princesse de Marie Thérèse Louise de Savoie-Carignan Lamballe

Born in Turin on September 8, 1749, into the House of Savoy, the future Princesse de Lamballe married into the French royal circle while still very young. After being widowed early, she became part of the household of Marie Antoinette and was known as one of the queen’s closest companions.

Her life at Versailles placed her near the center of the tensions that would erupt into the French Revolution. Loyal to the royal family during a time of growing danger, she remained linked to the queen even as the monarchy came under intense pressure.

She died in Paris on September 3, 1792, during the September Massacres, and her death became one of the Revolution’s most notorious symbols of violence. Today she is remembered both as a historical figure in her own right and as a poignant witness to the fall of the ancien régime.