At Saint Germain, the bells rang out as everyone gathered to celebrate Marie Louise, the future Queen of Spain and daughter of Monsieur and Henriette. Marie Louise had always known this day would come, but she felt nervous as she got ready to meet King Charles II of Spain. She carried his portrait with her, a man rumored to be immature, in poor health, and, according to court gossip, not very attractive. She was given endless political advice on how to win the king's affection and trust through dealing with the Queen Mother. Dreading the idea of leaving France for him, she lost her temper and shouted at her ladies not to touch her. "I do not deserve such a fate! I should be Queen of France, not Spain! I should be the Dauphin's queen, for I am deserving of him!" she cried, bursting into tears as she was dressed in a tight blue gown covered in jewelry and matching earrings. Soon after, her father, Monsieur, and her stepmother, Lisolette, came to see her. They looked sad, their faces full of worry. Still, they went with her to the carriage that would take her to Versailles, where she was to meet her uncle Louis, the Grand Dauphin, and the rest of the court. On the way, the carriage stopped at Val-de-Grâce so Marie Louise could visit her mother's preserved heart. After a brief moment, she returned to the carriage and continued to Versailles. There, Marie Louise looked at the Grand Dauphin, but he did not meet her gaze. She felt both admiration and sadness, knowing her future was set elsewhere. Louis honored his niece and said, "Goodbye forever. If you came back to France, it would be your greatest disgrace." Marie Louise cried as Monsieur and Lisolette, both with tears in their eyes, sat with her in the carriage for the start of her journey to Spain. As she looked out the window, she remembered the day she learned she would marry Charles II. Heartbroken, she had knelt before Louis as he went to church, begging him through tears to change her fate. He brushed off her pleas, joking that he could not find a better match for his own daughters and that the Holy Queen of Spain should not keep the Most Christian King of France from church. Monsieur also tried to persuade Louis to end the agreement, but Louis refused. There were celebrations, and the proxy wedding took place at Château de Fontainebleau on August 31, 1679, with Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti, standing in for Carlos II of Spain. During the ceremony, Marie looked at him and wished she could trade him for her real husband, to whom she was now bound. Monsieur saw his daughter crying and hugged her with Lisolette. Monsieur wept, as she was his joy and favorite child, and they looked so much alike. Lisolette thought back to the days when she and Marie played games together and pulled pranks on an old lady in Versailles they disliked, always throwing water at her dress as she passed by their window. The carriage finally stopped at the French border. The family got out and accompanied Marie Louise, along with her group of ladies-in-waiting and a Spanish friar named Ventimiglia. Monsieur and Lisolette wiped away their tears and kissed Marie Louise goodbye. She smiled at their kindness.
And finally, Mariana of Austria and Imperial Spain: Court, Dynastic, and International Politics in Seventeenth-Century Europe by Silvia Mitchell.
