Chambord and The King of Poland

Place Stanislas, Nancy.

Visiting Chateau Chambord recently it was a pleasant surprise to see portraits of the King of Poland who lived there for eight years courtesy of Louis XV. In England, the custom is known as a Grace and Favour home.

J.-Baptiste Lemercier: Stanislas Leczinski (1728): Château de Chambord.

The royal Court of France was horrified when Louis XV married a penniless Polish princess, a refugee from Alsace. Her father was the deposed King Stanislaus of Poland who pawned his wife’s jewels in order to survive.

As for Louis, he fell madly in love with Maria but not with his in laws. What to do with poor relations? Hide them in the derelict Château Chambord, a reasonable distance from the royal court.

Nicolas-Henri Jeaurat de Bertry: Louis XV: Château de Chambord.

Stanislaus wrote from there to a friend: …’’the whole Kingdom examines me and, before knowing me, defines me...there is not one I believe in the nation who does not want to shape me to taste”. He attached ‘Ordinances made by his majesty’ to which he objected. Religious services are daily and compulsory and any unjustified absence of a member of the court will result in a deduction from his wages. Likewise, confessions and communions are obligatory, and any breach of this rule is punishable by a heavy fine.

During his stay he visited the Bishop of Blois and donated a painting to the cathedral of Saint John of Nepomuk confessing Queen Sophie of Bavaria.

We became acquainted with Stanislaus and his amazing story in Nancy. Wandering up a nondescript side street we were astonished to emerge into the astonishing Place Stanislas. Astonishing because it is more in keeping with a prestigious capital than a small provincial city.

Place Stanislas is awesome. Magnificent. Vast. As if the architect designed it looking through a fisheye lens. Completed in 1755, The Lonely Planet Guide says it’s the fourth most beautiful square in the world. On the other side of the magnificent golden gates is another jaw dropping surprise. A garden, fifty-two acres of it. So big it has its own zoo. And a Rodin!

Fountain: Place Stanislas.

We were mystified as to why there was a monument to the King of Poland with an unpronounceable (to us) name Stanisław Leszczyński slap bang in the middle and why the Square was named after him. What connection did a Polish king have with France? Back in the hotel we pored over guide books to see who ‘Stanislaus’ was.

What a story. Born in 1677, his father was a wealthy, powerful, influential businessman, his mother was a princess, Anna Katarzyna Jabłonowska. Young Stanislaus travelled all over Europe and became proficient in the language of each country. When he came home, he married Countess Catherine Opalińska.

In 1699, she gave birth to Anna named after Stanislaus’ mother. Her father worshipped her. When she died of pneumonia at eighteen, he was devastated. He asked his second daughter Maria, born four years after Anna, to never say her name in his presence. She never did. Poor Catherine suffered twenty miscarriages.

In 1702 Charles II of Sweden invaded Poland and deposed King Augustus who was hostile to Sweden. When he left, Augustus took the ancient ceremonial Polish regalia with him.

In 1705 Stanisłaus, chosen by Charles II to be the new King of Poland, was crowned in splendour. Charles bought a new crown and sceptre. The royal couple held court where Queen Catherine hosted lavish balls and masquerades for Swedish courtiers. His reign lasted just four years.

In 1709 Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, defeated Sweden and restored Augustus. Stanisłaus resigned the Polish Crown but was allowed to keep the royal title. The family was welcomed in Sweden where they remained for three years as popular members of high society on the estates of the Swedish nobility.

In 1714, Charles II gave the family permission to live in the Swedish province of Zweibrücken in Germany, supported by the town’s income. They enjoyed a privileged life there for four years until the death of Charles II in 1718.

Stanisłaus lost his home and pension. He moved with his family to the Alsace, a French province. Catherine’s jewels were held as security by a moneylender. They rented a small house and could not afford servants. Catherine a Countess and ex Queen became very bitter. She was devastated over the loss of her royal position, was homesick for Poland and blamed Stanislaus.

Jean-Baptiste Lemercier: Catherine Opalinska: Château de Chambord.

Imagine the family’s utter disbelief when, on April 2, 1725, Easter Monday, a courier brought Stanislaus a letter with the seal of the Duke of Bourbon, who asked for his daughter Maria in marriage in the name of Louis XV.

Sometimes, as in this case, having no political affiliations, powerful friends or relations works in your favour. The shenanigans behind the letter border on farce.

The young king of France, age fifteen, was very ill. The Court was paranoid he would die without an heir. He had to be married off now and produce a son very quickly.

One of the first priorities of the Duke of Bourbon was to find a bride for the King to assure the continuity of the monarchy and prevent the succession to the throne of the Orleans branch of the family.

A list of ninety nine princesses was drawn up. This was shortened to seventeen, then four. Maria was not on either. Louis rejected them all and asked to look at the original list. He chose Maria, the impoverished daughter of a man who had lost his throne. Add to that that she was already twenty two years old. However, Maria had the clear advantage of being politically neutral. Her father was no longer king of Poland so not considered a danger. She was old enough to provide an heir immediately after the wedding and although plain she was warm, kind and devout.

Strasbourg Cathedral

Maria was married by proxy in Strasbourg Cathedral. Louis of Orleans, brother of Louis XV represented him. She then travelled to France to be with a husband she had never met. The affable, popular Stanislaus was destined to have many more surprises before he died in Nancy at the ripe old age of eighty-eight not the least among them was to regain his throne as King of Poland.

Text by Pamela, Photography by Mark.