The Ill-Fated Life of Marie Antoinette's Most Loyal Friend | The Princesse de Lamballe

After Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were arrested during the French Revolution, few nobles stayed to openly show their support. But one was so loyal and steadfast, she would remain supportive of her queen until her very horrific death - Marie Therese of Savoy, the Princesse de Lamballe. Known to all as a sweet and charitable noble, it's likely she would have been otherwise ignored by the Revolutionaries, if not for her close friendship to Marie Antoinette. This video looks at her life, starting her young widowhood, and ending with her terrible death in the name of the new France...
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Sources and Related Books:
Marie Antoinette's Confidante: The Rise and Fall of the Princesse de Lamballe by Geri Walton - amzn.to/3LPNMsa
Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser - amzn.to/3DEMXNZ
Memoirs of the Courts of Louis XV and XVI. Being Secret Memoirs of Madame Du Hausset, Lady's Maid to Madame De Pompadour and of the Princess Lamballe - amzn.to/3LHCo1t
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[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Thanks for watching! What do you all think of the Princesse de Lamballe's actions? Should she have stayed away from France?

[@lisaellis2593]

Yes .

[@donsarde]

Yes, indeed, she would have been safe in England and should not have returned to France.

[@antoniobroccoliporto4774]

She was a bit needy but also had deep convictions…she stayed with her Father in Law and treated him as if he were her own dad…so even after being temporarily rejected by Marie she still felt a sense of duty to the Royal Family and stayed on…people in that period took example from their Catholic teachings and thought it weighed heavy on one’s soul to renounce religion and for her being a Royal of the blood to renounce her bloodline.

[@mysticalmargaret6105]

The Princess Lamballe's devotion is deeply moving but it ultimately cost her life in the most horrific of ways at the hands of an evil, monstrous mob. May she be resting in eternal peace. Poor sweet Princess. ✨🥺🥀⚜️👑⚜️✨🤍🤍🤍✨🕊️🕊️🕊️✨

[@atty.graceqb5451]

Live one more day. To fight on another day.

[@andyroo9381]

It still stuns me to realize how humans can treat and kill someone, like savages. Gruesome death for this Princess.

[@user-fg9xz4bz3b]

I just learned this woman was real not a fictional movie character. Thank you for telling her story.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I'm pleased you enjoyed the video, thank you! ☺

[@zaker721]

What a loyal and honorable woman. May she rest in peace.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Absolutely - especially as there is a story that her father-in-law's men managed to get her body for a proper burial, unlike so many victims of the Revolution. Hopefully, the story is true!

[@PerfectlyImperfect93]

That’s horrible! She did not deserved that gruesome death!

[@a.williams10]

This is such a heartbreaking story. Marie Therese Princess of Lamballe suffered an awful undeserved horrible death just for being loyal to a friend. The Reign of Terror took a significant amount of innocent lives, including children in the process. She had the chance to walk away but she remained by her side and paid with her life. That's what true loyalty is. Thank you for another wonderful production 🙏💐

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I know she's something of a quieter character in the French Revolution's history, but as you say, her loyalty was admirable, and so I thought she deserved to have her story told. The funny thing is, her father-in-law was respected enough that he was left alone, and it was probably only her connection to Marie Antoinette that sealed her fate.

[@a.williams10]

@@HistorysForgottenPeople so well deserved to be told and honoured. She's a great example of what loyalty is. Indeed, it was her father in law who sealed her fate unwillingly. She remained true to herself through such hard times. Your pronunciation at French names is lovely, it's a beautiful language but difficult to learn and although it's valid to pronounce 'Savoy' like that in English, I love the way it sounds in French ('Sav-wah'). Thank you for all your beautiful job 🙏💞

[@newhorizon4066]

Remained loyal to those already condemned soon to be/already on the guillotine. Simply dumb and naive.

[@newhorizon4066]

@@HistorysForgottenPeople Her father in law could have saved her, he sent his men into the prison to save her, but they couldn't save her from herself!

[@whanuipuru4446]

A very brave and very loyal woman. She had a kind and modest genuine nature which was rare in the French court and a loyal true friend to Marie Antoinette. Most of those around Marie Antoinette were greedy, grasping and spiteful. I admire her very much. So brave to face those ferocious sans culottees.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I feel the same way - most of the nobles weren't bad people, but were easily noted for greed and lack of care. Marie Therese seems to have a personality very different to this, and she was certainly brave at her end.

[@angelabby2379]

what? the friends Marie Antoinette selected were pretty nice people, she choosed them despite their rank. Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire even visited her in 1792, she could have just abandoned her, she still a rich duchess, Marie is now a prisoner with nothing

[@dgcat_9487]

​@@HistorysForgottenPeopleshe's royalty that's why. Unlike others like Madam polignac who is part of nobility, her attitude is regal

[@monicacall7532]

Guilt by association was a common feature of the French Revolution. Several famous French cellists who had performed for the Royal family but who no further contact with them had to flee to the King of Prussia’s court where they were warmly welcomed. Anyone who had worked for the royal household, even in the most menial jobs were suspect. It wasn’t just the aristocracy who fled France or moved as far away as possible in order to save their lives. I can’t imagine living in such a terrible state. The Princess de Lamballe’s death was so horrific. Mob mentality is terrifying. I wonder if any of the leaders and citizens at La Force (the prison with the absolute worst reputation of them all) ever thought back upon their behavior and actions when cooler heads finally prevailed after the Reign of Terror ended.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

You're absolutely right, anyone could end up on the wrong side simply for being in contact with the royal family. A famous person who wasn't nobility but had to flee to Prussia and elsewhere in Europe was Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, who was a favourite portrait artist of the French court. The funny thing about the La Force prison was that many of the people who worked there helped a lot of the prisoners escape, either directly or by allowing in 'Scarlet Pimpernel' types. As you say, I wonder what they - and those who made up the mob - thought of their part afterwards?

[@newhorizon4066]

She didn't have to die. Her father in law sent men in there to save her, but they couldn't save her from herself.

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

@@newhorizon4066The thing is she died honestly. She could have betrayed her friend to save her skin, but she didn’t. She was a true platonic loyal friend, which is incredibly rare then and increasingly so now.

[@newhorizon4066]

@@EmilyGloeggler7984 "She was a true platonic loyal friend," so they both died "honestly"? So much for "platonic" loyalty. Stupidity is what it's called nowadays in my book.

[@joeytroy4879]

Thanks for this beautiful short docu! This woman was a princesse of Hearts, Lamballe was loyalty, true friendship And love! Would love to see a movie or series about her. She did not deserve such a tragic end though.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

A movie about the Princesse de Lamballe would be very interesting, as she's such a forgotten figure, and yet was so close to the much more famous Marie Antoinette! And you're right, she definitely didn't deserve the end she got.

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

Poor Princess de Lamballe. Evily slandered and falsely accused, and then treated in such horrific debased evil ways that even guilty criminals now would never be dealt with in such a manner - all because she chose to be and showed herself to be a true platonic honest loyal friend. One can only hope that those who brutally murdered her later repented for their gross misdeeds, otherwise, there is comfort to know that just as with any unrepentant wicked person be they poor or rich, they eventually got held accountable and punished for their actions - if not in life, then certainly when they died.

[@puppychan2086]

This is a story of when loyalty gets you killed...and her Queen had wanted her to escape. It's too bad she didn't listen.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

It's true, Marie Antoinette certainly tried to give her more than one opportunity to leave.

[@redadmiralofvalyria867]

It goes to show u the testament of their friendship, she feared for marie & and simply wanted to be by her side till the end *though I dought even she could have foreseen the fate that awaited them ALL*

[@HajaTiti]

Hrvatski prijevod molim. 16:15

[@annfisher3316]

Tragic end for a lovely woman and such a fickle friendship on the Queen's side. Although reclusive and unjustly vilified, it is commendable how seriously she took her duties. Truly enjoy your interesting and detailed videos. Thank you! ✌

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it! 😊 As you say, she certainly took her role very seriously, certainly moreso after the arrest of the French Royal family.

[@AshiyaDylanSean]

Watching it today and tomorrow is actually the birthday of MA's loyal friend Marie Therese de lamballe.. Happy birthday and may you rest in peace with your queen Marie Antoinette...

[@lfgifu296]

Heartbreaking story :( to think that a mod claiming to be acting for freedom brutally beat, killed and decapitated a woman.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

It's a very horrible way to go out - and it is important to note, as with most things, that it was a small portion of the population who took part in it. There were at least people in charge of the prison who helped many prisoners go free. I think if Marie Therese had just said the oath, she would have been okay, but she was too honest.

[@lisaellis2593]

Agreed, cowardly.

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

@@lisaellis2593She was not cowardly to admit the truth.

[@lisaellis2593]

@@EmilyGloeggler7984 I' am sorry, I ' meant the mob was cowardly, not the lady.

[@alaenamcdonald1877]

Man’s inhumanity to man cannot be underestimated. The conditions the third class endured were inexcusable, but the atrocities perpetrated in the fight to gain some semblance of equality were barbaric beyond imagination. We need to actually live by the maxims of equality, liberty, fraternity; slogans mean nothing when you don’t practice them.

[@Shelly-mz9yf]

I'm liking the part where all the facets of this story is compiled into about 30 minutes. The years that compile this time are 15+ . Thank you so much Lucy Worsley 😊

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Haha, I'm flattered to be compared to Lucy Worsley, but I don't know that I'm at her standard yet! 😅

[@bewilderedbrit8928]

​@@HistorysForgottenPeople Come to think of it your voice is a little similar to hers, without the lisp though 😊

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

@@bewilderedbrit8928 I wonder what Lucy Worsley would think of the comparison? 🤔🤣

[@bewilderedbrit8928]

@@HistorysForgottenPeople 🤫

[@bewilderedbrit8928]

​@@HistorysForgottenPeople also whilst I have your attention, please do a biiiig video about de pompadour 😊

[@Blakiedoo]

this video was so awesome, i love knowing every detail about life at versailles and especially the ins and outs of marie antoinette’s social life. its so fascinating to me. i would LOVE if you guys did one of the duchess of polignac next!! shes one of my favorite figures from marie antoinette’s life, she caused so much scandal just by being herself and i respect that a lot out of a 18th century noblewoman. again, great job!!!!

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

The Duchess de Polignac is on my list for my 18th century France videos, so she will come up eventually! 😊

[@kaylamanor]

How does this video not even have 1,000 likes?

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

Poor woman. She died a loyal friend.

[@colemarie9262]

How unfair it must have felt to these women when they held less power over their own lives than the average peasant woman at the time. They had no say in government except the ironic charitable works for the poor....but they died just like the men of their class did, if not more horribly.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I think all women certainly had a bad deal at this time, but it's true that ordinary women definitely had more of a say during the Revolution. Mind you, the trade off was living in poverty. Having said that, Napoleon made efforts to reduce the efforts women had made once he was in charge!

[@antoniobroccoliporto4774]

It is debated on how Lamballe was murdered although it did happen at the hands of Revolutionaries but the stories of rape and torture might not have been true. She was however brutally decapitated once dead.

[@Philip-bk2dm]

It's tempting to say that she made the right choice. True friendship and love for one's children are life's highest virtues and rewards. As Rev. Martin Luther King said: 'Some things are worth dying for'. Let's hope that violent extremism is on the wane in the west and that we may look forward to a future in which our decendants will view these and similar events as part of an unfortunate, primitive past that we have put behind us. Or, as Defoe had it, ' Wherever God erects a house of prayer, the Devil always builds a chapel there'. As a species, are we getting better or worse or just being what we are with no escape from our worst tendencies at all possible? Nice video, thanks!

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I understand what you mean, and certainly it would have made her a very different person had Marie Therese simply said the oath demanded of her. And of course, that itself would have been no guarantee of her safety, but as you say, she would have betrayed her own sense of loyalty.

[@newhorizon4066]

Right choice? add to that dumb and naive.

[@gafls3151]

I think her behavior shows the great disconnect between French aristocrats and the State of affairs of their country. I do believe that the royal family was not heartless but I think they felt there was nothing they could do to alleviate the plight of the others. I find this to be common amongst those of extreme wealth and privilege, especially those who do not function outside of their ilk. Many rich and/or powerful people imagine they are empathic but they also think that they play no part in the hardships of the sufferers. They do not consider themselves in any way to blame and therefore should suffer no harm. Many many did wake up and try to or succeeded in escaping France before the troubles began. So yes, I think they all should have fled screaming for the borders. Still, it is a moral dilemma whether to save your own hide when you know your loved ones are going to die in a purge but know that you yourself do not have to.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I think you're right - as you say, many French nobles were not 'bad' people, but also didn't really do what they should have to help. Having said that, Louis XVI did try to alleviate the situation by trying to push through laws that would have taxed the wealthier estates more, and it was mainly the richer clergy that stood in his way. But yes, there absolutely was a disconnect between the royalty/nobility and the common people. It reminds me also of over in Victorian London, where it was believed the poor were that way simply because they didn't 'work hard enough'.

[@newhorizon4066]

Swearing loyalty to those already condemned was not going to save their hide, but swearing your hatred to them was going to save yours. Let's hope you make the right choice under those circumstances, mazell.

[@crocodiledundee8685]

Out of curiosity, will you also be covering Charlotte Corday, another famous figure from the French Revolution.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I am, actually! She's one of my next three 18th century France videos, along with two other prominent figures. 😊

[@robnewman6101]

Beloved Kingdom of France. 👑⚔️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚔️👑

[@savagedarksider2147]

Did you know You and History Calling upload on the same day ?

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I do, I think I'm subscribed to their channel! It makes sense; our audience is likely many of the same people, so all on at the same time. 😊

[@savagedarksider2147]

@@HistorysForgottenPeople Fun fact: Henry 4th of Castle wanted to marry Isabella of Castle to Edward IV.

[@lfgifu296]

@@HistorysForgottenPeopleIndeed! Both your channels are amazing, though I wish the days would be separated so I wouldn’t have that many days off good history:) You also post at the same hour btw!! 7pm uk time! (which conveniently for me is the same timezone as in Portugal hehe)

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

It's funny you should mention the timing, as I have been considering moving my videos to a Sunday evening, so it could change! 😉

[@didsthecat1503]

I’ve been reading about her a lot recently, she had a really interesting but somewhat lonely life, and her fate was awful, considering the amount of charity work she had done in her life. But despite my love for this period of French history and it’s noble women, I suppose change had to happen since the majority were living in medieval conditions.

[@vahrheit9996]

What is the hogus bogus gibberish trash that you wrote that betrays the severe damage that you suffer from in your prefrontal cortex to the extent that you hardly have a vegetative mind to live with that is why you are writing laughable foolishness. What are you talking about miserable, wake up. France was one of the most advanced kingdoms at that time. This satanic movement called the French revolution was nothing but a diabolic uprising that brought nothing but misery, bloodshed, and genocide to the French people. There isn't even one redemptive value to this execrable revolution. Go learn before coming to write laughable foolishness that only betrays your ignorance and stupidity. How pathetic

[@adoramae5436]

Her death was extremely gruesome and it's super easy to condemn the mob, but we also need to remember that the French people were quite literally starving to death while the aristocracy tried to maintain their lavish life style while doing the charity that was expected of them. The priority of the ruling class was to maintain power, even if it meant the peasant class suffered.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

The French people were definitely in the right to demand rights and have a revolution, no question. But certainly not all agreed with lopping people's heads off, even if they agreed with everything else (a place I feel I would have agreed with, had I been alive at the time). And you're right in that the Princesse de Lamballe wasn't perfect either - she was certainly one of the better nobles, which makes her death seem more unfair, but she did also refuse a post with the queen unless it came with the full amount of money...which she really didn't need, as she was already wealthy.

[@pierredemeuse6598]

According to the historian of economics René Sédillot, France had -the highest life level just before the french révolution.

[@dennisritchie512]

Yeah, that is the thing that many people forget these days. A certain group at a certain time is bad. That doesn't mean the people who these same people toppled were good.

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

The crimes of the ruling class does not excuse nor justify the crimes of the poor. Those who took part in the mob are guilty of heinous atrocities and God held them fully accountable for their evil.

[@markangelobravo8949]

Poor de Lamballe :(

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

It was a tragic end, but she did show herself to be a true friend to Marie Antoinette.

[@Shelly-mz9yf]

Revisting this :: does anyone out there think/believe that possibly this whole revolutionary situation is a 'on the heels of Louis 14th wrecklessness.' ??

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Oh, there's absolutely no argument that the reasons behind the Revolution had been boiling for a very long time, and it was the result of decades of questionable decisions, weakness, and political decisions based on preserving the status quo.

[@sarah3796]

❤

[@dentrout9383]

❤❤❤

[@xavi312]

Poliniac was a comtess not a duchess

[@newhorizon4066]

Dumb and naive - her father in law even sent men in there to help her avoiding the death charge, but no she had to declare her love to the already head-less. I guess her goal in life is to become a martyr, in this she succeeded.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

That's one way of seeing it. Others might see it as noble and loyal, so I guess it depends on the point of view. For my part, in her position, I probably would have just publicly sworn hatred to the royals, knowing I didn't mean it, then rode off to help them elsewhere. But people took oaths of loyalty more seriously in the past, and yes, there was possibly an element of not necessarily becoming a martyr, but perhaps of showing others they should stand up to the Revolutionaries.

[@kimm.8800]

@ysForgottenPeople In the case of Lamballe, and considering her personality, I would say she was simply a sheltered, oversensitive (called so even by her friends at court) and emotional person, who did not have the experience to handle the situation wisely and compose herself, and therefore simply followed her imediate emotions and sense of "what was right" in a moment of confused terror, without much actual thought behind it.

[@sephmanatac8569]

I cannot blamed the mob these people are starving & living a very poor life while this super ignorant & snob royalties don't care less & live a luxurious life in the expense of the tax payer's money!

[@MarieAntoinetteofAustria]

she was hardly at court, they killed her for simply being a friend of a despised monarch… lamballe was very charitable as well.

[@altinaykor364]

those are not excuses to turn into such a lunatic people that even spread lies! and by the way, these kind of belief you just said, is turning into proven-lie stereotypes these days

[@MarieAntoinetteofAustria]

@@altinaykor364 huh

[@altinaykor364]

@@MarieAntoinetteofAustria ????

[@MarieAntoinetteofAustria]

@@altinaykor364 was that to me?

[@ShirleeKnott]

This comment is to feed the algorithm monster. Turns out it likes munching on comments, replies and likes to both. Why not spread some positive vibes, give it a snack and then watch the channel grow?💗

[@nobodysbaby5048]

Did same, earned them w your clever & charming comment. Let that be a lesson to algorithm monsters everywhere.🤗

[@jmajesty79]

❤