Princess Maria Amelia of Orléans

Marie-Amélie d’Orléans, whose full name was María Amalia Luisa Enriqueta de Orleans y Borbón, was born in Seville on 28 August 1851 and died there on 9 November 1870. She was a Spanish infanta and a French princess. Her parents were Antoine d’Orléans, Duke of Montpensier, and Louise-Fernande de Bourbon, an infanta of Spain. Through her mother, Marie-Amélie was a granddaughter of Ferdinand VII, King of Spain; through her father, she was descended from Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. Marie-Amélie was her parents’ second child and second daughter. Of her nine siblings, only five others survived childhood: Marie-Isabelle, Marie-Christine, Ferdinand, Mercedes, and Antoine. Her parents had settled in Seville after the Revolution of 1848, which had driven her grandfather from the French throne. A few weeks after her birth, on 20 September 1851, Marie-Amélie was presented to the Virgin Mary in Seville Cathedral. The ceremony was official in character, and political and religious dignitaries of the city attended alongside her parents. Her baptism was attended by her paternal grandmother, Queen Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and her paternal uncle, Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale. Before Marie-Amélie’s birth, her aunt, Queen Isabella II of Spain, had decreed that a son or daughter of her sister would receive the rank of Spanish infante or infanta as long as Isabella herself had no surviving child. Like her elder sister Marie-Isabelle, who had received the rank in 1850, Marie-Amélie therefore became an infanta of Spain on 19 August 1852. She spent her childhood and youth mainly at the Palace of San Telmo in Seville, her parents’ residence, and at the family’s other estates in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. She was especially interested in music and art. Although she enjoyed playing the piano, she developed particular talent as a draughtswoman. She also made several journeys to Great Britain and France, gaining experience beyond Spain. Two possible marriages were considered for Marie-Amélie. Auguste of Portugal was initially mentioned as a prospective husband. Later, her first cousin Ferdinand d’Orléans, Duke of Alençon, was also considered; he had fallen in love with her. No marriage took place, however. Political events directly affected her life. Following the Spanish Revolution of 1868, Marie-Amélie and her family were forced into exile. The members of the House of Montpensier lived successively in France, at the Château de Randan, in Lisbon, and once again in France. In 1870, the family returned to Seville. There, on 9 November of the same year, Marie-Amélie died at the Palace of San Telmo at the age of nineteen. Her death was attributed to the effects of consumption. It was also blamed on the poor quality of the water consumed at the palace. She was initially buried in the family pantheon at the Palace of San Telmo. On 22 October 1887, her remains were transferred to the Pantheon of the Infantes at the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. From birth, Marie-Amélie held the title of Princess of Orléans. When she became an infanta of Spain on 19 August 1852, she officially held that rank while remaining a Princess of Orléans. She was also, from birth, a lady of the Spanish Order of Queen Maria Luisa. In addition, she belonged to the Austrian Imperial and Royal Order of the Starry Cross and the Bavarian Order of Theresa.