) The marriage of Marie Joséphine had been deemed necessary by Louis XV because the
dauphin had not consummated his marriage, and there may thus prove to be necessary to leave the task to provide the next heir to the throne to the
Count of Provence, who was second in line in succession after his brother. She did not make a good impression upon her arrival in France, and was described as small, plain, with sallow skin and what Louis XV called “a villainous nose”, and as a person as timid, gauche and "ill educated in all those graces considered so important at
Versailles", coming from the more strict Sardinian court, where rouge was found repugnant. In order to rectify the bad impression of her appearance, the ambassador to France from Sardinia was required to ask her father to tell her about the necessity for a careful toilette, in particular with regard to her teeth and hair: “It is embarrassing for me to discuss such things, but these mere details to us are vital matters in this country”. Years later the Sardinian ambassador to France reported that there was never a question of a physical union between them. Marie Joséphine herself reported in February 1772 that she was quite sure she was not pregnant “and it’s not my fault.” A second pregnancy in 1781 also miscarried, and the marriage remained childless. ) During her first years in France, the three royal couples - the count and countess of Provence, the count and countess of Artois, the Dauphin and Dauphine - as well as the princesse de Lamballe, who was the favorite of Marie Antoinette, formed a circle of friends and acted in
amateur theater plays together, before an audience only consisting of the dauphin. As the second lady of the French court after the queen, she alternated with the
Mesdames de France in accompanying Marie Antoinette on official representational assignments. The seemingly good relationship between the four couples somewhat deteriorated, however, after the succession of Louis XVI to the throne in 1774. Louis XVI and Louis Stanislas did not enjoy a harmonious relationship. They often quarreled, as did their wives. The Count of Provence actually challenged the legitimacy of Marie Antoinette's first child, and until the birth of a male heir by Marie Antoinette, he did everything in his power to promote himself and his wife as better fitted to be next-in-line for the throne. Without children or political influence, Marie Joséphine intrigued against the Queen, but without much success, while her spouse orchestrated a true country-wide opposition against her. She was well educated in literature - she had her own library installed in her apartments - and was estimated to have been of no small intelligence and with a good ability to accustom to court intrigues. They regularly attended court in the Tuileries and were also present at the evening family suppers, where Marie Joséphine was described as humorous and entertained with character reading of people's faces. On the 20 June, Marie Joséphine attended a dinner with the royal family at the Tuileries with her spouse. On that night, she was awoken in her bed by Gourbillon who announced that she was ordered by the king and her husband to leave the country at once, and swiftly taken to her designed rented carriage by Gourbillon, while Louis Stanislas left with d'Avaray to a different carriage. The escape of the Provence couple was more successful than the royal couple's, as they left separately and more discreetly. Louis Stanislas left dressed as an English merchant only accompanied by his favorite d'Avraye and travelled by route of
Soissons,
Laon and
Maubeuge to Madame de Balbi in
Mons, while Marie Joséphine travelled via the northerly road by
Douai and
Orchies with her favorite Gourbillon. They each passed the border with no difficulty whatsoever, and reunited in
Namur. == Exile and death (1791–1810) ==