Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois

Maria Teresa of Savoy was the wife of the future King Charles X of France, although she died before he took the throne. She was born on January 31, 1756, at the Royal Palace of Turin in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy. She was the daughter of the future King Vittorio Amadeo III of Sardinia and Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. She had eleven siblings:

The marriage of Maria Teresa of Savoy and the Count of Artois, 1773. source: Wikipedia

The marriage of Maria Teresa of Savoy and the Count of Artois, 1773. source: Wikipedia

On November 16, 1773, at the Chapel Royal at the Palace of Versailles, Maria Teresa married Charles Philippe, Count of Artois (the future King Charles X of France). He was the son of Louis, Dauphin of France, a son of King Louis XV of France and Marie Leszczyńska of Poland. Having taken the French version of her name – Marie Thérèse – she retained her style of Royal Highness because her husband was a grandson of the French sovereign. She was styled, however, simply the Countess of Artois. The couple had four children:

The marriage was just one of three marriages between the two families. Two years earlier, her elder sister had married Louis Stanislas, Count of Provence (the future Louis XVIII), and later her younger brother (the future King Carlo Emanuele IV of Sardinia) married Clotilde of France.

Marie Thérèse with her three surviving children, painted by Charles Leclercq, c1783. source: Wikipedia

Marie Thérèse with her three surviving children, painted by Charles Leclercq, c1783. source: Wikipedia

Regarded as very plain and unattractive, Marie Thérèse was overshadowed at the French court by her sister-in-law, Marie Antoinette, and was very unpopular. Her reputation improved a bit, however, when she began quickly to provide children and heirs – something her sister-in-law had so far been unable to do.

In July 1789, just days after the storming of the Bastille, Marie Thérèse and her family fled the country, settling for some time in her native Savoy. They eventually moved to Graz, Austria, where Marie Thérèse died on June 2, 1805. She is buried in the Imperial Mausoleum next to the Graz Cathedral.

Grave of Maria Teresa at the Imperial Mausoleum next to the Graz Cathedral; Credit – www. findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty