Countess Catherine Opalińska (; 13 October 1680 – 19 March 1747), was by birth member of House of Opaliński, Queen consort and Grand Duchess consort of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

twice and Duchess consort of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

through her marriage with

Stanisław I Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

of Poland and Lithuania. Born into the Polish aristocratic family of Opaliński, Catherine married Stanisłaus Leszczyński in 1698 and six years later he was elected as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, due to the support of

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

where she repaid this favour by favouring Swedish people at court. In 1708 Catherine was sent to Stettin due to the increasingly unstable political environment and a year later her husband was deposed due to the loss of Swedish dominance in the Commonwealth; and she and her family were exiled to Sweden and were welcomed by the dowager queen, Hedwig and they became popular members of high society. In 1714 they moved to the Swedish ruled town of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

where they were supported by the state. However, after the death of Charles in 1718 they moved to

Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Wissembourg was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. The name ''Wissembourg'' ...

where the family were subjected to cramped conditions and because of this Catherine began feeling annoyance towards her husband but in 1725 their only surviving child, Maria, married the King of France, which was massive upgrade in status. In 1733 Stanisłaus was restored to the Polish-Lithuanian throne during the War of Polish Succession, thanks to French support, but only three years later he abdicated. The peace treaty made Catherine Duchess of Lorraine but her husband had to give up rights to the Polish-Lithuanian throne. She never fully adjusted to life in Lorraine and always longed for Poland-Lithuania but suffered from ill health, which hindered her opportunities to attend court. Upon their arrival Stanisłaus immediately began taking up mistresses which most of the time, came from her household. Catherine died on 19 March 1747 and a grand funeral service was staged by her son-in-law at Notre Dame.

Biography

Catherine was the daughter of the

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

Count

Jan Karol Opaliński Jan Karol Opaliński (1642 – 26 March 1695), known as Henri Opaliński in France, was a Polish starost and Castellan, kasztelan of Poznań. He was the son of Krzysztof Opaliński and Teresa Konstancya Czarnkowska. Marriage and issue In Dec ...

and his wife, Sofia Anna Czarnkowska. On 10 May 1698 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

she married

Stanisław Leszczyński Stanisław I Leszczyński (Stanisław Bogusław; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at various times Prince of Deux-Ponts, Duk ...

, who became

Duke of Lorraine The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...

and was, briefly,

king of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and

grand duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

(reigned as Stanisław I). In 1699, she gave birth to Anna Leszczyńska, and in 1703, to

Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska (), was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of St ...

, the future spouse of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

of France. Catherine suffered 20 miscarriages between 1700 and 1720.

Queen and Grand Duchess

In 1704, her spouse was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania after having been supported as a candidate by

, who had at the time placed Poland-Lithuania under his occupation. Between November 1704 and July 1705, Charles XII had his headquarters at

Rawicz Rawicz (; ) is a town in west-central Poland with 21,398 inhabitants as of 2004. It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Leszno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Rawicz County. History The ...

, and the royal couple held court at Rydzyna Castle nearby, where Queen-Grand Duchess Catherine hosted balls and masquerades for the Swedish power holders and welcomed the wives of the Swedish commanders stationed there, such as for example

Christina Piper Christina Piper (; 1 January 1673 – 25 March 1752) was a Swedish countess, landowner and entrepreneur who was married to the statesman and military count Carl Piper. During the tenure of her spouse in office, she played a considerable pol ...

, who visited

Carl Piper Count Carl Piper (July 29, 1647, Stockholm – May 29, 1716, Schlüsselburg) was a Swedish statesman. He entered the foreign office after completing his academical course at Uppsala, accompanied Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna on his embassage ...

in Ravicz and were introduced at the Polish court at the same time.Norrhem, Svante, Christina och Carl Piper: en biografi hristina and Carl Piper: a biography Historiska media, Lund, 2010 (Swedish)

Exile

Queen-Grand Duchess Catherine was sent by Stanislaw through Gdansk to Stettin in 1708, when the political situation became unstable. In 1709, her spouse was deposed when the Swedish army lost the military upper hand in Poland-Lithuania, and the family was by Charles XII granted refuge in the Swedish city of

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

, where they arrived in 1711 and stayed for three years. In Sweden, the family was welcomed by the Queen Dowager Hedwig Eleonora and became popular members of the society life on the estates of the nobility around Kristianstad: one of their acquaintances among the Swedish nobility were

, whom they had met in Ravicz in 1705 and with whom they spent several months in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

in the autumn of 1713. In 1712, they also visited

Medevi Medevi Brunn is Scandinavia's oldest spa, located in Motala Municipality on the eastern shore of Lake Vättern, in north-west Östergötland, Sweden. History The spa was founded in 1678 by Count Gustaf Soop and the royal doctor Urban Hjä ...

, the spa of the Queen Dowager. In 1714, Charles XII gave them permission to live in the Swedish province of

in Germany, where they were supported by the income of Zweibrücken: they lived there until the death of Charles XII in 1718 Catherine, as well as her daughter Queen Marie, maintained a political correspondence with

Margareta Gyllenstierna Margareta Gyllenstierna af Fogelvik (c. 1689 - 26 January 1740), was a politically active Swedish countess, married to Arvid Horn, the President of the Privy Council Chancellery (1710–1719 and 1720–1738) and one of the leading figures of the ...

, the spouse of

Arvid Horn Count Arvid Bernhard Horn af Ekebyholm (6 April 166418 April 1742) was a Swedish general, diplomat and politician, a member of the noble Horn family. He served twice as president of the Privy Council Chancellery of Sweden, privy council chancel ...

, with whom she had made the acquaintance during her stay in Sweden. After the death of Charles XII in 1718, they lived in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

in France. Their lifestyle in Wissembourg was regarded as very below standard for a royal at that time; they lived in a small house, and could not pay the salary of their small retinue from which a few "served as an apology for a guard of honour", and the jewels of Catherine were reportedly held as security by a moneylender.Latour, Louis Therese,
Princesses Ladies And Salonnieres of The Reign of Louis XV
', 1927 Catherine Opalińska was described at this point as economical but bitter, and her relationship with Stanislaw was reportedly not happy at this point as she felt disappointment over the loss of a royal position and her exile and blamed this on the actions of Stanislaw, in which she was joined by her mother-in-law

Anna Leszczyńska (1660–1727) Anna Leszczyńska née Jabłonowska (1660–1727) was a Polish szlachta, noblewoman, born into the House of Jablonowski and the mother of King of Poland Stanislaus I Leszczyński. Life She was the daughter of Hetman Princes of the Holy Roman ...

, who lived with them in exile.

France

In 1725, her daughter Marie was chosen to be the queen of France, which made Catherine mother-in-law to

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

. After the wedding, Catherine and Stanisław resided at the

Château de Chambord The Château de Chambord () in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture, which blends traditional French medieval forms with ...

. They kept their titles and were addressed and treated at the French court as king and queen. In 1733, Stanislaw again took the throne of Poland-Lithuania during the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

, making her queen of Poland and grand duchess of Lithuania for the second time. He abdicated the throne in 1736, however. Catherine remained in exile in France during his second reign in Poland-Lithuania. In 1737, her spouse was granted the Duchy of Lorraine for life, and settled there as Duke of Lorraine. This made Catherine duchess consort of Lorraine, and she joined him there and settled at the Ducal court in Nancy. Until her death, however, she kept her title of Queen and Grand Duchess. Catherine suffered from

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

and heart problems, which served as a reason for not attending ceremonial functions, and she was described as a bigot occupied with her "obsession" with returning to Poland-Lithuania. As long as she lived, Stanisław reportedly benefited the

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

Jesuit order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

financially. In contrast to Stanisław, Catherine did not adjust to life in France or Lorraine, but felt a certain bitterness over her exile, and continued to long for Poland-Lithuania. Catherine Opalinska was described as homely, pious and charitable, but also as a "dour" personality whom Stanisław regarded to be boring. As soon as they were installed with their court in Lorraine, Stanisław took numerous mistresses, many among her ladies-in-waiting, such as Catherine Ossolińska and Anna Maria Ossolińska, the ''

Première dame d'honneur ''Première dame d'honneur'' (, ), or simply ''dame d'honneur'' (), was an office at the royal court of France. It existed in nearly all French courts from the 16th-century onward. Though the tasks of the post shifted, the dame d'honneur was norm ...

'' Marie-Louise de Linanges, Madame de Bassompierre and Madame de Cambres, until from 1745 he had a permanent relationship with

Marie Françoise Catherine de Beauvau-Craon Marie Françoise Catherine de Beauvau, Marquise of Boufflers (8 December 1711 – 1 July 1786), commonly known as Madame de Boufflers, was a French noblewoman. She was the royal mistress of Stanislas Leszczyński and mother of the poet Stanislas ...

, all relationships which Catherine could not prevent.

Death

When his mother-in-law, the spouse of the dethroned king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, died in 1747,

ordered a commemorative ceremony, in her honour at

Notre Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The ceremony glorified the deceased who underwent a veritable deification. Her tomb is in the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours, in Nancy, next to her husband and the heart of their daughter. Rue Catherine Opalinska in Nancy is named after her.

Gallery

Image:Zamek sierakow.JPG, Castle in

Sieraków Sieraków () is a town in western Poland with 8,768 inhabitants (2012). Located by the Warta River, it is situated in the Międzychód County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Sieraków is known as a holiday destination with well-developed touris ...

which she inherited in 1695.Zamek w Sierakowie,
Historia Zamku
'. Image:Sierakow-overview1.jpg, The towers of the church in Sieraków were built in 1740 on her order. Image:Katarzyna Opalińska - Lemercier.PNG, Portrait by Jean-Baptiste Lemercier Image:Pompe funebre for Katarzyna Opalińska.jpg, ''Pompe funèbre'' for Catherine Opalińska in

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

. Image:F54 Nancy tombeau-Catherine-Opalinska.JPG, Funeral Monument of Catherine in Nancy

Ancestors

References

* Renata Tyszczuk: The Story of an Architect King: Stanislas Leszczynski in Lorraine 1737-1766