BOURBON-SICILES (de), Marie-Amélie (1782-1866)

BOURBON-SICILES (de), Marie-Amélie (1782-1866)

Autograph letter signed « Marie Amélie » à Narcisse-Achille de Salvandy
Claremont [United-Kingdom], 3 Sept. 1857, 1 p. 1/4 in-8° on mourning stationary (bi-folio)
Enclosed [by hand delivery], intact wax seal “Amélie”
Fine condition throughout

In a letter full of fervor and loyalty, the exiled Queen Marie-Amélie shares with her correspondent the painful memory of the loss of her husband, the last King of the French, Louis-Philippe

« Mon cher Comte, je suis bien sûre que vous vous êtes associé à nos prières et aussi à nos sentiments dans le douloureux anniversaire du 26 août et tout ce que vous m’exprimez dans votre lettre de ce jour m’a profondément touchée. Je n’oublierai jamais votre dévouement à mon bien aimé Roi et à ma famille. Je rends justice aux sentiments de votre sœur et je les apprécie, comptez également sur les miens pour vous. Veuillez bien sire mille amitiés de ma part à Madame de Salvandy et croyez-moi toujours
Votre bien affectionnée
Marie Amélie »

Born into the Italian branch of the House of Bourbon-Anjou, Marie-Amélie joined the younger branch of the royal House of France when she married Louis-Philippe d’Orléans in 1809, who was then the first prince of the blood. Initially the Duchess of Orléans, she became Queen of the French in 1830 when her husband ascended the throne as Louis-Philippe I. She would remain the last queen France ever knew.
Narcisse-Achille, Count of Salvandy (1795–1856), Minister of Public Instruction under the government of François-Pierre Guizot, remained a faithful servant of the royal couple after the advent of the Second Empire.
Louis-Philippe passed away on August 26, 1850, at the age of seventy-six. Initially buried in the Saint-Charles-Borromée chapel in Weybridge, he has rested since 1876 in the Royal Saint-Louis Chapel in Dreux. This family necropolis, built by his mother in 1816 and expanded during his reign, also houses the remains of Queen Marie-Amélie, who died on March 24, 1866.