The forgotten story of Madame Royale, the sole survivor of her family during the Revolution

Marie-Thérèse of France, known as Mousselin because of her halo of blonde hair, was a proud child. The eldest daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, she knew she belonged to the elite. His encounter with humans at just 10 years old was most brutal.

On October 6, 1789, fishermen, market gardeners, and market gardeners who had come to Versailles in torrential rain to demand bread (the price of which had risen sharply the day before) demanded the return of the sovereigns to Paris. That day, facing an angry mob, Madame Royale abandoned her castle’s gold and her innocence.

The Tuileries Palace now serves as a golden prison for him, guarded by riotous Parisians. Busy with his lessons, Musselin does not see his father surrender in a crisis, nor his mother seek help from the European courts with the complicity of her lover, Count Fersen. Finally awakening to politics, Marie-Antoinette realizes that History is writing a tragedy in which her people will be the unfortunate heroes. Anticipating the worst, in 1791 she sent her jewels to Belgium to her friend, the diplomat Merci-Argenteau.

Departure to Vienna

The Queen’s decorations are safe, but not her children. In the summer of 1792, the royal family was imprisoned in the Temple. Louis XVI was guillotined on January 21, 1793, Marie-Antoinette on the following October 16. The Dauphin, in turn, died of the disease in June 1795. Only Musselin remained of the royal family. After forty months of captivity, the Temple Orphan was exchanged for French political prisoners held in Austria.

Received in Vienna by Emperor Francis II, the princess was given her mother’s jewelry box, which included two diamond bracelets created by the creator of the queen’s famous necklace that had so damaged her reputation, although she never bought it.

Two bracelets sold at Christie’s

Marie-Thérèse, a living relic of the ancien régime, commissioned a likeness of her parents and brother, which she wore over a mourning dress during her years in Vienna. In 1799, she married her cousin, the Duke of Angoulême, and returned to France in triumph after the fall of Napoleon.

Her presence is legitimate, her uncle, Louis XVIII, made her First Lady of the Restoration. As such, she dismantled the crown jewels to make two new-century-style brilliant ruby ​​bracelets. These ornaments are now kept in the Louvre Museum. Despite her grace and elegance, the daughter of Louis XVI suffered from melancholy all her life, which is why she was called the Countess of Darkness. Having no children, he bequeathed his jewelry, including his mother’s, to his nieces and nephews.

Diamonds are forever, not their owners. In 2021, two diamond bracelets saved by Marie-Antoinette for her daughter were sold at Christie’s. A discerning buyer acquired this treasure of carats and history for €8.1 million. We do not know what happened to them… The state did not prevent them.