Louis XVII, Marie-Therese, and The Usual Suspects

What of Ernestine acting as Marie-Thérèse, then? Madame Royale would have been an important diplomatic weapon as the only generally acceptable link to the deposed dynasty. If Marie-Thérèse went mad in prison, she would have been a liability; she would have to be watched over and kept out of any mischief, and she would not serve in any marriage brokerage; she could still be a threat to French stability if she fell into the wrong hands. Supplanting her with a girl already brought up as a French Princess would seem like a perfect solution on a no questions to ask basis. If everybody acted as if Ernestine was Marie-Thérèse, who would dare to doubt her?

As soon as the Austrians had her in their hands, they would be interested in her being the real thing, no matter what. Marrying her into the Habsburg family might one day open the way to the throne of France. The French Royal Family would have had no interest in who was acting the part; the Emperor was their strongest ally in a restoration bid. Her wilful marriage to the Duc d’Angoulême would still have been acceptable to Emperor Francis II as it reunited the French dynastic lines. That at least was much better than her marrying into another powerful Royal Family.

If you take together the political interests of the time, an exchange of Royal children becomes a scenario that would have served many interests. Far from being outrageous, such claims might come nearer to reality than historians usually like to admit. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary actions, and the French Revolution definitely was extraordinary.

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