Marie Zéphyrine of France

Marie Zéphyrine of France (26 August 1750 – 2 September 1755) was a daughter (princess) of France as the daughter of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Josepha of Saxony and granddaughter of King Louis XV. She was known as la petite Madame.

Life Marie Zéphyrine was born at the Palace of Versailles on the feast day of Pope Saint Zephyrinus after whom she would be named. Before her, the dauphine had given birth to two dead sons, which raised concerns about her ability to deliver healthy children. Maria Josepha was sent to the spa of Forges-les-Eaux to promote her fertility; the court hoped for a son to ensure the continuity of the House of Bourbon, as the dauphin was the only son of King Louis XV. A painting was even ordered to commemorate the birth of a healthy son in advance, which had to be re-touched when a girl was born instead. In the morning of 26 August, when the dauphine went into labour, the king was awakened and rushed to her room, as did 'all who were in Versailles'; some courtiers were present in their dressing gowns. When she was born at six in the evening, Marie Zéphyrine's sex caused general disappointment. Throughout her life, she was known as la petite Madame or Madame; she was baptised the day before her death, and received the name Marie Zéphyrine only then.

She was placed into the care of the duchess of Tallard, born Marie Isabelle de Rohan, who had been appointed governess of the Children of France in 1735 and had raised three of the dauphin's sisters. In the next years, she was joined by three brothers, Louis Joseph Xavier, Duke of Burgundy, Xavier Marie Joseph, Duke of Aquitaine, who died after five months, and Louis Auguste, Duke of Berry, the future King Louis XVI. She would become very close with the one closest to her in age, Burgundy. At the time of her death, her mother was pregnant, and she gave birth to Louis Stanislaus Xavier, Count of Provence, the future Louis XVIII in November 1755. Afterwards, her parents had two stillborn sons and three living children born to them, including the future Charles X.

The graves in Saint-Denis were robbed and desecrated during the French Revolution to celebrate its first anniversary. The tomb of Marie Zéphyrine was among the eleven exhumated on 15 October 1793, and her remains were thrown into a pit containing the bones of Bourbons and covered with quick lime. In 1817, during the Bourbon Restoration, her brother Louis XVIII placed the fragmented, unidentifiable remains of his family into two ossuaries inside the basilica.

Ancestry