Category Archives: Tuscany Royals

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany was the third of the five children and the second but the only surviving son of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. Given the names Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Francesco Ferdinando Carlo, the future Grand Duke of Tuscany was born on October 3, 1797, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. His paternal grandparents were Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Luisa of Spain. His maternal grandparents were King Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria.

Leopoldo had four siblings:

Leopoldo lived much of his childhood in exile. In 1801, Napoleon conquered Tuscany and his father Ferdinando III was forced by the Treaty of Aranjuez to leave Tuscany to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria. Ferdinando III and his family went into exile in Vienna, Austria. In 1807, Napoleon dissolved the Kingdom of Etruria and integrated it into France. After Napoleon’s downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to Ferdinando III. While the family was in exile in Vienna, Leopoldo’s mother Luisa, aged 29, died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son on September 19, 1802.

Leopoldo as a teenager; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo was 17-years-old when his family returned to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He completed his studies having lessons in law, art, literature, and agriculture which greatly interested him. He studied and edited the writings of the physicist, astronomer, philosopher, mathematician Galileo Galilei and edited and published an edition of the poems of Lorenzo de’Medici which earned him his appointment as a member of the Accademia della Crusca, a Florence-based society of scholars of the linguistics and philology of the Italian language.

Maria Anna of Saxony, Leopoldo’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 28, 1817, by proxy in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony and then in person at the Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, on November 16, 1817, Leopoldo married Princess Maria Anna of Saxony, daughter of Hereditary Prince Maximilian of Saxony and his first wife Caroline of Bourbon-Parma.

The three daughters of Maria Anna and Leopoldo; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo and his first wife Maria Anna of Saxony had three daughters:

Upon his father’s death on June 18, 1824, Leopoldo became Grand Duke of Tuscany. During the first twenty years of his reign, Leopoldo focused on the domestic affairs of the Grand Duchy. Although he was subject to Austrian influence, he refused to adopt some Austrian methods, allowed some freedom of the press, and permitted many political exiles from other countries to live in Tuscany.

Leopoldo’s wife Maria Anna, aged 32, died on March 24, 1832, at the Royal Palace in Pisa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, from tuberculosis which also caused the early death of her daughter Auguste. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Leopoldo greatly grieved his beloved wife but because he had three daughters and needed a male heir to ensure the succession. If Leopoldo did not have a male heir, the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany would revert to Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives.

Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Leopoldo’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 7, 1833, at the chapel of the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Leopoldo married his first cousin Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, daughter of King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabel of Spain.

Leopoldo and his second wife Maria Antonia had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir and the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV:

Leopoldo and his family returning from exile in 1849; Credit – Wikipedia

The Revolutions of 1847/1848 caused Leopoldo to enact a constitution but it was not enough for the radical forces who wanted to completely eliminate Austrian influence. In January 1849, Leopoldo left Florence when a provisional republican government was formed. However, the republican government was short-lived due to a counter-revolution by Austrian troops and Leopoldo was able to return to Florence,

Leopoldo in 1860; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Schlackenwerth Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

The former Grand Ducal Family of Tuscany settled in the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ruled by Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives. The family resided at Schlackenwerth Castle (link in German) in Schlackenwerth, a German-speaking town in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now Ostrov, in the Czech Republic. The people of the town treated Leopoldo with great respect and asked him to become the mayor of Schlackenwerth. Leopoldo accepted and while he was mayor, a great deal was accomplished. For instance, the museum, which was closed due to its run-down condition was renovated and reopened. Leopoldo arranged for children from poor families to attend school. In 1866, when a fire in Schlackenwerth created much destruction, Leopoldo used his private fortune to have the worst damage repaired.

In November 1869, Leopoldo and his wife Maria Antonia made a pilgrimage to Rome, and Leopoldo died there on January 29, 1870, at the age of 72. Initially, Leopoldo was buried in Rome at the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles (Santi Apostoli).  In 1914, his remains were transferred to Vienna, Austria where they were interred at the Capuchin Church in the Tuscan Vault in the Imperial Crypt. Leopoldo’s second wife Maria Antonia survived him by twenty-eight years, dying at the age of 83 on November 7, 1898, at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, Austria. She was interred at the Capuchin Church in the Ferdinand Vault at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_III,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iii-grand-duke-of-tuscany-archduke-of-austria/> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopoldo II di Toscana – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_II_di_Toscana> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony was the second wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Born at the Royal Palace in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, on April 27, 1796, Maria Ferdinanda was the second of the seven children and the second of the four daughters of Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony and Princess Carolina of Parma. She was given the names Maria Ferdinanda Amalia Xaveria Theresia Josepha Anna Nepomucena Aloysia Johanna Vincentia Ignatia Dominica Franziska de Paula Frances de Chantal. Maria Ferdinanda’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich Christian, Elector of Saxony, and Maria Antonia Walpurgis of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinando, Duke of Parma and Maria Amalia of Austria.

Maria Ferdinanda had six siblings:

Engraving of Maria Ferdinanda in 1822, the year of her wedding; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Ferdinanda’s younger sister Maria Anna was to marry the future Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, son of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, Maria Anna was so terrified at the idea of meeting her bridegroom that she refused to leave Saxony unless her sister Maria Ferdinanda accompanied her. During the wedding celebrations, Maria Ferdinanda caught the eye of the groom’s father Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany who was twenty-seven years older than Maria Ferdinanda.

Maria Ferdinanda’s husband Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Four years later, when his son Leopoldo and his wife Maria Anna had not produced any children, Ferdinando decided to marry twenty years after the death of his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. He chose Maria Ferdinanda as his second wife and they were married on May 6, 1821, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Ferdinando hoped to have more children but his marriage to Maria Ferdinadna remained childless. Three years after his second wedding, Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, aged 55, died on June 18, 1824, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Maria Anna of Saxony, sister of Maria Ferdinanda; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Ferdinanda became a widow at the age of twenty-eight but she never remarried. After Ferdinando III’s death, his son Leopoldo succeeded him and Maria Ferdinanda’s sister Maria Anna became the new Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Maria Anna and Leopoldo eventually had children – three daughters who could not succeed to the throne of Tuscany. After Maria Anna died in 1832 from tuberculosis, Leopoldo married Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies and the couple had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir and the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV.

In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family, including Maria Ferdinanda, took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Maria Ferdinanda lived partly in the Kingdom of Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire, and also in Dresden at the court of her brother King Johann of Saxony. She had a very close relationship with her unmarried sister Amalie who was a comedic opera composer under the pen name A. Serena, and a dramatist under the name Amalie Heiter.

Maria Ferdinanda survived her husband Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany by forty-one years, dying on January 3, 1865, aged 68, at the Chateau Brandýs nad Labem, a private property of the former Tuscany grand ducal family, in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. She was buried in the Ferdinand Vault at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria where her husband’s first wife was also buried.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Ferdinanda_of_Saxony> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iii-grand-duke-of-tuscany-archduke-of-austria/> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Ferdinanda di Sassonia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Ferdinanda_di_Sassonia> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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Luisa of Naples and Sicily was the first wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa was born on July 27, 1773, at the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy. She was the second of the seventeen children and the second of the ten daughters of King Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. Luisa’s paternal grandparents were Carlos IV, King of Naples and Sicily, later Carlos III, King of Spain, and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Her maternal grandparents were Maria Theresa of Austria, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and Francis Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine.

Luisa’s family in 1783: Maria Theresa, Francesco, her father Ferdinando, her mother Maria Carolina, Maria Cristina, Gennaro, Maria Amelia, Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Luisa had had sixteen siblings but only seven survived childhood. Seven of her siblings died from smallpox. However, her surviving four sisters all married sovereigns although her sister Maria Antonia died before her husband became King of Spain.

Portrait by Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun of Luisa whose features have been “modified”; Credit – Wikipedia

Luisa was not considered to be good-looking. In 1790, Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, a prominent French portrait painter of the late 18th century, visited Naples to paint portraits of Luisa’s family and she later stated: “Princess Luisa Maria was extremely ugly, and I would have gladly done without finishing her portrait, but in the end, I modified some features of the princess in order to make her at least presentable.”

In 1790, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany had been elected Holy Roman Emperor as Leopold II upon the death of his childless brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, and he abdicated the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in favor of his second son who became Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Leopold wanted his son Ferdinando to be married as soon as possible and he turned to his sister Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily and a match was made between the double first cousins Luisa and Ferdinando. Luisa’s father Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily was the brother of Ferdinando’s mother Maria Luisa of Spain. Luisa’s mother Maria Carolina was the sister of Ferdinando’s father Leopold.  Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790), later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792)

Luisa’s husband Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 15, 1790, in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy, Luisa married by proxy Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The couple married in person in Vienna, Austria on September 19, 1790. At the Tuscan court, there was gossip about Luisa’s lack of attractiveness. However, many considered the gossip about her looks to be superficial and saw Luisa as a person who showed great kindness to everyone.

Grand Duchess Luisa of Tuscany with her children pointing to a bust of Empress Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Luisa and Ferdinando had five children:

In 1801, Napoleon conquered Tuscany and Ferdinando was forced by the Treaty of Aranjuez to leave Tuscany to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria. Ferdinando and his family went into exile in Vienna, Austria. In 1807, Napoleon dissolved the Kingdom of Etruria and integrated it into France. After Napoleon’s downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to Ferdinando.

Tomb of Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Von Krischnig in der Wikipedia auf Deutsch – Eigenes Werk, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5557226

While the family was in exile in Vienna, Austria, Luisa, aged 29, died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son on September 19, 1802, at Hofburg Palace. She was buried with her stillborn son in her arms at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Twenty years after Luisa’s death,  52-year-old Ferdinando married 25-year-old Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony. The couple had no children. Ferdinando survived his first wife Luisa by twenty-two years, dying at the age of 55, on June 18, 1824, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. He was buried in the Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Luisa of Naples and Sicily – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luisa_of_Naples_and_Sicily> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iii-grand-duke-of-tuscany-archduke-of-austria/> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Luisa Maria Amalia di Borbone-Napoli – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luisa_Maria_Amalia_di_Borbone-Napoli> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was born on May 6, 1769, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. He was the third of the sixteen children and the second of the twelve sons of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790), later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792) and Maria Luisa of Spain. (Ferdinando’s father is commonly known as Leopold.) Ferdinando’s paternal grandfather was Francis Stephen, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765), Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Duke of Lorraine (reigned 1729 – 1737). His paternal grandmother was the formidable and powerful Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia – the Sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. Ferdinando’s maternal grandparents were Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.

Ferdinando’s parents and siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando had fifteen siblings. Unusual for the time, only two died in childhood.

On February 20, 1790, Ferdinando’s childless uncle Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria died and Ferdinando’s father Leopold succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary titles. When his father was elected Holy Roman Emperor, he abdicated the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinando who officially became Grand Duke of Tuscany on July 22, 1790. Ferdinando’s elder brother Franz would succeed to the Habsburg hereditary titles and be elected Holy Roman Emperor upon the death of his father in 1792.

Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 15, 1790, in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy, Ferdinando married by proxy his double first cousin Luisa of Naples and Sicily. The couple married in person in Vienna, Austria on September 19, 1790. Luisa was the daughter of Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily (later King of the Two Sicilies) and Maria Carolina of Austria. Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily was the brother of Ferdinando’s mother Maria Luisa of Spain. Maria Carolina was the sister of Ferdinando’s father Leopold.

Grand Duchess Luisa of Tuscany with her children pointing to a bust of Empress Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando and Luisa had five children:

In 1801, Napoleon conquered Tuscany and Ferdinando was forced by the Treaty of Aranjuez to leave Tuscany to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria. Ferdinando and his family went into exile in Vienna, Austria. In 1807, Napoleon dissolved the Kingdom of Etruria and integrated it into France. After Napoleon’s downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to Ferdinando.

While the family was in exile in Vienna, Luisa, aged 29, died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son on September 19, 1802, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried with her stillborn son in her arms at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna Austria.

Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Ferdinando III’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

For the last years of his reign, Ferdinando was occupied with public works including road and aqueduct construction. Ferdinando was personally involved with these projects and developed malaria which ultimately led to his death. Twenty years after the death of his first wife, on May 6, 1821, 52-year-old Ferdinando married 25-year-old Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony. The couple had no children.

Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, aged 55, died on June 18, 1824, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. He was buried in the Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_III,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-holy-roman-emperor-pietro-leopoldo-i-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinando III di Toscana – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_III_di_Toscana> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Luisa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Maria Luisa of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain was Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor/Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Born on November 24, 1745, at the Palace of Portici in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, Maria Luisa was the fifth of the thirteen children and the fifth of the seven children of Carlo VII, King of Naples/Carlo IV, King of Sicily (later Carlos III, King of Spain) and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Maria Luisa’s paternal grandparents were Felipe V, King of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Her maternal grandparents were Augustus III, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Elector of Saxony and Maria Josepha of Austria.

In 1759, upon the death of his childless half-brother King Ferdinand VI of Spain, Maria Luisa’s father Carlo VII of Naples/Carlo IV of Sicily succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. Because of treaties, Carlos could not be the sovereign of all three kingdoms. His eldest son Felipe was excluded from the succession because of mental disability and his second son Carlos was the heir apparent to the Spanish throne. That left the third son Ferdinando to become King of Naples and King of Sicily. Ferdinando was only eight years old when he became King of Naples and Sicily and a regency council ruled until his sixteenth birthday. Fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa and her family, minus her brother Ferdinando, moved to Spain. Maria Luisa and her surviving siblings received the Spanish royal titles Infante or Infanta.

Maria Luisa with her brother Francisco Javier on the left and Carlos on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had twelve siblings but six did not survive childhood:

Maria Luisa was supposed to marry the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa, who was in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, and Queen of Bohemia and Francis Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine. However, King Louis XV of France disapproved of the match and instead wanted Joseph to marry his granddaughter Isabella of Parma. Not about to give an alliance with Spain, the formidable and powerful Maria Theresa substituted her second surviving son Leopold who was heir to his father’s Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Maria Luisa’s husband Leopold; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa and Leopold were married by proxy on February 16, 1764, in Madrid, Spain. 18-year-old Leopold and 20-year-old Maria Luisa were married in person on August 5, 1765, in Innsbruck, Austria. Sadly, just thirteen days later, Leopold’s father Francis Stephen died suddenly in Innsbruck of a stroke or heart attack, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera. The eldest son was elected Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Joseph II. The second (surviving) son Leopold succeeded his father as Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the newlyweds settled at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where they would live for the next twenty-five years.

Maria Luisa and Leopold with their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa and Leopold had sixteen children. Because his elder brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor had no children, Leopold became the founder of the main line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Maria Luisa remained largely unknown to the Tuscan aristocracy and maintained contact with a small group of friends in her private life. She mostly spent her time on the upbringing of her children. As parents, Maria Luisa and Leopold allowed their children a great deal of freedom without being tied to formal court life and occasionally took them on excursions to rural areas and the coast.

Maria Luisa’s coronation as Queen of Hungary; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 after the death of his childless brother Joseph. Maria Luisa became Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary, and Queen of Bohemia.  At that time, he abdicated the throne of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinand. Leopold, Maria Luisa, and their family moved to Vienna, Austria. After only seventeen months as Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 1, 1792, aged 44, in Vienna, Austria. He was buried in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Leopold’s eldest son Franz was elected (the last) Holy Roman Emperor and later was the first Emperor of Austria.

Maria Luisa’s tomb in the Imperial Crypt; Credit – Wikipedia

Less than three months after the sudden death of her husband, Maria Luisa also died suddenly, aged 46, on May 15, 1792, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried next to her husband in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Their early deaths left their nine youngest children, all under the age of 18, orphans.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Luisa of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Spain> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-holy-roman-emperor-pietro-leopoldo-i-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Luisa di Borbone-Spagna (1745-1792) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_di_Borbone-Spagna_(1745-1792)> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

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The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Grand Duke of Tuscany as Pietro Leopoldo I from 1765 – 1790 and Holy Roman Emperor as Leopold II from 1790 – 1792, Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard was born on May 5, 1747, in Vienna, Austria. Leopold, as was known, was the ninth of the sixteen children and the third but the second surviving of the five sons of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right. His mother was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. Maria Theresa, who had arranged for her husband to be elected Holy Roman Emperor, wielded the real power and Francis Stephen was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife. Leopold’s paternal grandparents were Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans. His maternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Leopold’s parents and his siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold had fifteen siblings but six of them died in childhood. His youngest sister Maria Antonia married King Louis XVI of France and became the ill-fated Queen Marie Antoinette of France.

When Leopold’s father became Grand Duke of Tuscany, it was decided that the second son would inherit that title and territory. However, Karl Joseph, the second son, died from smallpox at the age of fifteen, and Leopold, the third son became the second surviving son and the heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Like all of his siblings, Leopold received an excellent education as befitted a prince during the Age of the Enlightenment. He was particularly interested in the natural sciences and all the new discoveries and ideas. In addition to German, Leopold mastered Latin, spoke French and Italian, and also spoke a little Czech.

Maria Luisa of Spain, Leopold’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 16, 1764, in Madrid, Spain Leopold was married by proxy to Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain, daughter of Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. 18-year-old Leopold and 20-year-old Maria Luisa were married in person on August 5, 1765, in Innsbruck, Austria. Sadly, just thirteen days later, Leopold’s father Francis Stephen died suddenly In Innsbruck of a stroke or heart attack, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera. The eldest son was elected Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Joseph II. The second (surviving) son Leopold succeeded his father as Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the newlyweds settled at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where they would live for the next twenty-five years.

Leopold with his wife Maria Luise and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold and Maria Luisa had sixteen children. Because his elder brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor had no children, Leopold became the founder of the main line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

As Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold was a moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism and an advocate of the Leopoldine Code, a consolidation of the criminal law of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany that made the Grand Duchy the first country in the world to formally abolish the death penalty. Leopold was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 after the death of his childless brother Joseph. At that time, he abdicated the throne of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinand.

Leopold’s coronation as King of Hungary in Pressburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold had three coronations. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on October 9, 1790, in the Imperial Free City of Frankfurt am Main. His coronation as King of Hungary in Pressburg, now Bratislava, Slovakia, took place on November 15, 1790, and then he was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague, now in the Czech Republic, on September 6, 1791. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s opera La clemenza di Tito was commissioned for the festivities that accompanied Leopold’s coronation as King of Bohemia.

Leopold’s short reign as Holy Roman Emperor saw problems from the east side of the constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire and also on the west side. The growing revolutionary feelings and actions in France endangered and eventually took the lives of his sister Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI, and also threatened Leopold’s territories with the spread of revolutionary agitation. From the east, Leopold was threatened by the aggressive ambitions of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia and Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia.

Death of Leopold with his wife and doctor at his bedside; Credit – Wikipedia

After only seventeen months as Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 1, 1792, aged 44, in Vienna, Austria. He was buried in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Leopold’s eldest son Franz was elected (the last) Holy Roman Emperor and later was the first Emperor of Austria.

Less than three months after the sudden death of her husband, Maria Luisa died, aged 46, on May 15, 1792, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried next to her husband in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Their early deaths left their nine youngest children, all under the age of 18, orphans.

Tomb of Leopold; Credit – Von krischnig – selbst fotografiert, Bild-frei, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3431815

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II. (HRR) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II._(HRR)> [Accessed 22 September 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor> [Accessed 22 September 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, Queen of Sardinia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of Sardinia: The House of Savoy had been Counts and then Dukes of Savoy, since the 11th century and ruled from the city of Turin, now in northern Italy. Vittorio Amedeo II, Duke of Savoy became King of Sicily in 1713 as a result of his participation in the War of the Spanish Succession. However, in 1720, Vittorio Amedeo II was forced to exchange the Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia after objections from the Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Habsburg Austria, and the Dutch Republic).

Sardinia, now in Italy, is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily, also now in Italy, but the Kings of Sardinia of the House of Savoy ruled from Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. They styled themselves as Kings of Sardinia because the title was superior to their original lesser title as Dukes of Savoy. However, they retained the regnal numerical order of the Dukes of Savoy.

Vittorio Emanuele II became the last King of Sardinia upon the abdication of his father in 1849. He then became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, while the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Note: Children of Kings of Sardinia were often styled “of Savoy” as their fathers were also Dukes of Savoy from the House of Savoy.

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Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, Queen of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

Born an Archduchess of Austria and a Princess of Tuscany, Maria Theresa Franziska Josepha Johanna Benedikta was the wife of Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia. Her birth occurred on March 21, 1801, in Vienna, Austria. She was the youngest of the five children and the youngest of the three daughters of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his first wife and also his double first cousin, Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily. Maria Theresa’s paternal grandparents were Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) (also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1790 – 1792) and Maria Luisa of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies and Maria Carolina of Austria.

Maria Theresa had four older siblings.

  • Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda of Austria (1793 – 1802), died in childhood
  • Francesco Leopoldo, Grand Prince of Tuscany (1794 – 1800), died in childhood after falling from a carriage
  • Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1797 – 1870), married (1) Maria Anna of Saxony, had three daughters (2) Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had ten children
  • Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria (1798 – 1857), unmarried

In 1802, when Maria Theresa was just eighteen months old her mother died giving birth to a stillborn son. However, her father did not marry again until 1821 when he married the much younger Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony. Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was hoping that his second marriage would produce another male heir but the marriage was childless.

Carlo Alberto, Maria Theresa’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1817, sixteen-year-old Maria Theresa was chosen as the bride for nineteen-year-old Carlo Alberto, 7th Prince of Carignano. Carlo Alberto was the senior male member of the House of Savoy-Carignano, a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. Neither Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia nor his younger brother and eventual successor Carlo Felice from the House of Savoy had sons. Therefore, Carlo Alberto was second in line to the throne of Sardinia after Carlo Felice. On September 30, 1817, Maria Theresa and Carlo Alberto were married in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. A nuptial mass was held on October 2, 1817, at Florence Cathedral. After her marriage, Maria Theresa was styled as the Princess of Carignano.

Maria Theresa in the year of her marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple resided at the Palazzo Carignano in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy and Carlo Alberto often invited young intellectuals who shared his liberal ideas. Maria Theresa was a very religious, shy, and immature sixteen-year-old and had a temperament quite different than her husband. She was not ready to fully take on her role as a wife. In the evening, rather than keep her husband company, she preferred to play games like blind man’s bluff with the friends she invited to the palace. After a three-year period of adjustment, Maria Theresa and Carlo Alberto began their family and had three children:

Maria Theresa and her two sons; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon the death of the childless Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia on April 27, 1831, the throne passed to Carlo Alberto of the House of Savoy-Carignano and the direct male line of the House of Savoy came to an end. Maria Theresa was then styled as Queen of Sardinia.

In 1848, Carlo Alberto attempted to rid the Italian peninsula of Austrian rule and supported states resulting in the First Italian War of Independence, part of the Italian Unification. After his forces were defeated by the Austrian forces at the Battle of Novara, Carlo Alberto immediately abdicated in favor of his son Vittorio Emanuele and went into exile in Porto, Portugal. However, by the time he reached Porto in April 1849, he was seriously ill. On July 28, 1849, Carlo Alberto suffered a third heart attack. He was given last rites, fell asleep with a crucifix on his chest, and died at 3:30 PM at the age of 50. Carlo Alberto’s remains were returned to Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy, where his funeral took place on October 13, 1849, at the Turin Cathedral. He was buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin, the traditional burial site of the House of Savoy.

Maria Theresa, Dowager Queen of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

After the death of her husband, Maria Theresa no longer appeared in public. However, she was a great influence on her son Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia. Maria Theresa was a fervent Catholic, an Italian nationalist, and a conservative who believed in checks and balances on royal power. Her son became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, while the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Basilica of Superga; Credit – By Paris Orlando – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74180727

However, Maria Theresa did not live long enough to see her son become King of a united Italy. On January 12, 1855, in Turin, Maria Theresa died at the age of 53, just eight days before the death of daughter-in-law Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia, and a month before the death of her younger son Ferdinando of Savoy, Duke of Genoa. Maria Theresa was buried with her husband at the Basilica of Superga in Turin.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Theresia von Österreich-Toskana (1801–1855) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresia_von_%C3%96sterreich-Toskana_(1801%E2%80%931855)> [Accessed 5 July 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Theresa of Austria (1801–1855) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_of_Austria_(1801%E2%80%931855)> [Accessed 5 July 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlo-alberto-king-of-sardinia-and-duke-of-savoy/> [Accessed 5 July 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa d’Asburgo-Lorena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_d%27Asburgo-Lorena> [Accessed 5 July 2021].

Luise of Austria, Crown Princess of Saxony

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Luise of Austria, Crown Princess of Saxony. source: Wikipedia

Luise of Austria, Crown Princess of Saxony

Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, was the wife of King Friedrich August III, the last King of Saxony. She was born in Salzburg, Austria on September 2, 1870, and given the following names – Luise Antoinette Maria Theresia Josepha Johanna Leopoldine Caroline Ferdinande Alice Ernestine. Luise was the second child of Ferdinando IV, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his second wife, Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma.

Luise had one half-sister from her father’s first marriage to  Princess Anna of Saxony, who died in 1859:

Luise had nine siblings:

  • Archduke Leopold Ferdinand (1868-1935) – married (1) Wilhelmine Adamovicz, no issue; (2) Maria Magdalena Ritter, no issue; (3) Clara Hedwig Pawlowski, no issue
  • Archduke Josef Ferdinand (1872-1942) – married (1) Rosa Kaltenbrunner, no issue; (2) Gertrud Tomanek, had issue
  • Archduke Peter Ferdinand, Prince of Tuscany (1874-1948) – married Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had issue
  • Archduke Heinrich Ferdinand (1878-1969) – married Maria Ludescher, had issue
  • Archduchess Anna Maria Theresia (1879-1961) – married Johannes, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, had issue
  • Archduchess Margareta (1881-1965) – unmarried
  • Archduchess Germana (1884-1955) – unmarried
  • Archduke Robert (1885-1895) – died in childhood
  • Archduchess Agnes (1891-1945) – unmarried

Friedrich August. source: Wikipedia

In her youth, Luise was seen as a potential bride by several foreign royals, including the future King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, and Prince Pedro Augusto of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a grandson of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, but the spoiled young Luise found no attraction to any of them. Then, in the summer of 1887, she met Prince Friedrich August of Saxony at Pillnitz Castle. in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. He was the son of the future King Georg of Saxony and Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal. The two fell in love and married in Vienna, Austria on November 21, 1891. They went on to have six children:

Luise and Friedrich August with some of their children, c1901. source: Wikipedia

From the beginning of her marriage, Luise was unhappy. She was unwilling to conform to the strict Saxon court which often caused conflicts with her father-in-law and others in the royal family. However, she was immensely popular with the people of Saxony and often overshadowed other members of the family which further added to their frustration with her. She sought refuge in several affairs, including her children’s French tutor, André Giron. Her affair with Giron was discovered when a telegram she sent him was intercepted.

This was the last straw for her father-in-law, who threatened to have her committed to a mental asylum. With the help of two of her maids, Luise – pregnant with her youngest child – fled Dresden and headed toward Lake Geneva where she met up with her brother, Leopold Ferdinand, before reconnecting with Giron. As news of the scandal reached Saxony, Luise’s in-laws were hurt and embarrassed… and most of all, mad. Almost immediately, King Georg established a special court to end the marriage between Luise and Friedrich August. Meanwhile, Luise and Giron stayed in Geneva, and were often seen in public. Their relationship ended just a few days before her divorce was announced on February 11, 1903.

When her daughter Anna Monika Pia was born several months later, the child’s paternity was questioned. After an examination by a maternity doctor from Dresden, he stated that the baby was, in fact, the child of the Crown Prince. Friedrich August willingly acknowledged the child as his own. In July 1903, King Georg granted Luise an allowance and the title Countess of Montignoso. In exchange, he demanded that the child be brought back to Dresden to be raised with the other children. Luise, of course, refused.

Over the next year, Luise moved frequently, living in France, England, Switzerland, and Italy. She soon tried to negotiate an increase in her allowance in exchange for returning her daughter. However, at the last minute, she changed her mind.

In September 1907, Luise married for a second time. Her new husband was Enrico Toselli, an Italian musician 12 years younger. They had a son, Carlo, born in May 1908. Soon after this marriage, her first husband found their daughter and had her brought back to Dresden. She also separated from her second husband, and they were divorced four years later.

Luise caused even more of a scandal in 1911 when her memoirs were published, detailing her time in Saxony, her marriage, and her fall from grace. She cast the blame primarily on her father-in-law and the Saxon courtiers who feared her influence when she became Queen. She claimed that the royal family was jealous of her popularity – a fact that is without question. As Crown Princess, Luise was immensely popular with the Saxon people, partially because she refused to conform to the strict etiquette and protocol of the Court. While her book brought her much sympathy and support, it also brought her further rejection. Many – particularly amongst royal circles – felt that she brought disgrace to the monarchy by airing her dirty laundry in such a manner.

After World War I, Luise found herself virtually penniless. She had lost all of her Austrian titles and assets upon her second marriage, and with the end of the Austrian Empire, lost the little financial support that she had continued to receive from a few relatives. She spent some time living in Spain with an uncle before moving to Belgium where she spent the remainder of her life.

Church of the Redeemer, Hedinger Monastery, Sigmaringen. photo by Andrzej Otrębski – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38409030

The former Crown Princess Luise of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Tuscany died in Brussels, Belgium on March 23, 1947. At the time, she was working as a flower seller to survive. Her urn was placed in the Hedingen monastery in Sigmaringen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, the traditional burial place of the House of Hohenzollern.

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