocratic emigrees in Savoy. She was duly welcomed in her former home country in early 1792.
Her husband, who had lived in Hamm in Westphalia since the emigree court had been dissolved after the
Battle of Valmy
The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops com ...
, visited her in Turin between December 1793 to May 1794 before continuing to Verona, but she did not join him there.
[Reiset, Emile-Paul de, ''Joséphine de Savoie, comtesse de Provence, 1753-1810'', Paris 1913] On 8 June 1795, the only surviving son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, referred to by the legitimists as 'Louis XVII of France', died while imprisoned in the
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...
, and on 16 June, the exiled French royalists proclaimed the count of Provence king of France as Louis XVIII. Thus, Marie Joséphine became regarded as titular queen consort of France by the legitimists. In the court of Turin, Marie Joséphine came to be regarded as queen and her sister Maria Theresa as 'Madame', but to avoid provocation of the diplomatic relations between France and Savoy, she officially stayed in Turin incognito as 'countess of Lille'.
In April 1796, when Savoy was defeated by France under
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
during the
Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars
The Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) were a series of conflicts fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a Coalition of Austria, Russia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and a number ...
, Marie Joséphine and her sister Maria Theresa left Turin for
Novara
Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...
, in parallel with the departure of Marie Joséphine's husband from Verona.
While her sister returned to Turin after the peace between France and Savoy in May, Marie Joséphine continued to Austria and settled with Marguerite de Gourbillon in
Budweis in August 1796,
while Louis Stanislaus moved to
Blankenburg.
During this period of exile, the count and countess fought constantly, though they did keep regular correspondence. Some historians have suggested Marie Joséphine's possible relationship with
Marguerite de Gourbillon
Jeanne-''Marguerite'' de Gourbillon, née ''Gallois'' (1737, Gray, Haute-Saône - 1817), was a French noble and lady-in-waiting. She was the lady in waiting, ''lectrice'', and favorite of the Countess of Provence, Marie Joséphine of Savoy, consort ...
was the primary cause,
[Nagel, Susan. ''Marie-Therese, Child of Terror: The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter'', 2008] while others have named Louis Stanislaus' relationship with Anne de Balbi.
In 1799, Marie Joséphine was asked by Louis to join him in
Jelgava
Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also #Name, other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the unit ...
in Russian
Courland
Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...
to attend the wedding between her husband's niece
Marie Thérèse, the only remaining child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, to her nephew
Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, at the French court-in-exile, which operated under the protection of the Russian Tsar
Paul I Paul I may refer to:
*Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch
*Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople
*Pope Paul I (700–767)
*Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia
*Paul ...
. Louis demanded that she leave Gourbillon behind. Louis Stanislaus accused Marguerite de Gourbillon of extorting jewels and money from Marie Joséphine and of wearing her clothes, and stated that the kind of relationship she had with Marie Joséphine made her company unsuitable for the new role as queen that Marie Joséphine was expected to play in Mitau.
After having written to the Tsar to ask him to intervene on Gourbillon's behalf, and having received no reply, they travelled there together. When Marie Joséphine arrived with Gourbillon, travelling in two separate carriages, the carriage containing Gourbillon was separated from the rest and directed to the Governor's house, where she was arrested. When Marie Joséphine arrived and noticed the absence of Gourbillon, she reacted with a public protest in front of the whole court. She created a public scandal by a scene in which openly declared that she would refuse to change out of her clothes or install herself in her quarters before Gourbillon was given permission to join her.
This tactic was unsuccessful, as her husband stated that he forbade her from leaving Mitau, and instead she thereafter refused to leave her rooms, where she isolated herself with a bottle of liquor.
Gourbillon, in alliance with
Michelle de Bonneuil
Michelle Sentuary (7 March 1748, Sainte-Suzanne, île Bourbon – 30 December 1829, Paris), married name Jean-Cyrille Guesnon de Bonneuil, was a French overseas agent during the French Revolution and First French Empire. Inspiring André Ché ...
, later managed to have her revenge by convincing the tsar to expel Louis from Russia in January 1801.
Marie Joséphine did participate in the welcoming of Marie Thérèse and the following wedding, but the relationship between her and Louis did not improve and it was noticed that she refused to speak with him.
In 1800, Marie Joséphine left for the health resort of
Bad Pyrmont
Bad Pyrmont (, also: ; West Low German: ) is a town in the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont, in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a population close to 19,000. It is located on the river Emmer, about west of the Weser. Bad Pyrmont is a popular spa resor ...
in Germany where she remained for several years under the name comtesse de Lille, with the support of doctors, who deemed the cold climate in Russia as well as the journey there unsuitable for her health.

In 1804, Marie Joséphine was forced to return to Louis against her will, since his deteriorating finances could no longer afford two separate households.
In 1808, Marie Joséphine left Mitau in the company of
Marie Thérèse to join her spouse in England, where they were allowed to set up a French exile court in
Hartwell House, the English residence of the exiled French royal family. She was ill with
edema
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
upon her arrival in England and lived very discreetly until her death two years later.
Death
Marie Joséphine died on 13 November 1810 of that
edema
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
.
Surrounded in her final days by most of the French court, she begged for forgiveness for any wrongs she might have done them, especially Louis; she assured him that she harboured no ill will toward him. Her funeral was a magnificent occasion attended by all the members of the court-in-exile, whose names were recorded by police spies and reported back to Napoleon.
The funeral cortege was followed by the carriage of the British royal family, and Marie Joséphine was laid to rest in the
Lady Chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel ...
of
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
.
After her death, Louis Stanislas in several letters, talks of the fact he loves and misses his recently departed wife. He wrote this in his private letters to his close companion Duke d’Avray, so the letters were not meant for public effect, but are regarded by some historians as true to his feelings.

Her body was removed a year later on Louis's orders and buried in the Kingdom of Sardinia; today it lies in
Cagliari Cathedral. There, her brother King
Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix (; 6 April 1765 – 27 April 1831) was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.
Early life
Charles Felix was born in Turin as the eleventh child and fifth son born to Victor Amadeus III of ...
had an imposing monument erected over her grave, whereon she is described personally as "''sapiens, prudens, pientissima''" ("wise, prudent, kindest") and as "''Galliarum Regina''", literally "Queen of the Gauls", i.e. of France.
Ancestry
In fiction and film
The Countess of Provence was played by French actress
Clémentine Poidatz
Clémentine Poidatz (born 19 June 1981) is a French actress. She studied at the Cours Florent then at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique in Paris, France.
Filmography Cinema
* 2017 : ''To Each, Her Own'' by Myriam Aziza : G ...
in the 2006 motion picture ''
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...
'' directed by
Sofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola (; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed crime drama film ...
. The film portrays her as the mother of the Duke of Angoulême (
Louis XIX), who was really the son of her sister
Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy
Maria Theresa of Savoy (french: Marie Thérèse de Savoie; 31 January 1756 – 2 June 1805) was a French princess by marriage to Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; he being the grandson of Louis XV of France, and younger brother of the future Lo ...
.
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Josephine Louise Of Savoy, Princess
1753 births
1810 deaths
Countesses of Provence
Duchesses of Anjou
Duchesses of Vendôme
French princesses
Italian royalty
Lesbians
LGBT people from France
Nobility from Turin
Princesses of France (Bourbon)
Princesses of Savoy
18th-century LGBT people
Royal reburials
Daughters of kings