On This Day in the Versailles Century: 15 October

It was on this day 307 years ago, 15 October 1711, that Elisabeth-Thérèse of Lorraine was born. Her parents were Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, and Elisabeth-Charlotte d’Orléans. Francis Stephen, the future Holy Roman Emperor, was her older brother. She grew up to become the 3rd wife of King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, whose first 2 wives both died young. They were married on 1 April 1737. The bride was aged 25, which in those days was considered rather late for a first marriage. Sadly, Elisabeth-Thérèse, like her predecessors, also died young. She was carried off by puerperal fever shortly after giving birth to her only surviving child, Prince Benedetto (1741-1808), Duke of Chablais. His only marriage was childless, so Elisabeth-Thérèse has no living descendants.

For those keeping tracking of dynastic connections, Elisabeth-Thérèse was a paternal aunt of Marie-Antoinette. She was also a grand daughter of Philippe I d’Orléans, AKA “Monsieur,” the only brother of Louis XIV.