here is a incredible story. did it happen
In 1776, having been unable to enjoy the fruits of their marriage, Louis XVI, King of France publicly annulled his marriage to Austrian Archduchess Marie Antoinette. The claim was made that, due to his disgust of the nature of her background, and his distrust of the Austrian people, he was unable to consummate the marriage, and thus royal couple were separated and negotiations immediately began to return her to Austria.
The lead up to such a momentous decision was more private than might be suspected, and did not make itself known to any party outside the King’s own men until the full proposition to the Pope was written up, and even then it wouldn’t be until 1774, with the advice of his council, that Maria Antonia of Austria was informed that, shortly, she would be relieved of her position as Queen of France.
Now, the decision had not come easily, but there was some form of warning that, as of 1772, that the King was not happy with his wife. In 1771, he was recorded by his doctors to be unable to consummate the marriage with his wife, but had had a “nightly emission” thrice during the week, thus proving himself potentially able to produce a child by other means. In 1772, the Dauphin put forward a suite to the King of France that he felt it better to leave his marriage, but was turned away from his great-grandfather, who did not understand why his great-grandson would feel such distaste for a young woman he felt was quite pretty.
However, by 1773, as it became clear that Louis XV of ailing, the Dauphin was advised by those in his party to wait until he was in power, and in late 1773 a council of 23 men, both religious scholars and lawyers, to create the document that would annul his marriage to the Austrian Archduchess. He was cold to her in public, and snubbed her company in a way that read as displeasure. When ordered to her bed, he would take the route of pretending to be ill or, in one famous moment, standing at the door of their chamber throwing it open to reveal them both fully clothed, once the Dauphine had fallen asleep.
In 1774 the 19 year old Dauphin was risen to the title King of France, and by July of 1774 it was known that he was setting aside his wife. All of her candidates for leading positions at the court were ignored, and she was isolated even further from her husband, even losing contact with his sister in the lead up to their annulment. One of the first immediately consquences this lead to was that the Duke of Zweibrücken was snubbed soon after in his marriage to Maria Amalia of Saxony, who was now a leading candidate for the position of Queen of France.
Obviously, Austria was not supportive of this move, and the Emperor would, in late 1774, travel incognito to Versailles in order to attempt to mend the rift between his sister and the King of France. However, despite remaining in France for almost a month, he was only granted one meeting with his fellow monarch, and none with his sister, who would learn about the visit as soon as it was sure that her brother was out of reach.
The cruel was the King of France separated from his wife is often commented on, but it must be remembered that Louis Augustus had not wanted to marry an Austrian, and in one of the few moments of strength of character, had refused to accept the arrangement. His initial attempts in terms of the marriage were unsuccessful, and since he did not believe that he would possibly be in error, it was agreed by his doctors that the fault lay in his psychological aversion to Austrians. Thus, from that diagnosis in 1771, officially put to records in early 1772, in the beginnings of his decision to not continue his marriage to Maria Antonia.
There was not an immediate answer to the King of France, despite his eagerness to move on from what was now called “the doomed marriage”. The Emperor Joseph, at the advice of his mother, had sent warning to the Pope that he did not want his sister removed from the French Throne, and had sent ‘irrefutable proof’ that she and Louis Augustus had consummated their marriage and thus could not be separated. The message was framed as a moral call to arms rather than an attempt to continue influence in France. However, it was Austria’s word against France’s, and in late 1775, after over a year of bombardment from both sides to make a clear choice, he privates told the French ambassador that, until he had irrefutable and unbiased proof that Louis Augustus and Maria Antonia had not consummated their marriage, he could not in good faith agree to the annulment on the terms the King of France had asked for. Thus, Maria Antonia was suddenly made important again.
In early February of 1776, Louis Augustus made his first visit to his wife in over two years bringing with him the ‘Declaration of Non-consummation between the King of France and the Archduchess of Austria’, and asked her to sign it. It was then that Maria Antonia, who had spent the previous two years desperately trying to kindle any form of support in the court and amongst his family, begged him not to send her away. The Queen of France made it very clear that she feared for her position if she was set aside, and thus the King promised that he would not stand in the way of any further marriage of her, nor would he object to any potential bridegroom.
That was enough for Maria Antonia, and once that was in writing she would in May of 1776 sign the document and give her own testimony against their consummation, making clear that she had been willing as a partner, but her husband had proven unwilling. Thus, in July, the two were formally no longer husband and wife, and Maria Antonia began preparations to return to Austria.
A contract between Maria Amalia of Saxony and Louis Augustus was signed within days, but in August, when Maria Antonia attempted to leave for Austria, she was told she was expected to remain in France until the new Queen had arrived. This wasn’t, however, to her liking, and if the former Queen had been expected to be compliant to her former husband’s wishes, he proved mistaken. Until the Austrian woman left France, she was the financial responsibility of the King, and thus she began to spend large. By December, the lady got exactly what she wanted and began her journey to Vienna.
Maria Amalia of Saxony would arrive in March of 1777.
alternate history to be continued.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-divorce-of-louis-xvi-augustus-and-maria-antonia-of-austria.441124/
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Mer 11 Avr - 15:18
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