[5] They were tutored botany by M. Lemonnier, history and geography lessons by M. Leblond, and religion by Abbe de Montigat, Canon of Chartres, and they followed the court between the royal palaces with their days divided between studies, walks in the park, or drives in the forest.

[7] While Clotilde was described as a docile pupil, "who made herself loved by all who approached her", Élisabeth long refused to study, stating that "there were always people at hand whose duty it was to think for Princes", and treated her staff with impatience.

[7] Clotilde did not have a good relationship with her sister-in-law Marie Antoinette, who reportedly demonstrated too openly that she preferred her sister Élisabeth, which caused some offense at court.

[5] Instead, however, Clotilde was in February 1775 officially engaged by her brother King Louis XVI to Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont, eldest son of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain.

She asked the Princess de Lamballe about the personality of her intended spouse, and was taught Italian in order to fulfill her role as eventual Queen of Sardinia.

[8] On 21 August 1775, Louis XVI had his sister Clotilde married in Versailles by procuration to Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont, with her second eldest brother the Count of Provence as proxy for the groom, and with Cardinal de la Roche-Aymon officiating at the ceremony.

[8] Clotilde departed from Versailles on 27 August and separated from the King, Queen and her sister at Choisy, before continuing with her brother the Count of Provence.

"[9] In Lyon, Clotilde made herself popular by her successful request to grant an amnesty to the imprisoned deserters in the town prison, before finally arriving at the border at Pont-de-Beauvoisin on 5 September.

Accompanied by her brother the Count of Provence and her husband, she was introduced to her father-in-law at Les Échelles and to her mother-in-law and the rest of the Sardinian court at Chambéry, before making her formal entrance to Turin on the 30 September.

[8] Her first years in Savoy, she enjoyed fashion and entertainment and, despite her saintly reputation, her spouse himself said that it was in fact not her nature to be humble and submissive, and that she had to struggle to achieve this.

[5] Although the union was arranged for political reasons, Clotilde and Charles Emmanuel became devoted to each other, united in their piety and a strong belief in the Catholic faith.

She played the guitar to his singing, they studied religious texts together, and enjoyed spending time at Moncalieri Castle and the Palace of Venaria to relax from the court etiquette.

[8] In 1779, there was a sign of pregnancy that proved to be false, and in 1783, after eight years of attempts to have issue, Clotilde asked Charles Emmanuel to end sexual relations and live in chastity as uti frater et soror, a request he willingly agreed to.

As Vigée Le Brun's stay in Italy occurred between 1789 and 1792, and was granted audience to Clotilde by letters of introduction by the Mesdames de France, the meeting likely took place in 1791 or 1792, despite the fact that Vigée Le Brun - perhaps in retrospect - referred to Clotilde and her spouse as king and queen, while they were in fact still Prince and Princess of Piedmont at this point: Her oldest brother, King Louis XVI, her sister-in-law, Queen Marie Antoinette; and her younger sister, Madame Élisabeth, were all executed in 1793–94.

[7] She participated in a public procession of penance to the Church of the Pere Philippins in Turin, where she announced the death of her sister and ordered prayers to be said for her, and after this spoke of her as a saint.

[8] During their reign in Turin, one of the most important affairs was the confiscation of church property, which was necessary for state economy, but Clotilde insisted on a lengthy (and successful) procedure of obtaining permission and blessings from the Pope for religious reasons before proceeding.

[8] During their reign in exile from mainland Sardinia, the couple traveled between the Italian states as well as their own provinces and upheld diplomatic relations with the hope of being restored to Turin.

She also attended her favorite lady-in-waiting Badia, and during which she was mistaken for a servant woman by the doctor and performed his orders without protests and without telling him who she was or reproaching him when he found out and apologized, an incident which aroused some attention.