Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria

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Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria
Dauphine of France
Duchess Maria Anna Christina Victoria of Bavaria, 'la Grande Dauphine'..jpg
Posthumous portrait of Maria Anna Victoria holding the coronet of a Dauphine, François de Troy
Born (1660-11-28)28 November 1660
Munich, Bavaria
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Palace of Versailles, France
Burial Royal Basilica of Saint Denis, France
Spouse Louis, Dauphin of France
Issue Louis, Dauphin of France
Philip V, King of Spain
Charles, Duke of Berry
Full name
Maria Anna Christine Victoria
House House of Wittelsbach (by birth)
House of Bourbon (by marriage)
Father Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
Mother Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, Dauphine of France (Maria Anna Christina Victoria; 28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) was Dauphine of France as spouse of Louis, Grand Dauphin, son and heir of Louis XIV. She was known as the Dauphine Marie Anne Victoire or la Grande Dauphine. The dauphine was a 'pathetic' figure at the court of France, isolated and unappreciated due to the perception that she was dull, unattractive and sickly.

Background

Maria Anna was the eldest daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and his wife Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and Christine Marie of France, the second daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici, thus her husband the dauphin was her second cousin.

Biography

Born in Munich, capital of the Electorate of Bavaria, Maria Anna was betrothed to the dauphin of France in 1668, at the age of eight, and was carefully educated to fulfill that role. Besides her native language of German, she was taught to speak French, Italian and Latin. She was said to have looked forward to the fate of becoming dauphine of France. Maria Anna was very close to her mother, who died in 1676. Her siblings included Violante of Bavaria, future wife of Ferdinando de' Medici as well as the future Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian II Emanuel.

Prior to her marriage to the dauphin, there was a proxy ceremony in Munich on 28 January 1680; the couple would meet for the first time on 7 March 1680 in Châlons-sur-Marne. She was the first dauphine of France since Mary, Queen of Scots married Francis II of France in 1558.

Upon her marriage, Maria Anna took on the rank of her husband as a Fille de France (Daughter of France); this meant that she was entitled to the style "Royal Highness" and the form of address Madame la Dauphine.

When she first arrived in France, Maria Anna made a good impression with her good French. When she entered Strasbourg, she was addressed in German, but interrupted the greeting by saying, "Gentlemen, I speak French!" The impression of her appearance, however, was not as good, and she was called "terribly ugly". Others said, that although she may not have been beautiful, she did have personal charm.

As soon as she married the dauphin, Maria Anna was the second most important women at court after her mother-in-law, Queen Maria Theresa of Spain. When the queen died in July 1683, Maria Anna ranked as the most prominent female at court and was given the apartments of the late queen. The king expected her to perform the functions of the first lady at court, but her ill health made it very difficult for her to carry out her duties. The king was completely unsympathetic to her situation and accused her falsely of hypochondria.

Her husband took mistresses, and she lived an isolated life in her apartments, where she spoke with her friends in German, a language her husband could not understand. She was very close to a fellow German at court, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, the wife of the king's younger brother Philippe. She was said to be depressed having to live at a court where beauty was so much prized, not being beautiful herself. She died in 1690. An autopsy revealed a multitude of internal disorders that completely vindicated her complaints of chronic and severe illness.

Maria Anna was buried at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis. She is an ancestor of Prince Henri the Count of Paris, Orléanist pretender to the French throne. Also Juan Carlos I of Spain, Albert II, King of the Belgians, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and of Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, a pretender to the Italian throne.

Issue

Ancestors

Family of Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. William V, Duke of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Anna of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Francis I, Duke of Lorraine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Renata of Lorraine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Christina of Denmark
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Charles II of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Maria Anna of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Maria Anna of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. William V, Duke of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Maria Anna of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Renata of Lorraine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Margaret of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. Philip II of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Elisabeth of Valois
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Antoine of Bourbon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Henry IV of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Jeanne III d'Albret
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Princess Christine Marie of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Marie de' Medici
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31. Johanna of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 28 November 1660 – 7 March 1680 Her Serene Highness Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria
  • 7 March 1680 – 20 April 1690 Her Royal Highness the Dauphine of France

References

  • Simone Bertière, Les Femmes du Roi-Soleil, Éditions de Fallois, 1998, ISBN 2-253-14712-5