Marie Clotilde of France

Marie Clotilde of France (Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière; 23 September 1759 – 7 March 1802), known as Clotilde in Italy, was Queen of Sardinia by marriage to Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia. She was a younger sister of Louis XVI of France. She was politically active and acted as the de facto first minister of her spouse during his reign. They were given the usual education of royal princesses in that time, focusing upon accomplishments, religion and virtue, an education to which Clotilde reportedly willingly subjected herself.

While Clotilde was described as a docile pupil, "who made herself loved by all who approached her", Élisabeth long refused to study, stating that "there were always people at hand whose duty it was to think for Princes", and treated her staff with impatience. On 21 August 1775, Louis XVI had his sister Clotilde married in Versailles by procuration to Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont, with her second eldest brother the Count of Provence as proxy for the groom, and with Cardinal de la Roche-Aymon officiating at the ceremony.

In Lyon, Clotilde made herself popular by her successful request to grant an amnesty to the imprisoned deserters in the town prison, before finally arriving at the border at Pont-de-Beauvoisin on 5 September. There, she was separated from her French entourage and ceremoniously transferred by count de Clermont-Tonnerre to count de Viry and her new Italian household, notably her new lady-in-waiting Madama Theresa Balbi, who was to become her favourite until her death. Her father-in-law was concerned that her weight might affect her ability to bear children. The groom reportedly commented that he had been given "more to worship". She was close to her sisters-in-law, the Duchess of Aosta and the Duchess of Chablais. She was well liked by the members of her household for her consideration for them, and her piety and frequent private worship established her reputation of piety among the public.

Her oldest brother, King Louis XVI, her sister-in-law, Queen Marie Antoinette; and her younger sister, Madame Élisabeth, were all executed in 1793–94. Clotilde regarded her brother to have been a Catholic martyr, but she was reportedly more emotionally affected by the execution of her sister, which became a turning point in her life.

Ancestry