Marie-Louise Coidavid
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| Marie Louise Coidavid | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of Haiti | |
| Reign | 1811-1820 |
| Spouse | Henri I of Haiti |
Marie Louise Coidavid, as married Christophe, (1778-1851), was the Queen of the Kingdom of Haiti 1811-20 as the spouse of Henri I of Haiti.
Early life
Marie-Louise was born of black but free parents: her father was the owner of a hotel, Hotel de la Couronne. She married Henri Christophe in Cap-Francais in 1793. They had four children: François Ferdinand, born 1794, Françoise-Améthyste (d.1831), Athénaïs (d.1838) and Victor-Henri. At her spouse's new position in 1798, she was moved to a palace in Cap. She and her children lived underground during the French invasion until 1803.
Queen
In 1811, she was made queen and given ceremonial tasks as a queen, lady-in-waitings, a secretary and her own court. She took her position seriously and said that the title given to her by the nation also gave her responsibilities and duties to perform. She became the hostess of the court life performed at the Sans-Souci Palace.
After the death of her spouse, she remained with her daughters at the palace until they were from escorted it by the followers of her spouse with his corpse, after which the palace was plundered. They were given the property Lambert outside Cap. She was visited by president Boyer, who offered his protection, and denied the spurs of gold she gave him, saying he was the leader of a poor people. They were allowed to settle in Port-au-Prince. Marie-Louise is described as calm and resigned, although her daughters, especially Athenais, were vengefull.
Exile
In August 1821, the ex-queen left Haiti with her daughters under the protection of the British admiral Sir Home Popham, and went to London. There were rumours that she was searching for the money, three million, deposited by her spouse in Europe, and she lived the rest of her life without economic difficulties. She lived the rest of her life discreetly with her daughters in Pisa in Italy, where they were somewhat bothered by fortune hunters and throne claimers who wanted their fortune. They made a grand visit to Rome in 1828. Shortly before her death, she wrote to Haiti for permission to return, but she never did, and died in Italy.