The Infanta was married to the Dauphin by
proxy in
Madrid on 18 December 1744 and departed Spain in January 1745. She arrived at
Versailles on 21 February 1745. The official marriage took place at the Palace of Versailles on 23 February 1745 and was performed by the
Cardinal de Rohan. In France she was known as ''Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle d'Espagne
or de Bourbon
. Addressed as Madame la Dauphine'' at Versailles, Maria Teresa Rafaela was the highest ranking female in the kingdom after
Queen Marie. She was the first Dauphine since the 1712 death of
Marie Adélaïde of Savoy. On 24 February
the Yew Tree Ball was held in honor of the newlyweds. The event also marked the arrival of
Madame de Pompadour at Versailles. The ball was attended by the King, the Queen,
Madame Henriette,
Madame Adélaïde; the
Duchess of Chartres, the
Dowager Princess of Conti and the
Duchess of Modena along with other
princesses of the Blood. , 1748 The marriage did not get off on a good start as it was not consummated on the first night. This was a major embarrassment to the young
dauphine and as a result her position at court was undermined. Despite this, she had a good relationship with the King and Queen, and her husband fell quickly in love with her. Although the Dauphine was described as beautiful, dignified, pious and well educated, negative remarks were made because of her red hair. Her shy nature further isolated her from the court and she was openly hostile to the King for his affair with Madame de Pompadour. The Dauphin and Dauphine disliked the royal mistress for the way she drew attention away from
Queen Marie Leszczyńska. Finally, the marriage was consummated in September 1745, ending court gossip. The couple became very close and devoted to each other, spending most of their time together. On 19 July 1746 at Versailles, Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle gave birth to a daughter. She died from complications just three days later, on 22 July. Her death caused intense sorrow to the Dauphin, which persisted into his second marriage. Louis XV had to physically drag his son away from the deathbed of his wife. To make matters worse, the Dauphine's father, King
Philip V of Spain had died just 13 days before her on July 9. The child was baptised
Marie Thérèse and was styled as
Madame Royale but died at Versailles in 1748. Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle was buried at the
Basilica of Saint-Denis, the French royal necropolis outside
Paris on 6 August 1746. At her death, her half brother,
Ferdinand VI, proposed that the
Dauphin marry her sister the
Infanta Maria Antonia Fernanda but Louis XV refused. The following year, Louis married again to
Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony a daughter of
Augustus III of Poland and
Maria Josepha of Austria by whom he had seven children, including the future
Louis XVI. When the Dauphin died in 1765, he requested that his heart be placed beside the grave of Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle. ==Issue==