the young Charlotte Aglaé upon, "the mere sight of her portrait". Few expected the marriage to succeed, as Charlotte Aglaé had no desire to leave France. Her distant cousin, Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, who had previously been wedded against her will to Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1661, had suffered through a disastrous marriage. Eventually, Marguerite was forced to return to France in disgrace. People assumed that the same fate awaited Charlotte Aglaé. The grand duchess noticed the similarities between herself and her younger cousin and, unable to deal with the situation, refused to speak to Charlotte Aglaé about her impending nuptials: the Grand Duchess of Tuscany says that she will not see Mademoiselle de Valois nor speak to her, knowing very well what Italy is, and believing that Mademoiselle de Valois will not be able to reconcile herself to it. She is afraid that if her niece should ever return to France they will say, "There is the second edition of the Grand Duchess". The original date for the marriage was 25 January 1720, but this date was postponed until the next month due to an oversight by the Bishop of Modena. Despite this, the marriage certificate was signed on 31 January. On 11 February 1720, a proxy marriage was performed at the Tuileries Palace. Her brother, the Duke of Chartres stood in for his future brother-in-law, while her younger sister Louise Élisabeth held her train. After this, there was a banquet at the Palais Royal where the young king Louis XV attended and presented his gifts to the new Hereditary Princess of Modena. Modena Charlotte Aglaé set off first for Antibes and next Genoa. Arriving in Reggio on 20 June, she met her father-in-law, husband and brother-in-law for the first time. The formal wedding ceremony took place on 21 June 1720 in Modena. Charlotte Aglaé received an enormous dowry of 1.8 million livres, half of which was contributed in the name of the young king, Louis XV, on orders of the Regent. From her adopted country, she received a trousseau consisting of diamonds and portraits of her future husband. As her husband's mother had died in 1710, the Hereditary Princess was the most senior princess in Modena. Although by rank she was neither a fille nor petite-fille de France, Charlotte Aglaé was allowed to keep the Duchess of Villars in attendance as a lady-in-waiting at