Princess Sophie Hélène Béatrix of France
Encyclopedia
Marie Sophie Hélène Béatrice de France, Fille de France, Madame Sophie (9 July 1786 – 19 June 1787) was a French princess, daughter of Marie Antoinette
and Louis XVI of France
.
, the youngest of the four children of King Louis XVI of France
and his Queen consort
, Marie Antoinette
. She was named after her great-aunt, Sophie de France, Louis XV
's sixth daughter who had died five years earlier.
As the daughter of the king, Sophie was a Fille de France
(Daughter of France), ranking third in importance after her mother the queen and her older sister Marie Thérèse, known as Madame Royale.
Sophie was born a very large baby: une très grosse fille but her fragile health was undermined by tuberculosis
. She died in Versailles after suffering five or six days of convulsions caused by the cutting of new teeth. She was only eleven months old.
Her death was a cause for much sorrow on the part of her parents. When Marie Antoinette's foster-brother, Joseph Weber, attempted to console her with the fact that given Sophie's tender age Marie Antoinette must not have grown overly attached to her, the bereaved mother said only, "Don't forget that she would have been my friend." This was a reference to her words after the birth of Sophie's older sister in 1778.
She was buried at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis north of Paris
.
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Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
and Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
.
Biography
Sophie was born at the Palace of VersaillesPalace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
, the youngest of the four children of King Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and his Queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
, Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
. She was named after her great-aunt, Sophie de France, Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
's sixth daughter who had died five years earlier.
As the daughter of the king, Sophie was a Fille de France
Fils de France
Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France .The children of the dauphin, who was the king's heir apparent, were accorded the same style and status as if they were the king's children instead of his...
(Daughter of France), ranking third in importance after her mother the queen and her older sister Marie Thérèse, known as Madame Royale.
Sophie was born a very large baby: une très grosse fille but her fragile health was undermined by tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. She died in Versailles after suffering five or six days of convulsions caused by the cutting of new teeth. She was only eleven months old.
Her death was a cause for much sorrow on the part of her parents. When Marie Antoinette's foster-brother, Joseph Weber, attempted to console her with the fact that given Sophie's tender age Marie Antoinette must not have grown overly attached to her, the bereaved mother said only, "Don't forget that she would have been my friend." This was a reference to her words after the birth of Sophie's older sister in 1778.
She was buried at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis north of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
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Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 9 July 1786 – 19 June 1787 Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie of France (de factoDe factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
Madame Sophie)