clotilde and her younger sister élisabeth were raised by "madame de marsan", governess to the children of france. the sisters were considered much dissimilar in personality. because she was overweight, clotilde was nicknamed "gros-madame" in her youth. while her sister elisabeth was described as "proud, inflexible, and passionate", clothilde was in contrast estimated to be "endowed with the most happy disposition, which only needed guiding and developing". they were given the usual education of royal princesses in that time, focusing upon accomplishments, religion and virtue, an education to which clothilde reportedly willingly subjected herself. 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.