Category Archives: Spanish Royals

Margarita Teresa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, first wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Margarita Teresa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

Margarita Teresa of Spain was the first of the three wives of her uncle and first cousin Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King of Croatia, Duke of Teschen, King of the Romans, Archduke of Further Austria, and Prince of Transylvania. Born on July 12, 1651, at the Royal Alcazar in Madrid, Spain, Margarita Teresa was the eldest of the five children and the elder of the two daughters of Felipe IV, King of Spain and his second wife Mariana of Austria, who were uncle and niece, an example of inbreeding. Margarita Teresa’s paternal grandparents were Felipe III, King of Spain and Margarete of Austria, who were both children of parents who were an uncle and his niece, and were first cousins once removed and second cousins. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife Maria Anna of Spain who were first cousins.

Margarita Teresa had four siblings but only one survived childhood:

Margarita Teresa had eight half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Elisabeth of France who died in 1644, at the age of forty-one, after miscarrying a son. Only one half-sister survived to adulthood, Maria Theresa who married King Louis XIV of France.

  • Maria Margarita of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1621)
  • Margarita Maria Catalina of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1623)
  • Maria Eugenia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1625 – 1627)
  • Isabella Maria of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1627)
  • Balthasar Carlos of Austria, Infante of Spain, Prince of Asturias (1629 – 1646), died at age 16 from smallpox
  • Francisco Fernando of Austria, Infante of Spain (born and died 1634)
  • Maria Ana Antonia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1636)
  • Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1638 – 1683), married King Louis XIV of France, had six children but only one son survived childhood

Las Meninas (Spanish for ‘The Ladies-in-Waiting), 1656 by Diego Velázquez – Five-year-old Margarita Teresa is surrounded by her entourage of maids of honor, a chaperone, a bodyguard, two dwarfs, and a dog in a room in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid; Credit – Wikipedia

Margarita Teresa was raised in the chambers of her mother Margarete of Austria at the Royal Alcazar in Madrid, surrounded by numerous ladies-in-waiting and servants. Brought up with the strict etiquette of the Spanish court, she received an excellent education.

The House of Habsburg, which then ruled in Spain, Holy Roman Empire, and the various hereditary Habsburg lands, was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and they wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. Seven of Margarita Teresa’s eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Aragon and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy.  While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two different ancestors, Margarita Teresa had only ten different ancestors in the fifth generation.

King Carlos II of Spain, Margarita Teresa’s brother who had serious health issues and disabilities due to inbreeding; Credit – Wikipedia

Although Margarita did not develop the serious health issues and disabilities that her younger brother King Carlos II of Spain had shown since his birth (she did have the Habsburg jaw as did her husband Leopold), the inbreeding could have been a cause of the early deaths of three of her four children and the three children of her only surviving child. Margarita’s brother Carlos was a weak, sick child from birth. He did not learn to talk until he was four years old and could not walk until he was eight years old. Like many of the Habsburg family, Carlos had the Habsburg jaw (mandibular prognathism), a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw. However, Carlos’ very pronounced Habsburg jaw was so severe that he swallowed his food without thoroughly chewing. Carlos’ condition showed clear signs of the long-time inbreeding of the House of Habsburg.

Margarita Teresa’s husband Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 6, 1663, twelve-year-old Margarita Teresa was betrothed to her 23-year-old uncle and first cousin Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, the son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and the first of his three wives who was also his first cousin Maria Anna of Austria. It was felt that Leopold and Margarita Teresa’s marriage between the Spanish and Austrian branches of the House of Habsburg was needed to strengthen the position of both countries, especially against the Kingdom of France. The marriage between Leopold and Margarita Teresa was delayed because of the age of the bride. The couple was married by proxy in Madrid, Spain on April 25, 1666, with the groom represented by Antonio de la Cerda, 7th Duke of Medinaceli.

Three days later, Margarita Teresa began her journey, via ship and then over land, from Madrid to Vienna. At each stop, where Margarita Teresa spent time resting, there were celebrations in her honor. On November 25, 1666, in Schottwien, twelve miles from Vienna, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I came to receive his bride. Margarita Teresa formally entered Vienna on December 5, 1666, and 26-year-old Leopold and 15-year-old Margarita, first cousins, uncle and niece, were married seven days later. Despite the age difference, the couple had a happy marriage. Margarita Teresa always called her husband “Onkel”, German for uncle, and Leopold called her “Gretl”, a German diminutive of Margarita. Margarita Teresa and Leopold had many common interests, especially in art and music.

Margarita Teresa and her only surviving child Maria Antonia; Credit – Wikipedia

Margarita Teresa and Leopold had four children but only one survived to adulthood:

  • Archduke Ferdinand Wenzel of Austria (1667 – 1668), died in infancy
  • Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria (1669 – 1692), married Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, had three sons, none survived childhood
  • Archduke Johann Leopold of Austria (born and died 1670), died on the day of his birth
  • Archduchess Maria Anna Antonia of Austria (born and died 1672), died fourteen days after her birth

Margarita Teresa was very religious and was the driving force behind Leopold’s expulsion of the Jews from Vienna in 1670. She blamed the Jews for her two miscarriages, the early deaths of her two sons, and the fire in the newly built Leopoldine wing of the Hofburg Palace. During her marriage, Margarita Teresa kept her Spanish customs, was surrounded almost exclusively by her Spanish retinue, and hardly learned the German language. Due to the aloofness and arrogance of the Spanish retinue, an anti-Spanish mood spread at court, which also turned against Margarita Teresa. The courtiers unashamedly expressed their hope that Margarita Teresa, who was often ill, would soon die so that Leopold could marry someone more acceptable to them.

Tomb of Margarita Teresa; Credit – Von krischnig – selbst fotografiert, Bild-frei, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3431689

Weakened from six pregnancies in six years (four living childbirths and two miscarriages), and four months into her seventh pregnancy, Margarita Teresa died at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, on March 12, 1673, at the age of 21, and was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna. Despite his grief and because he had no male heir, several months later, Leopold married Archduchess Claudia Felicitas of Austria, from the Tyrol branch of the House of Habsburg. After giving birth to two daughters who did not survive infancy, Claudia Felicitas died from tuberculosis three years after her marriage. Leopold’s third wife Eleonore Magdalene of Neuberg finally provided him with male heirs, two sons who both became Holy Roman Emperors.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Felipe IV, King of Spain, Filipe III, King of Portugal, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-iv-king-of-spain-filip-iii-king-of-portugal/ (Accessed: 10 July 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-i-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-hungary-king-of-bohemia-archduke-of-austria-king-of-croatia-duke-of-teschen-king-of-the-romans-archduke-of-further-austria-and-prince-of-transylv/ (Accessed: 10 July 2023).
  • Margaret Theresa of Spain (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Theresa_of_Spain (Accessed: 10 July 2023).
  • Margarita Theresa von Spanien (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarita_Theresa_von_Spanien (Accessed: 10 July 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Ancestors of Infanta Leonor of Spain, Princess of Asturias

compiled by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Infanta Leonor 2023

Infanta Leonor of Spain, Princess of Asturias is the elder of the two daughters of Felipe VI, King of Spain. Leonor is the heir presumptive to the Spanish throne, not the heir apparent. Currently, Spain’s succession law is male-preference cognatic primogeniture. This means that Leonor, as the elder of King Felipe’s two daughters, is first in line to inherit the throne, and she is the heir presumptive. However, if her parents had a son, which seems unlikely at this point, he would be the heir apparent and Leonor would forfeit the title of Princess of Asturias to her brother who would be Prince of Asturias. There have been discussions of changing the succession law to absolute primogeniture, where the eldest child, regardless of gender, inherits the throne, but no legislation has been forthcoming. If Leonor ascends to the throne, she will be Spain’s first queen regnant since Isabella II, who reigned from 1833 to 1868.

Through her father King Felipe VI, Leonor has a stellar royal pedigree. Her father is the only current European monarch to be descended from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom via three of his grandparents. Leonor’s paternal grandfather King Juan Carlos I of Spain is descended from Queen Victoria’s youngest child Princess Beatrice whose daughter Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg married King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Leonor’s paternal grandmother Queen Sofia, born Princess Sophia of Greece, is descended from Queen Victoria’s eldest child Victoria, Princess Royal via both her parents King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover. Among Infanta Leonor’s ancestors in the last six generations are the monarchs of Denmark, the German Empire, Greece, Prussia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. If we go back a couple more generations, there are monarchs of Austria, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Russia.

Leonor’s mother Queen Letizia was born Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. She is of Spanish, Filipino, French, and Occitan descent. Occitan is an ethnic group that originated in the historical region of Occitania, located in southern France, northeastern Spain, northwestern Italy, and Monaco. Letizia’s paternal grandmother María del Carmen “Menchu” Álvarez del Valle was a famous radio broadcaster in Asturias, Spain for over forty years.

Parents, Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Great-Great-Grandparents, and Great-Great-Great-Grandparents of Infanta Leonor of Spain, Princess of Asturias (born October 31, 2005)

The links below are from Unofficial Royalty,  Wikipedia, Leo’s Genealogics Website, The Peerage, or Geni.

Parents

King Felipe VI of Spain and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, parents; Credit – By Ministry of the Presidency, Government of Spain, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97985420

Grandparents

King Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece, paternal grandparents; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Grandparents

King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover, great-grandparents; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Great-Grandparents

King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, great-great-grandparents; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Great-Great-Grandparents

Friedrich III, Emperor of Germany and Victoria, Princess Royal, great-great-great-grandparents by Hills & Saunders, albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1870, NPG Ax132839 © National Portrait Gallery, London

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.

Sources:

Maria Anna of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, 1st wife of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Anna of Spain, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

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.

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The first of the three wives of her first cousin Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Anna of Austria, Infanta of Spain and Portugal was born at the Palace of El Escorial, near Madrid on August 18, 1606. Although a Spanish Infanta, she was known as Maria Anna of Austria, as the Spanish monarchs at the time were members of the House of Habsburg. She was the fourth of the eight children and the third of the four daughters of Felipe III, King of Spain (also Filipe II, King of Portugal) and Archduchess Margarete of Austria. Maria Anna’s paternal grandparents were Felipe II, King of Spain and his fourth wife and niece Anna of Austria. Her maternal grandparents were Karl II, Archduke of Inner Austria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria.

Maria Anna with her brother Carlos who was one year younger, 1612; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna had seven siblings:

Maria Anna was raised at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in Spain in a very close and loving family. She was given a very strong religious upbringing and often visited convents and churches. After her mother’s death in childbirth in 1611, Maria Anna’s eldest sister Anna became a surrogate mother to her younger siblings. Before she was thirteen years old, Maria Anna was betrothed to marry Archduke Johann Karl of Austria, at that time, the eldest surviving son of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife, Maria Anna of Bavaria. However, in 1619, Archduke Johann Karl suddenly died.

Before Maria Anna’s father died in 1621, he and King James I of England tried to arrange a marriage between James’ eldest son and heir, the future King Charles I, then the Prince of Wales, and Maria Anna. This possible marriage was known as the “Spanish Match” and caused a political crisis in both England and Scotland. In 1623, the Prince of Wales visited Madrid to meet Maria Anna. As it turned out there was no marriage. Charles refused to convert to Catholicism, and Maria Anna refused to marry a Protestant. Maria Anna’s brother, the new King of Spain, Felipe IV, was unwilling to enter into a dynastic marriage with the House of Stuart for political reasons.

Maria Anna’s husband Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1626, Maria Anna was betrothed to her first cousin, then Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, the younger brother of her deceased first fiance, and now the heir of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Inner Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia. Maria Anna’s mother Margarete of Austria was her fiance’s paternal aunt.

In December 1629, Maria Anna left Madrid, Spain to travel to Vienna, a journey that took more than a year. Because of an epidemic of the plague, Maria Anna’s ship was unable to dock in several ports. Finally, on January 26, 1631, Maria Anna arrived in the port city of Trieste (now in Italy), where she was greeted by Ferdinand’s brother Archduke Leopold Wilhelm. A proxy marriage was held that day with Leopold Wilhelm standing in for his brother. Leopold Wilhelm then escorted Maria Anna to Vienna.

Ferdinand did not trust the portraits that he had seen of Maria Anna and wanted to secretly see her before the in-person wedding. His Lord Chamberlain asked for an audience with Maria Anna, accompanied by some nobles, including her groom Ferdinand. Immediately pleased by what he saw, Ferdinand revealed himself and began to converse with Maria Anna in Spanish. The in-person marriage was held on February 20, 1631, in Vienna.

Maria Anna with her eldest child Ferdinand, 1634; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna and Ferdinand had six children:

  • Ferdinand, King of the Romans (1633 – 1654), unmarried, died from smallpox
  • Archduchess Mariana of Austria (1634 – 1696), married (second wife) her maternal uncle Felipe IV, King of Spain, had five children but only two survived childhood including Carlos II, King of Spain who had serious physical and mental conditions probably caused by the continued inbreeding of the House of Habsburg
  • Archduke Philipp August of Austria (1637 – 1639), died in early childhood
  • Archduke Maximilian Thomas of Austria (1638 – 1639), died in infancy
  • Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1640 – 1705), married (1) his first cousin Margaret Theresa of Spain, had four children, only one survived childhood (2) Claudia Felicitas of Austria, had two children, both died in childhood (3) Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg, had ten children, five survived childhood (Unofficial Royalty articles coming soon)
  • Archduchess Maria of Austria (born and died 1646), died in infancy

Maria Anna’s father-in-law Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor passed to his son Ferdinand the Habsburg hereditary lands in 1621, the crowns of Hungary and Croatia in 1625, and the crown of Bohemia in 1627. In 1636, Ferdinand II arranged for his son to be elected King of the Romans, ensuring he would be the next Holy Roman Emperor as Ferdinand III. On February 15, 1637, at the age of fifty-eight, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor died and his son was elected Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Anna became Holy Roman Empress.

Maria Anna brought Spanish fashion, theatre, dance, and music to the imperial court in Vienna. She collected artwork by Italian, Spanish, and Flemish masters of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Maria Anna was active in politics, acted as an adviser to her husband, and was an important mediator between her husband and her Spanish relatives. During Ferdinand III’s absences from the court in Vienna, Maria Anna served as regent.

Tomb of Maria Anna & her infant daughter; Credit – By krischnig – de.wikipedia.org, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51130106

Pregnant with her sixth child, 39-year-old Empress Maria Anna suddenly fell ill with a fever, had heavy bleeding, and died on May 13, 1646, at Linz Castle in Linz, Austria. Immediately after her death, the unborn child, a girl, was delivered by Cesarean section. She was named Maria after her mother but lived only a few hours. Both mother and daughter were placed in the same coffin and interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna.

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

  • Flantzer, S. (2023) Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Lower and Inner Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-iii-holy-roman-emperor-archduke-of-lower-and-inner-austria-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia/ (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
  • Maria Anna of Spain (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_of_Spain (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
  • Мария Анна Испанская (2023) Wikipedia (Russian). Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%98%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, Dauphine of France

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, Dauphine of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, Dauphine of France was the first wife of Louis, Dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV, King of France. Neither Maria Teresa Rafaela nor Louis lived long lives. Maria Teresa Rafaela, aged twenty, died due to childbirth complications after giving birth to her only child, a daughter who died before her second birthday. Louis married again, had eight children – five survived childhood and three of the five were Kings of France – but he died from tuberculosis, at the age of thirty-six. Louis, Dauphin of France predeceased his father and so he never became King of France.

Maria Teresa Rafaela’s parents Felipe V, King of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain was born on June 11, 1726, at the Royal Alcazar in Madrid, Spain. She was the fourth of the six children and the second of the three daughters of Felipe V, King of France and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Maria Teresa Rafaela’s father was born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, the grandson of Louis XIV, King of France. He became King of Spain when the Spanish House of Habsburg became extinct because his paternal grandmother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain was the daughter of Felipe IV, King of Spain. Maria Teresa Rafaela’s paternal grandparents were Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the heir apparent to the throne of France who died before his father Louis XIV, King of France, and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma and Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg.

Family of Felipe V, King of Spain by Louis-Michel van Loo – Maria Teresa Rafaela is fourth from the right; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa Rafaela had five siblings:

Maria Teresa Rafaela had four siblings from her father’s first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy:

Louis, Dauphin of France, Maria Teresa Rafaela’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1725, the Spanish court had been greatly insulted by the French when the engagement of Louis XV, King of France and Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain, the elder sister of Maria Teresa Rafaela, had been called off. The marriage of Maria Teresa Rafaela and Louis, Dauphin of France marked the reconciliation of Spain and France. The betrothal was announced in August 1739, however, Maria Teresa Rafaela’s mother would not allow her thirteen-year-old daughter to go to France until she was older.

Marriage of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa Rafaela and Louis, Dauphin of France were married by proxy in Madrid, Spain on December 18, 1744. She left Spain to travel to France in January 1745 and arrived at the Palace of Versailles on February 21, 1745. Two days, later Maria Teresa Rafaela and Louis, Dauphin of France were married in person in the Chapel Royal at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. The marriage was not immediately consummated and this caused great embarrassment to Maria Teresa Rafaela because of the court’s gossip that Louis was impotent. Her shy nature further isolated her from the court. Finally, the marriage was consummated in September 1745, ending court gossip. The couple became very close and devoted to each other spending most of their time together.

Maria Teresa Rafaela soon became pregnant, with the baby due in July 1746. On July 9, 1746, her father, Felipe V, King of Spain, died of a stroke but Maria Teresa Rafaela was not told of his death because of her advanced pregnancy. On July 19, 1746, she gave birth to a daughter, named Marie-Thérèse by her husband in honor of his adored wife. Maria Teresa Rafaela initially recovered from childbirth but then her condition deteriorated quickly and she died on July 22, 1746, aged 20, at the Palace of Versailles. The sorrow of Louis, Dauphin of France was so intense that his father King Louis XV had to physically drag his son away from Maria Teresa Rafaela’s deathbed. Louis and Maria Teresa Rafaela’s daughter did not survive to her second birthday, dying on April 27, 1748. Maria Teresa Rafaela was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, the traditional burial site of the French royal family.

In 1747, nineteen-year-old Louis, Dauphin of France reluctantly married fifteen-year-old Maria Josepha of Saxony. Louis was still grieving for Maria Teresa Rafaela but Maria Josepha was patient and won his heart a little at a time. Louis and Maria Josepha of Saxony had eight children including three Kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. Louis never succeeded to the French throne. He died of tuberculosis at the Château de Fontainebleau in France on December 20, 1765, at the age of 36. According to Louis’ last wishes, he was buried at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France, but his heart was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, near the grave of his first wife Maria Teresa Rafaela.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Felipe V, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-v-first-bourbon-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: 29 July 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Louis, Dauphin of France, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/louis-dauphin-of-france/ (Accessed: 29 July 2023).
  • María Teresa Rafaela of Spain (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Teresa_Rafaela_of_Spain (Accessed: 29 July 2023).
  • Marie-Thérèse d’Espagne (2023) Wikipedia (French). Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_d%27Espagne (Accessed: 29 July 2023).
  • María Teresa Rafaela de España (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Teresa_Rafaela_de_Espa%C3%B1a (Accessed: 29 July 2023).

Maria of Spain and Austria, Holy Roman Empress

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria of Spain and Austria, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

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.

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Maria’s powerful father Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among other titles; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria, Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria was the wife of her first cousin Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. Born on June 21, 1528, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, Kingdom of Spain, Maria was the second of the five children and the elder of the two daughters of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also Carlos I, King of Spain; Karl I, Archduke of Austria; Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles) and Isabella of Portugal. Maria’s father was Charles was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms from his parents, Maria’s paternal grandparents, Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State, and Juana, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon The Kingdoms of Castile, León, and Aragon were combined into the Kingdom of Spain under Maria’s father. Maria’s maternal grandparents were Manuel I, King of Portugal and his second of three wives Maria of Aragon, her namesake.

Maria had four siblings but only two survived childhood:

Maria’s mother Isabella of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

The main residence of Maria’s parents Charles and Isabella was in Spain as the Spanish nobles had insisted that their children be raised in Spain. Charles was often away from his family to lead military campaigns and administer his other realms, and Isabella was appointed Regent of Spain in his absence. Isabella supervised her children’s education and taught them Portuguese. In 1539, when Maria was 11 years old, her mother Isabella developed a fever causing her to miscarry during the third month of her seventh pregnancy. The fever caused her condition to worsen and Isabella died two weeks later on May 1, 1539, aged thirty-five. Maria’s father Charles was so grief-stricken that he shut himself up in a monastery for two months where he prayed and mourned for Isabella in solitude. He never recovered from her death, dressed in black for the rest of his life, and despite being only thirty-nine, never remarried.

Maria’s husband Maximilian, circa 1544; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 13, 1548, Maria married her first cousin Archduke Maximilian of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II), the son of her paternal uncle Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I) and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. With this marriage, Maria’s father intended to strengthen the ties between the Austrian Habsburgs and the Spanish Habsburgs. While Maria’s father Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was occupied with the affairs of his other realms, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551, during the absence of Maria’s brother, the future King Felipe II of Spain. In 1552, the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria.

Maria and her husband Maximilian with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian and Maria had fifteen children:

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling, Maria’s father Charles abdicated in 1555 and retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain where he died in 1558. Upon Charles’s abdication, his younger brother, Ferdinand, the father of Maria’s husband, who had already been given Charles’ Austrian lands in 1521, became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands, Italy, and the New World, was inherited by Charles’ son and Maria’s brother who reigned as Felipe II, King of Spain. In December 1562, Ferdinand had his eldest son and Maria’s husband Maximilian elected King of the Romans, meaning that he would become Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, Ferdinand passed the crown of Hungary to his son in 1563. Plagued by fever attacks during the last years of his life, Ferdinand died in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61. Maria’s husband Maximilian was now Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and Archduke of Austria.

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1569; Credit – Wikipedia

During his reign, Maria’s husband Maximilian II had to deal with the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.

During her life in Austria as Holy Roman Empress, Maria, a devout Catholic, was ill at ease with the Lutheran religion and surrounded herself with a circle of devout Catholic courtiers, many of whom she had brought with her from Spain. Her court was organized by her Spanish chief lady-in-waiting Margarita Folc de Cardona i Requesens in a Spanish manner.

There has been much debate about the nature of the religious beliefs of Maria’s husband Maximilian. There was a pro-Protestant contingent among the nobility at the court in Vienna. Johann Sebastian Pfauser, Maximilian’s court chaplain, had originally been Roman Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. Through his influence, Maximilian abandoned purely Catholic customs, read Protestant literature, and refused to receive Communion according to the Catholic rite. He once told his father that worshiping saints was meaningless and idolatrous. Maria frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband about his religious tolerance. However, Maximilian remained Roman Catholic and never converted to Lutheranism.

In 1572, Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son Rudolf, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crowns of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576. On his deathbed, Maximilian refused to receive the Last Rites of the Roman Catholic Church.

Maria in retirement at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, 1600; Credit – Wikipedia

After Maximilian’s death, Maria remained in Vienna for six years and had great influence over her sons Rudolf and Matthias who were both Holy Roman Emperors. She returned to Spain in 1582, rejoicing to live in “a country without heretics.” Maria retired to the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, founded in 1559 by her younger sister Juana when she was left a young widow and where she lived until her death in 1573. This was the same convent where Maria’s daughter Margaret became a nun after refusing to marry her uncle King Felipe II of Spain after his fourth wife, Maria’s eldest daughter Anna, died. At the convent, Maria lived half as a nun in devout prayer, and half as a princess, still exerting influence on the Spanish court.

The Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain where Maria lived the last years of her life, died, and was buried; Credit – By Luis García, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7770261

In 1587, Maria’s brother King Felipe II of Spain sent Father Tomás Luis de Victoria, a Catholic priest and the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance, to the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales as his sister’s chaplain. Father de Victoria remained at the convent for 24 years, serving as Maria’s chaplain until her death, and then as the convent organist. One of his most famous works is his Officium Defunctorum, a requiem mass composed for Maria’s funeral. On February 26, 1603, Maria died and was buried at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, aged seventy-four, having survived her husband by twenty-seven years.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-v-holy-roman-emperor-carlos-i-king-of-spain-karl-i-archduke-of-austria-charles-ii-lord-of-the-netherlands-duke-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, S. (2022) Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/isabella-of-portugal-queen-of-spain-holy-roman-empress/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-ii-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_of_Austria,_Holy_Roman_Empress (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Maria von Spanien (1528–1603) (2021) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_von_Spanien_%281528%E2%80%931603%29 (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Julie Clary Bonaparte, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Julie Clary; Credit – Wikipedia

Marie Julie Clary was the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Joseph Bonaparte who was King of Naples from 1806 – 1808, and King of Spain from 1808 – 1813. Born on December 26, 1771, in the family mansion at 70 Roma Street in Marseille, France, Julie was the seventh of the nine children and the fifth of the six daughters of François Clary, a wealthy French merchant, and his second wife Françoise Rose Somis.

Julie had eight siblings:

  • Joseph Nicolas Clary, 1st Comte Clary et de l’Empire (1760 – 1823), married Anne Jeanne Rouyer, had three children
  • Joseph Honoré Clary (1762 – 1764), died in early childhood
  • Marie Anne Rose Clary (1764 – 1835), married Antoine-Ignace Anthoine, Baron de Saint-Joseph et de l’Empire, Mayor of Marseille, had three children
  • Marseille Clary (1764 – 1784), unmarried
  • Justinien François Clary (1766 – 1794), unmarried
  • Catherine Honorine Clary (1769 – 1843), married Henri Joseph Gabriel Blait de Villeneufve, had one daughter
  • Basile Clary (1774 – 1781), died in childhood
  • Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden and Norway (1777 – 1860), married Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, later King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden and Norway, had one son King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, the royal families of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden descend from this marriage

Julie had four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Gabrielle Fléchon (1732 – 1758):

  • François-Joseph Clary (1752 – 1753), died in infancy
  • Marie-Jeanne Clary (1754 – 1815), married (1) Louis Honoré Lejeans (2) Emmanuel Mathieu Pézenas, Baron de Pluvinal
  • Marie Thérèse Catherine Clary (1755 – 1818), married Lazare Lejeans
  • Étienne François Clary (1757 – 1823), married Marcelle Guey, had two children

Julie and her sister Désirée by Robert Lefèvre, 1810; Credit – Wikipedia

Starting in 1789, the French Revolution brought major changes to France, and the Clary family went through periods of great insecurity. Julie and her sister Désirée had ties to the Bonaparte brothers before their ascent to power. Joseph Bonaparte, the eldest of the five Bonaparte brothers, had studied law at the University of Pisa and worked as a lawyer. The French First Republic was declared in September 1792, and Joseph was elected chairman of his local district council. The second eldest brother Napoleon joined the French army and quickly advanced.

Julie’s husband Joseph Bonaparte; Credit – Wikipedia

Julie’s younger sister Désirée met Joseph Bonaparte first, and the two became engaged. Soon after, Napoleon suggested that Joseph should instead marry Désirée’s sister Julie and that he would marry Désirée. Julie and Joseph Bonaparte were married on August 1, 1794. Napoleon and Désirée became engaged in April 1795, but Napoleon soon became involved with Joséphine de Beauharnais and the engagement ended in September 1795. Napoleon and Joséphine de Beauharnais were married in March 1796. Désirée Clary married Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a noted French general and a Marshal of France. In 1810, Désirée’s husband was elected Crown Prince of Sweden because King Carl XIII of Sweden had no heirs. Jean Baptiste Bernadotte became Crown Prince of Sweden and in 1818, became King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden. Their descendants have reigned in Sweden ever since as the House of Bernadotte.

Julie’s family was very wealthy and her marriage to Joseph Bonaparte helped established the Bonaparte fortune and made her a favorite with her mother-in-law Letizia Bonaparte. During the latter part of the French Revolution, Napoleon rose to prominence and in 1799, at the age of 30 was the First Consul of France. Eventually, Napoleon was created First Consul for life. Joseph’s fortunes rose along with his brother’s.

Julie with her daughters Zénaïde and Charlotte by Jean-Baptiste Wicar, 1809; Credit – Wikipedia

Julie and Joseph had three daughters:

In 1804, Joseph’s brother Napoleon declared himself Emperor of the French, and Joseph, along with his siblings became Imperial Princes and Princesses. Napoleon sent Joseph to Naples in 1806 to expel the Bourbons ruling there because they had sided against him in the War of the Third Coalition. After a successful French invasion, Napoleon proclaimed Joseph as King of Naples. Julie, now Queen of Naples, remained in Paris, at the court of her brother-in-law Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. While Joseph was King of Naples, he had a son and a daughter from his affair with Maria Giulia Colonna, daughter of Andrea Colonna, 3rd Prince of Stigliano and wife of Giangirolamo Acquaviva d’Aragona, 11th Duke of Nardò. In 1808 Julie was sent to Naples to help Joseph calm riots and revolts and to help keep the Kingdom of Naples stable. However, Napoleon became increasingly dissatisfied with his brother, and later in 1808, Joseph was replaced as King of Naples by Joachim Murat, the husband of Caroline Bonaparte, the sister of Joseph and Napoleon.

Meanwhile in Spain, after riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV of Spain was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. Napoleon saw the weaknesses in the Spanish monarchy and decided to make a move. Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where Napoleon forced them both to abdicate their rights to the Spanish throne, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain.

Joseph and Julie, circa 1811

Julie never lived in or even traveled to Spain, preferring to live in Paris or Mortefontaine Castle (link in French) in France. In Spain, she was referred to as Reina Ausent, The Absent Queen, but Julie was given all the honors of a Queen of Spain at Napoleon’s court. Through her correspondence with Joseph, Julie informed him of Napoleon’s plans for Spain. She warned Joseph that Napoleon would never allow Spain to be too independent and that he should do everything possible to control Spain, especially its finances and army.

Immediately after Joseph was proclaimed King of Spain, uprisings broke out and resistance against him spread, leading to a guerrilla war that overshadowed Joseph’s entire reign. The resistance against Joseph made it nearly impossible for him to reign. In addition, Portugal and the United Kingdom came to the aid of the Spanish guerrilla forces in the Peninsular War. Due to the defeats in the Peninsular War, Napoleon was forced to reinstate Ferdinand VII as King of Spain and to make peace via the 1813 Treaty of Valençay.

Napoleon’s quest for power led to wars throughout a large part of Europe. In 1814, Paris was captured by the coalition fighting against Napoleon and his marshals decided to mutiny. Napoleon had no choice but to abdicate. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau exiled Napoleon to the Mediterranean island of Elba, 12 miles/20 km off the coast of Tuscany, Italy.

After the first fall of Napoleon in 1814, Joseph and his daughters went into exile at Prangins Castle in Switzerland, which Julie had purchased. Julie remained in Paris because of the illness of her mother, who died in 1815. While in Paris, Julie was arrested because of her relationship to the exiled Napoleon and was brought before King Louis XVIII of France, the new king installed during the Bourbon Restoration, and Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia. Only through the intervention of her brother-in-law Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, then Crown Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, was Julie freed.

Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba on February 26, 1815, and arrived in France two days later. He attempted to regain power during the Reign of the Hundred Days but was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, a British possession, in the Atlantic Ocean, 1162 miles/1,870 km from the west coast of Africa, where he died in 1821. After Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Joseph Bonaparte emigrated to the United States, where he first lived in New York City and then in Philadelphia. He then purchased an estate, Point Breeze, in Bordentown, New Jersey, on the Delaware River. Joseph had two American daughters born at Point Breeze, by his mistress Annette Savage.

Julie in exile in Florence by Michel Ghislain Stapleaux, 1834; Credit – Wikipedia

Julie did not accompany her husband Joseph to the United States. Her sister Désirée, who was then Crown Princess of Sweden, wanted to bring Julie and her daughters to Sweden but Désirée’s husband Crown Prince Carl Johan thought it was politically unwise. Julie was a member of the Bonaparte family and her living in Sweden might be interpreted as a sign that Crown Prince Carl Johan had sided with the deposed Napoleon. Instead, Julie settled with her daughters in the Free City of Frankfurt (now in Germany), Brussels, Belgium, and then finally in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, at the Palazzo Serristori, near the residence of her brother-in-law Camillo Borghese, 6th Prince of Sulmona, the second husband of Joseph’s sister Pauline.

Joseph Bonaparte in 1832, the year he returned to Europe; Credit – Wikipedia

Julie’s husband Joseph stayed in the United States for seventeen years before returning to Europe in 1832, where he lived in London, England. He occasionally returned to his estate in the United States. In 1840, Joseph joined Julie in Florence. Julie accepted him back despite his adultery. On July 28, 1844, Joseph died in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, at the age of seventy-six. Julie survived him by eight months dying in Florence on April 7, 1845, aged seventy-three. They were buried next to each other at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy.

Tomb of Julie Clary Bonaparte; Credit – By Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada – Italy-1089 – Marie Julie Bonaparte, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64847474

In 1864, Joseph’s remains were brought back to France by his nephew Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, and interred in Les Invalides in Paris, France where his brother Napoleon I was interred. The remains of Julie are still at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy beside the remains of her daughter Charlotte, who died in 1839, aged 36, giving birth to a stillborn child.

Tomb of Joseph Bonaparte; Credit – By Jean-Pol GRANDMONT – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91124533

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, King of Naples, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/joseph-bonaparte-king-of-spain-king-of-naples (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • François Clary (2022) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Fran%C3%A7ois-Clary/6000000003004013794 (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • François Clary (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Clary (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • Julie Clary (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Clary (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • Julie Clary (2022) Wikipedia (Italian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Clary (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • Julia Clary (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Clary (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015) Désirée Clary, Queen Desideria of Sweden and Norway, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/desiree-clary-queen-of-sweden/ (Accessed: February 1, 2023).

Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, King of Naples

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Joseph Bonaparte; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, was King of Naples from 1806 – 1808 and King of Spain from 1808 – 1813. Born Guiseppe Buonaparte, later Frenchified to Joseph Bonaparte, on January 7, 1768, in Corte on the island of Corsica, now in France, Joseph was the third of the twelve children and the eldest of the five sons of Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer and diplomat, and Maria Letizia Ramolino. In the year of Joseph’s birth, the island of Corsica was invaded by France and conquered the following year. Joseph’s father was originally a follower of the Corsican patriots but became a supporter of the French.

Joseph had eleven siblings and eight survived childhood. Notice the titles of the siblings, given to them by their brother Napoleon I, Emperor of the French.

Maison Bonaparte, where Joseph grew up; Credit – By Jean-Pol GRANDMONT – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4400916

Joseph spent his childhood at the Bonaparte family home Maison Bonaparte on the Rue Saint-Charles in Ajaccio, Corsica. Maison Bonaparte was continuously owned by members of the Bonaparte family from 1682 to 1923. As part of the 1768 Treaty of Versailles, the Republic of Genoa ceded the island of Corsica to France to repay its debts. Joseph and his brother Napoleon attended the College of Oratorians, a secondary school, in Autun, France through a royal grant for impoverished French nobles. Joseph was originally going to be a priest but instead studied law at the University of Pisa where his father had also studied law.

After graduating from the University of Pisa in 1788, Joseph returned to Ajaccio in Corsica and worked as a lawyer. Starting in 1789, the French Revolution brought major changes to France. The French First Republic was declared in September 1792, and Joseph was elected chairman of the district council of Ajaccio. His brother Napoleon joined the French army and quickly advanced. During the latter part of the French Revolution, Napoleon rose to prominence and in 1799, at the age of 30 was the First Consul of France. Eventually, Napoleon was created First Consul for life. Joseph’s fortunes rose along with his brother’s.

On August 1, 1794, Joseph married Julie Clary, the daughter of François Clary, a wealthy merchant. Julie’s sister Désirée Clary, once engaged to Joseph’s brother Napoleon, married Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a noted French general and a Marshal of France. In 1810, Désirée’s husband was elected Crown Prince of Sweden, and Jean Baptiste Bernadotte eventually became King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden. Their descendants have reigned in Sweden ever since as the House of Bernadotte.

Julie with her daughters Zénaïde and Charlotte by Jean-Baptiste Wicar, 1809; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph and Julie had three daughters:

Joseph as King of Naples by Jean-Baptiste Wicar, 1808; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1804, Joseph’s brother Napoleon declared himself Emperor of the French, and Joseph, along with his siblings became Imperial Princes and Princesses. Napoleon sent Joseph to Naples in 1806 to expel the Bourbons ruling there because they had sided against him in the War of the Third Coalition. After a successful French invasion, Napoleon proclaimed Joseph as King of Naples. However, Napoleon became increasingly dissatisfied with his brother, and in 1808, he was replaced as King of Naples by Joachim Murat, the husband of Caroline Bonaparte, Joseph and Napoleon’s sister.

While Joseph was King of Naples, he had a son and a daughter from his affair with Maria Giulia Colonna, daughter of Andrea Colonna, 3rd Prince of Stigliano and wife of Giangirolamo Acquaviva d’Aragona, 11th Duke of Nardò:

  • Giulio Acquaviva d’Aragona y Colonna (1806 – 1838)
  • Maria Teresa Acquaviva d’Aragona Colonna (born and died 1808)

Joseph as in his coronation robes as King of Spain by François Gérard, 1810; Credit – Wikipedia

Meanwhile in Spain, after riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV of Spain was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. Napoleon saw the weaknesses in the Spanish monarchy and decided to make a move. Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain. Immediately after Joseph was proclaimed King of Spain, uprisings broke out and resistance against him spread, leading to a guerrilla war that overshadowed Joseph’s entire reign. The resistance against Joseph made it nearly impossible for him to reign. In addition, Portugal and the United Kingdom came to the aid of the Spanish guerrilla forces in the Peninsular War. Due to the defeats in the Peninsular War, Napoleon was forced to reinstate Ferdinand VII as King of Spain and to make peace via the 1813 Treaty of Valençay.

Napoleon’s quest for power led to wars throughout a large part of Europe. In 1814, Paris was captured by the coalition fighting against Napoleon and his marshals decided to mutiny. Napoleon had no choice but to abdicate. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau exiled Napoleon to the Mediterranean island of Elba, 12 miles/20 km off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Napoleon escaped from Elba on February 26, 1815, and arrived in France two days later. He attempted to regain power during the Reign of the Hundred Days, but he was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, by a coalition of forces from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Nassau, Brunswick, and Prussia. Napoléon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, a British possession, in the Atlantic Ocean, 1162 miles/1,870 km from the west coast of Africa, where he died in 1821.

After the first fall of Napoleon, Joseph went into exile at Prangins Castle in Switzerland, which his wife Julie had purchased. During the Reign of the Hundred Days, Joseph went to Paris where he conducted government affairs for his brother Napoleon. After Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Joseph emigrated to the United States. His wife Julie did not accompany him. Instead, she settled with her two daughters in the Free City of Frankfurt (now in Germany), Brussels, Belgium, and then Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Joseph first lived in New York City and then in Philadelphia. He then purchased an estate, Point Breeze, in Bordentown, New Jersey, on the Delaware River. Joseph’s homes became meeting places for other Napoleonic exiles. At Point Breeze, Joseph entertained many of the leading American intellectuals and politicians of the time.

Point Breeze, the estate of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte in Bordentown, New Jersey by Charles Lawrence circa 1817; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph had two American daughters born at Point Breeze, his estate in Bordentown, New Jersey, by his mistress Annette Savage:

  • Pauline Anne Savage, died young
  • Catherine Charlotte Savage (1822 – 1890), married Colonel Zebulon Howell Benton of Jefferson County, New York, had four daughters and three sons

Joseph at Point Breeze, painted on 2 February 1832 by the French artist Innocent-Louis Goubaud, during a visit to Point Breeze in New Jersey; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph stayed in the United States for seventeen years before returning to Europe in 1832, when he lived in London, England. He occasionally returned to his estate in the United States. In 1840, Joseph joined his wife Julie in Florence. Julie accepted him back despite his adultery. On July 28, 1844, Joseph died in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, at the age of seventy-six. Julie survived him by eight months dying in Florence on April 7, 1845, aged seventy-three. They were buried next to each other at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.

Tomb of Julie Clary Bonaparte; Credit – By Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada – Italy-1089 – Marie Julie Bonaparte, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64847474

In 1864, Joseph’s remains were brought back to France by his nephew Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, and interred in Les Invalides in Paris, France where his brother Napoleon I was interred. The remains of Joseph’s wife Julie are still at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy beside the remains of her daughter Charlotte, who died in 1839, aged 36, giving birth to a stillborn child.

Tomb of Joseph Bonaparte; Credit – By Jean-Pol GRANDMONT – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91124533

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

  • Carlo Buonaparte (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Buonaparte (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/napoleon-bonaparte-emperor-of-the-french/ (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Joseph Bonaparte (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bonaparte (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
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  • Julie Clary (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Clary (Accessed: January 27, 2023).

Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa of Parma, the wife of King Carlos IV of Spain, was born on December 9, 1751, in Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy. She was the youngest of the three children and the second of the two daughters of Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma (founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma) and Louise Élisabeth of France. Maria Luisa’s paternal grandparents were King Felipe V of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. King Felipe V, the founder of the Spanish House of Bourbon, was born a French prince, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, who was the son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV of France. Her maternal grandparents were King Louis XV of France and Maria Leszczyńska. Maria Luisa was given the names Luisa Maria Teresa Anna for her maternal grandparents and her mother’s twin sister Anne Henriette of France. Called Luisa by her family, she is known in history as Maria Luisa.

Left to Right: Maria Luisa’s brother Ferdinando, Maria Luisa, her mother Louise Élisabeth of France, her father Felipe, Duke of Parma, her older sister Isabella of Parma, and the children’s governess Marie Catherine de Bassecourt, Marchioness of Borghetto (on the right); Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had two older siblings:

Maria Luisa of Parma, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa’s French mother wanted to arrange a betrothal between Maria Luisa and her first cousin Louis Joseph, Duke of Burgundy. Louis Joseph was the same age as Maria Luisa, was also a grandchild of King Louis XV of France, and was second in the line of the French succession after his father Louis, Dauphin of France. However, neither of them became King of France. Ten-year-old Louis Joseph died from tuberculosis in 1761 and four years later, his father Louis, Dauphin of France also died from tuberculosis.

Maria Luisa’s husband, the future King Carlos IV of Spain, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1762, Maria Luisa was betrothed to her first cousin, the future King Carlos IV of Spain, the son of King Carlos III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. The marriage was intended to strengthen the relationships between the Bourbons ruling in Spain and Parma. When Maria Luisa’s older sister Isabella died in 1763 from smallpox, it was suggested that Maria Luisa should marry her sister’s widower, the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. However, the match was eventually rejected and the betrothal of Maria Luisa and Carlos was confirmed. The not-quite-seventeen-year-old Carlos and the not-quite fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa were married on September 4, 1765, at the La Granja Palace in San Ildefonso, Spain.

The Family of Carlos IV by Francisco de Goya, circa 1800. L to R: Infante Carlos, Count of Molina; the artist Francisco de Goya at the easel; the future King Fernando VII, Infanta Maria Josepha (sister of Carlos IV); a young woman whose face cannot be seen who is representing the future wife of King Fernando VII; Infanta Maria Isabel; Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Portugal; Infante Francisco de Paula; King Carlos IV; Infante Antonio Pascual (brother of Carlos IV); Carlota Joaquina or her sister Infanta Maria Amalia; Carlo Ludovico of Parma (husband of Maria Luisa); Infanta Maria Luisa; child in the arms of Maria Luisa, her son, the future Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had twenty-three pregnancies. Thirteen of the pregnancies resulted in live births, including a set of twins. The other ten pregnancies ended in miscarriages. Of the fourteen children who were born alive, only seven survived childhood:

Upon her arrival at the Spanish court, Maria Luisa immediately became the first lady of the court. Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, the mother of her husband, had died from tuberculosis in 1760, and Maria Luisa’s father-in-law King Carlos III never remarried. It was obvious that Maria Luisa was intelligent and ambitious, and had a dominant personality, and her father-in-law attempted to control her and limit her personal freedom, but with little success. Maria Luisa was strong and intellectual and she completely controlled her husband. During the reign of her father-in-law King Carlos III, Maria Luisa led her husband into all sorts of court intrigues.

Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy who ran the Spanish government with Queen Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 14, 1788, King Carlos III of Spain died and was succeeded by his son as King Carlos IV of Spain. Carlos IV would rather hunt than deal with government affairs and the running of the government was left mostly to Queen Maria Luisa and Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. It is probable that de Godoy had a long-term relationship with Maria Luisa and that he was the father of her youngest son Francisco de Paula.

King Carlos IV and Queen Maria Luisa, circa 1802; Credit – Wikipedia

The view of the Spanish monarchy among the Spanish people took a rapid decline due to economic troubles, rumors about a relationship between Queen Maria Luisa and de Godoy, and King Carlos IV’s incompetence. Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando, Prince of Asturias
was anxious to take over from his father and jealous of Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. He unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow his father in 1807. After riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. However, less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.

Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando as Prince of Asturias, later King Fernando VII of Spain by Francisco de Goya, 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa, her husband the former King Carlos IV, some of their children, and former Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy were held captive first in France, at Compiègne and Fontainebleau, and then in Marseilles and Nice, and finally in Rome, then in the Papal States, now in Italy. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years at the Château de Valençay in France until the Treaty of Valençay on December 11, 1813, provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain.

Even after the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Maria Luisa and Carlos IV settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini. On January 2, 1819, at the age of sixty-seven, Maria Luisa died from pneumonia. Her husband Carlos IV died just eighteen days later, on January 20, 1819, aged seventy. Their son King Fernando VII allowed them to return to Spain in death. They were both interred in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain.

Tomb of Maria Luisa of Parka, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Carlos IV, King of Spain. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iv-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Maria Luisa of Parma (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • María Luisa de Parma (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Luisa_de_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Philip, Duke of Parma (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip,_Duke_of_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).

Carlos IV, King of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

King Carlos IV of Spain by Francisco de Goya, 1789; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego was born on November 11, 1748, at the Royal Palace of Portici in Portici, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy. He was the seventh of the thirteen children and the second of the six sons of King Carlo VII of Naples, also King Carlo V of Sicily, later King Carlos III of Spain, and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Carlos IV’s paternal grandparents were Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain and his second wife ​Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. His maternal grandparents were Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony and Maria Josepha of Austria.

Carlos IV on the right with his brother Francisco Javier and sister Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos IV had thirteen siblings but only seven survived childhood. His siblings who were born before their father became King of Spain were Princes and Princesses of Naples and Sicily. Their children who survived until their father became King of Spain or were born afterward were Infantes and Infantas of Spain.

Carlos IV’s siblings:

In 1759, Fernando VI, King of Spain, the elder half-brother of Carlos’ father died. However, Fernando VI’s marriage to Barbara of Portugal produced no children, and so upon his death in 1759, Carlos’ father succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. With great sadness, by both Carlos’ father and the people of Naples and Sicily, he abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old third son Ferdinando with a regency council ruling until his sixteenth birthday. Carlos’ eldest brother Infante Felipe of Spain, Duke of Calabria was excluded from both the Spanish and the Naples and Sicily succession due to learning disabilities and epilepsy. Eleven-year-old Carlos as the second son became the heir to the Spanish throne and received the title Prince of Asturias.

Carlos’ wife Maria Luisa of Parma, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1762, Carlos was betrothed to his first cousin Maria Luisa of Parma, the daughter of his paternal uncle Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma, the founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma, and Louise Élisabeth of France, the daughter of King Louis XV of France. The marriage was intended to strengthen the relationships between the Bourbons ruling in Spain and Parma. The not-quite-seventeen-year-old Carlos and the not-quite fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa were married on September 4, 1765, at the La Granja Palace in San Ildefonso, Spain.

The Family of Carlos IV by Francisco de Goya, circa 1800. L to R: Infante Carlos, Count of Molina; the artist Francisco de Goya at the easel; the future King Fernando VII, Infanta Maria Josepha (sister of Carlos IV); a young woman whose face cannot be seen who is representing the future wife of King Fernando VII; Infanta Maria Isabel; Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Portugal; Infante Francisco de Paula; King Carlos IV; Infante Antonio Pascual (brother of Carlos IV); Carlota Joaquina or her sister Infanta Maria Amalia; Carlo Ludovico of Parma (husband of Maria Luisa); Infanta Maria Luisa; child in the arms of Maria Luisa, her son, the future Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos IV and Maria Luisa of Parma had fourteen children but only seven survived childhood:

Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy who ran the Spanish government with Queen Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Unlike Carlos, his wife Queen Maria Luisa was a strong, intellectual woman who completely controlled her husband. During the reign of his father King Carlos III of Spain, Carlos was led into all sorts of court intrigues by his wife. On December 14, 1788, King Carlos III of Spain died and was succeeded by his son as King Carlos IV of Spain. Carlos IV would rather hunt than deal with government affairs and the running of the government was left mostly to his wife Maria Luisa and Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. It is probable that de Godoy had a long-term relationship with Maria Luisa and that he was the father of her youngest son Francisco de Paula.

Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando as Prince of Asturias, later King Fernando VII of Spain by Francisco de Goya, 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

The view of the Spanish monarchy among the Spanish people took a rapid decline due to economic troubles, rumors about a relationship between Queen Maria Luisa and de Godoy, and King Carlos IV’s incompetence. Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando, Prince of Asturias
was anxious to take over from his father and jealous of Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. He
unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow his father in 1807. After riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. However, less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.

Carlos IV, his wife Maria Luisa, some of their children, and former Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy were held captive first in France, at Compiègne and Fontainebleau, and then in Marseilles and Nice, and finally in Rome, then in the Papal States, now in Italy. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years at the Château de Valençay in France until the Treaty of Valençay on December 11, 1813, provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain.

The former King Carlos IV in 1818; Credit – Wikipedia

Even after the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Carlos IV and Maria Luisa settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini. On January 2, 1819, at the age of sixty-seven, Maria Luisa died from pneumonia. Her husband Carlos IV died just eighteen days later, on January 20, 1819, aged seventy. Their son King Fernando VII allowed them to return to Spain in death. They were both interred in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain.

Tomb of King Carlos IV of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

  • Carlos IV de España (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_IV_de_Espa%C3%B1a (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Charles IV of Spain (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_of_Spain (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Carlos III, King of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, King of Naples, King of Sicily, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iii-king-of-spain-duke-of-parma-and-piacenza-king-of-naples-king-of-sicily/ (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015) King Ferdinand VII of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-ferdinand-vii-of-spain/ (Accessed: January 11, 2023).
  • Maria Luisa of Parma (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Parma (Accessed: January 11, 2023).

Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples and Sicily

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Amalia of Saxony with the regalia of the Kingdom of Naples, circa 1745; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalia of Saxony was the wife of King Carlos III of Spain who also was King Carlo VII of Naples from 1735 – 1759 and King Carlo V of Sicily from 1734 – 1759. Born on November 24, 1724, at Dresden Castle, in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga was a Princess of Poland and a Princess of Saxony. She was the fourth of the fourteen children and the eldest of the seven daughters of Augustus III, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was also Friedrich August II, Elector of Saxony, and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. Maria Amalia’s paternal grandparents were Augustus II, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was also Friedrich August I, Elector of Saxony, and Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Her maternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick -Lüneburg.

Maria Amalia had thirteen siblings:

Dresden Castle where Maria Amalia was born and raised; Credit – By X-Weinzar – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7530258

Maria Amalia was raised at her father’s court at Dresden Castle in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She received instruction in foreign languages, mathematics, foreign cultures, theater, and dancing. Maria Amalia was also an excellent musician and sang and played the piano from an early age.

Maria Amalia’s husband Carlos as King of Naples and Sicily; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1738, a marriage was arranged for fourteen-year-old Maria Amalia and twenty-two-year-old Carlos of Spain who was then sovereign of two Italian kingdoms as King Carlo VII of Naples and King Carlo V of Sicily. Carlos was the eldest son of Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain and his second wife ​Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, who had arranged the marriage. Carlos was not expected to become King of Spain because he had two elder surviving brothers from his father’s first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy.

On May 8, 1738, a proxy marriage was held in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in Germany with the bride’s brother Friedrich Christian of Saxony standing in for Carlos. Shortly afterward, Maria Amalia traveled to the Kingdom of Naples, and on June 19, 1738, at Portella, a village on the border of the Kingdom of Naples, Carlos and Maria Amalia met for the first time and were married.

Three children of Maria Amalia and Carlos: Francisco Javier, Maria Luisa, and Carlos III’s successor, the future King Carlos IV; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalia and Carlos had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. Their children who were born before Carlos became King of Spain were Princes and Princesses of Naples and Sicily. Their children who survived until Carlos became King of Spain were then Infantes and Infantas of Spain.

Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Italy; Credit – By Carlo Pelagalli, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52612424

As Queen of Naples and Sicily, Maria Amalia had great influence and took an active part in state affairs. After the birth of her first son in 1747, she was given a seat on the council of state. Maria Amalia ended the careers of several politicians she disliked. She played an important role in the planning and construction of the Royal Palace of Caserta.

Maria Amalia’s in-laws: King Felipe V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Queen of Spain in 1739

Carlos’ father Felipe V, King of Spain died of a stroke at the age of 62 on July 9, 1746, and Carlos’ only surviving elder half-brother Fernando succeeded to the Spanish throne as Fernando VI, King of Spain and reigned for thirteen years. However, Fernando’s marriage to Barbara of Portugal produced no children, and so upon his death in 1759, his elder surviving half-brother, Maria Amalia’s husband Carlos, succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. With great sadness, by both Carlos and the people of Naples and Sicily, Carlos abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old third son Ferdinando with a regency council ruling until his sixteenth birthday.

Maria Amalia, her husband, and their surviving children moved from Naples to Madrid, Spain in the autumn of 1759. Besides leaving their third son Ferdinando who was now King of Naples and Sicily, they left their eldest son Felipe who was excluded from the succession due to learning disabilities and epilepsy. Felipe lived hidden away at the Palace of Portici in the Kingdom of Naples, occasionally being visited by his brother King Ferdinando. Felipe died, aged 30, in 1777, from smallpox.

Maria Amalia had lived in her husband’s Italian kingdoms for twenty-one years and did not like Spain. She complained about the food, the language, which she refused to learn, the climate, the Spaniards, whom she regarded as passive, and the Spanish courtiers, whom she regarded as ignorant and uneducated. She planned reforms for the Spanish court but did not have time to complete them.

A posthumous portrait of Maria Amalia, circa 1761; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 27, 1760, a year after arriving in Spain, 35-year-old Maria Amalia died from tuberculosis at the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, Spain, and was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial. Upon Maria Amalia’s death, her husband Carlos said, “In twenty-two years of marriage, this is the first serious upset that Amalia has given me.” After Maria Amalia’s death, Carlos remained unmarried. He survived his wife by twenty-eight years, dying, aged 72, on December 14, 1788, at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

Tomb of Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

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  • María Amalia de Sajonia (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Amalia_de_Sajonia (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia di Sassonia (2022) Wikipedia (Italian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_di_Sassonia (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
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