Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain

Maria Theresa was born in Madrid Alcazar . She was the second daughter of King Philip V of Spain and his wife Isabella Farnese . Before the marriage of the Infanta, the Spanish and French royal courts were in a bad relationship. The marriage between Maria Theresa and the Dauphin of France Louis Ferdinand was announced in August 1739 , after the wedding of the French princess Maria Louise with the Spanish infante Philippe . Both marriages were supposed to strengthen the royal houses of France and Spain.

Maria Theresa married a French Dauphin on December 18, 1744 in Madrid . They arrived at Versailles on February 21, 1745 . The official wedding took place on February 23rd . From the first days, the couple felt cool to each other. But after a few months, an affection arose between them, and the king and queen really liked the infant. Like Dauphin of France, she occupied the highest place in the royal family, after Queen Maria Leshchinsky .

Dauphin was described as a handsome, pious, and educated man, but contemporaries did not like the red color of her hair. Having settled in Versailles, Maria Theresa began to openly criticize the behavior of the king and his favorite, Madame de Pompadour. July 19, 1746 she gave birth to a daughter, but she died three days later, on July 22 , in Versailles. The young husband was very upset by the death of his wife and fell into a long depression. Their only child was baptized under the name Mary Theresa, Madame Royale . But the princess lived only two years and died in 1748 .

Maria Theresa Raphael was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Denis on August 6, 1746 . The following year, her husband married Maria Joseph of Saxony , who bore him three sons - the last kings of France and two daughters: Maria Clotilde , Queen of Sardinia and Princess Elizabeth executed during the French Revolution. Dauphin himself died of tuberculosis in 1765 during his father's lifetime.

Titles

• July 11, 1726 - February 23, 1745 Her Royal Highness Infanta of Spain
• February 23, 1745 - July 22, 1746 Her Royal Highness the Dauphin of France

• List of Dauphin France

• Armstrong Edward: Elisabeth Farnese: The Termagant of Spain , London, 1892
• Broglie Emmanuel de: Le fils de Louis XV, Louis, dauphin de France, 1729-1765 , E. Plon, 1877
• Mitford. Nancy: Madame de Pompadour , Sphere, London, 1964