Victoire Louise Marie Thérèse (May 11, 1733 - June 7, 1799) was the seventh child and fifth daughter of King Louis XV of France and his Queen consort Maria Leszczyńska. Originally known as "Madame Quatrième" (her older sister died in February 1733, before her birth) she was later known as "Madame Victoire". She outlived eight of her nine siblings, and was survived by her older sister Adélaïde by less than a year. Victoire was born at the Palace of Versailles. Unlike the older children of Louis XV (including Adélaïde, just one year her senior), Victoire was not raised at the Palace of Versailles, but sent to live at the Abbey of Fontevraud. She took up residence with her sister Madame Adélaïde at Château de Bellevue from 6 October 1789. Revolutionary laws against the church caused them to leave for Italy on 20 February 1791, although they were arrested and detained for several days at Arnay-le-Duc before they were allowed to depart. They visited their niece Clotilde, sister of Louis XVI, in Turin, and arrived in Rome on 16 April 1791. As a result of the increasing influence of Revolutionary France, they travelled further afield, moving to Naples in 1796, where Marie Caroline, sister of Marie Antoinette, was Queen. They moved to Corfou in 1799, and finally ending in Trieste, where Victoire died of breast cancer. Adélaïde died one year later, in exile in the French émigré society at Rome. Their bodies were later returned to France by Louis XVIII and buried at the Abbey of Saint-Denis Her nephews included (among others) Ferdinand, Duke of Parma, Louis XVI of France, Louis XVIII of France, Charles X of France. Her nieces included Madame Élisabeth and Queen Maria Louisa of Spain. Her goddaughter was Angélique Victoire, Comtesse de Chastellux. She is portrayed by Molly Shannon in the 2006 film Marie Antoinette.
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- This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article of the French Wikipedia on 1 November 2006
