Adelaide, Madame (1732–1800)
Adelaide, Madame (1732–1800)
French princess. Name variations: Adélaïde; Marie Adelaide de France. Born Marie Adelaide at Versailles, France, on May 3, 1732; died at Trieste, on February 18, 1800; daughter of Louis XV (1710–1774), king of France (r. 1715–1774) and Marie Leczinska (1703–1768); sister of Louise Elizabeth (1727–1759), Victoire (1733–1799), and Louise Marie (1737–1787) as well as Louis le dauphin (father of Louis XVI).
The best-loved daughter of Louis XV, Madame Adelaide grew into a haughty royal who loathed her niece-in-law Marie Antoinette ; indeed, it was at Adelaide's home that Queen Marie Antoinette was first labeled "The Austrian." Adelaide and her sister Victoire were known as King Louis XVI's "aunts" and given the castle of Bellevue to live out their years. Ironically, it was Marie Antoinette's prodding that freed them from their confining rooms at Versailles.
On February 19, 1791, with the Revolution brewing, Adelaide and Victoire sought permission to leave France to "spend Easter in Rome," but their request met with suspicion by the Assembly. In defiance and fear, they made a hasty and discreet departure to seek refuge abroad. After a ten-day delay by the militia, the royal aunts migrated to Rome. Followed by an audience with the pope, they settled in Caserta in 1796; they then moved to Trieste in 1799, where Adelaide died a few months later.