Bouquet de Marie Christine by Guerlain c1885

Bouquet de Marie Christine: created around 1885. Composed for the Maria Cristina, of Austria, then crowned the Queen of Spain alongside her husband Alfonso, successor to Napoleon III. Guerlain had often created perfumes for various heads of state and crowned heads of Europe, and to continue this tradition for Maria Cristina was just the right thing for the perfumer to do.

Maria Christina of Austria (Maria Christina Désirée Henriette Felicitas Rainiera; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was Queen consort of Spain as the second wife of King Alfonso XII of Spain. 

Known to her family as Christa, she was born at Židlochovice Castle (Groß Seelowitz), near Brno, in Moravia, a daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria. Various sources attributed good traits to Maria Christina before her marriage. One states she was "tall, fair, sensible, and well educated". She was regent of Spain during the minority of her son Alfonso XIII and the vacancy of the throne between her husband's death and her son's birth.

When the King died, Maria Christina was pregnant, so the throne was vacant, depending on whether Maria Christina's unborn child was a male or a female; a male would make that child king, while a female would place her elder daughter, Infanta María Mercedes, on the throne. During this period, Maria Christina ruled as regent until her child, a son, was born, who was Alfonso XIII of Spain from birth. Maria Christina continued as regent until Alfonso XIII attained his majority in 1902. Her chief advisor was Práxedes Mateo Sagasta. Her rule is described as well balanced and in accordance with respect for the constitutional rights, and many political reforms were instated during her regency to prevent political conflicts and chaos. Her role was mostly ceremonial, and her purpose was to preserve the crown for her son until he became an adult. After her son's marriage in 1906, she lost her position as first lady at court and became Queen dowager and Queen Mother. She died in 1929 at the Royal Palace in Madrid and is buried at El Escorial.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? I don't know the notes of this particular perfume, but I imagine it was probably based on flowers found in Spain.

Bottles:

Presented in the Carre flacon.

Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued, date unknown.

La Ilustración española y americana - Part 2 - Page 374, 1885:

"For girls, Guerlain has composed a simple perfume, as fresh and engaging youth as a spring bouquet, is Maria Cristina which has served to sponsor HM Queen of Spain. So young families have timely responded to thinking to adopt Guerlain, and Maria Cristina sponsoring the perfume house Guerlain 15 rue de la Paix in Paris."

La Nouvelle revue, 1888:

As for the perfumery question, I leave it to our perfumer, Guerlain, to resolve them. Less capricious on this subject than on many others, fashion here is almost immutable. And the very name Guerlain, which once returned to the stage of the Comédie-Franciase on the occasion of the revival of Les Effrontés, is the best proof of this. Emile Augier's play is certainly not new! And the "first" dates back to the imperial years. But, from that time, Guerlain was the fashionable perfumer and its essences distributed the perfume, the imperial Russian already vying for it with the eau de Cologne of the same label, which had preceded it on the toilets of elegant ladies. Since then, many other perfumes have come to complete the exquisite collection of the house of Guerlain, and the Imperial Russian now has for rivals, in its ever ascending favor, the Pao-Rosa, the Marie-Christine, the white heliotrope, the Shore-Caprice, the Maréchale-Duchesse, the Primavera de España, the essential balm of Violets, etc. , etc As you can see, our refined, smooth dilettantes are spoiled for choice. 

General route of France: Provence, 1891:

GUERLAIN 15, rue de la Paix, Paris Perfumes: Imperial Russian, Marie-Christine, Jicky, Eau de Cologne Imperiale, the same Amber or Russian. Sapoceti, special soap patented in 1843 - Strawberry Cream, the best Cold Cream - Cypris Powder, refreshing and unalterable - Excellence, quintessence of Amber Flowers, for the toilet and the handkerchief.