Category Archives: Holy Roman Empire Royals

Maria Josepha of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress, 2nd wife of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

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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Maria Joseph of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Maria Josepha of Bavaria was the second of the two wives of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor who also was the ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands. Maria Josepha Antonia Walburga Felizitas Regula was born on March 20, 1739, in Munich, then in the Electorate of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She was the seventh of the seven children and the youngest of the five daughters of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, also Karl I, Elector of Bavaria, and Archduchess Maria Amalie of Austria. Maria Josepha’s paternal grandparents were Maximilian II Emanuel, Prince-Elector of Bavaria and his second wife Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska. Her maternal grandparents were Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor and Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Two of Maria Josepha’s siblings, her father’s successor Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria and Joseph Ludwig; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha had six elder siblings but only three survived to adulthood

Archduke Joseph of Austria, the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, was the eldest son of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, the only woman to be ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands in her own right. His father was born Prince François Étienne of Lorraine. Maria Theresa had arranged for her husband to be elected Holy Roman Emperor as Franz I but she wielded the real power and Joseph’s father was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife.

In the fall of 1763, there was an outbreak of smallpox in and around Vienna, and IIsabella of Parma, Archduchess of Austria, the pregnant wife of Archduke Joseph of Austria, the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, became ill with smallpox. Isabella’s high fever induced labor three months early, and on November 22, 1763, she gave birth to a second daughter. The baby was baptized Maria Christina, as Isabella requested, but died the same day. Five days later, a month short of her 22nd birthday, Isabella died from smallpox. Joseph was devastated by Isabella’s death and never fully recovered. In a letter to Isabella’s father, Joseph wrote: “I have lost everything. My adorable wife and only friend is no more. (…) What a frightful separation! Can I survive it? Yes, and only to be unhappy all my life. (…) There is nothing I will enjoy ever again.”

Joseph did not want to marry again after Isabella’s death but his mother wanted him to provide a male heir. Some overtures were made to Isabella’s younger sister Maria Luisa of Parma but she was already promised to the future Carlos IV, King of Spain. At his mother’s insistence, Joseph married again to his second cousin Maria Josepha of Bavaria. Joseph did not find Maria Josepha physically attractive. After seeing her for the first time, he described her in a letter: “Her figure is short, thickset, and without a vestige of charm. Her face is covered with spots and pimples. Her teeth are horrible.”

Maria Josepha’s husband Joseph in 1765, the year of their marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

A proxy marriage was held in Munich on January 13, 1765, and then 23-year-old Joseph and 25-year-old Maria Josepha were married in person on January 25, 1765, at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. Holy Roman Emperors could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed them after their death. The elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans. In 1764, Joseph was elected and crowned King of the Romans and so Maria Josepha’s new title was Queen of the Romans

Maria Josepha as Holy Roman Empress, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

During his unsuccessful marriage to Maria Josepha of Bavaria, Joseph’s father Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor died suddenly of a stroke or heart attack on August 18, 1765, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera in Innsbruck, Austria. Since Joseph had been elected and crowned King of the Romans, the title of the elected heir to the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph became Holy Roman Emperor but his mother Maria Theresa continued to wield the real power. On September 17, 1765, Joseph was elevated by his mother Maria Theresa to be her co-regent in the Habsburg hereditary lands. Maria Josepha, of course, held the female counterparts of Joseph’s titles.

Maria Josepha’s state of health led her and others to believe that she was pregnant. Joseph never loved Maria Josepha and the marriage was probably never consummated. Joseph avoided sharing a bedroom and even had their shared balcony in Schönbrunn Palace partitioned off so he would not have to see Maria Josepha. In a letter to his brother Leopold, Joseph wrote: As for my empress, there is no change. She has no illness but considerable disturbance. She [Josepha] may be pregnant though without the slightest swelling. I just don’t understand it, and I console myself with the happy life I lead as a bachelor husband.”

Maria Josepha loved Joseph despite his frigid behavior toward her. She was naturally timid, always felt inferior, and trembled and turned pale in Joseph’s presence. Joseph’s father had been the only family member who gave Maria Josepha any support and with his death, that support was gone.

Tomb of Maria Josepha of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – By Krischnig at German Wikipedia – Own work., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5557276

A severe smallpox epidemic broke out in 1767, and Maria Josepha came down with the disease. Although Joseph, who had survived smallpox at an earlier time, had nursed his first wife Isabella as she was dying from smallpox, he did not visit Maria Josepha while she was ill. Her mother-in-law Maria Theresa, did and also caught the disease, but she survived. Maria Josepha was not so lucky. On May 28, 1767, a little more than two years after her marriage to Joseph, Maria Josepha, aged 28, died at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was interred at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria

Joseph did have some regrets after Maria Josepha’s death. He told some close friends that he regretted the coldness he had shown to her, and surprisingly, Joseph told Maria Antonia of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony, Maria Josepha’s sister, that his wife had been “for so many reasons worthy of respect”. Despite this, Joseph did not attend Maria Josepha’s funeral and never visited her tomb. Joseph also never married again. He survived Maria Josepha by twenty-three years, dying from tuberculosis, aged 48, on February 20, 1790, 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.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor also King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/joseph-ii-holy-roman-emperor-also-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 05 September 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-vii-holy-roman-emperor/ (Accessed: 05 September 2023).
  • Maria Josepha of Bavaria (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Josepha_of_Bavaria (Accessed: 05 September 2023).
  • Maria Josepha von Bayern (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Josepha_von_Bayern (Accessed: 05 September 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.

Isabella of Parma, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Isabella of Parma, Archduchess of Austria; 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.

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

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Princess Isabella of Parma, Infanta of Spain was the first wife of the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor who was also the ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands. Isabella died before Joseph became Holy Roman Emperor. Isabella Maria Luisa Antonietta Ferdinanda Giuseppina Saveria Dominica Giovanna was born on December 31, 1741, at Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, Kingdom of Spain. She was the eldest of the three children and the elder of the two daughters of Infante Felipe of Spain, from 1748 until his death also Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, and his first cousin once removed Princess Louise Élisabeth of France. Isabella’s paternal grandparents were Felipe V, King of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Her maternal grandparents were Louis XV, King of France and Marie Leszczyńska.

Isabella had two younger siblings:

Isabella’s maternal grandparents Felipe V, King of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese of Parma who were important during the early years of her life; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella’s mother was only fourteen years old when she gave birth to Isabella. Two months later, Isabella’s father left to fight in the War of the Austrian Succession and did not return until Isabella was eight years old. Just a child herself, Isabella’s mother showed little affection toward Isabella and probably found the baby to be a burden. For the first seven years of her life, Isabella was raised at the Madrid court of her paternal grandfather Felipe V, King of Spain. Her paternal grandmother Queen Elisabeth was the primary influence in young Isabella’s life.

Following the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Isabella’s father became Duke of Parma and Piacenza, a title formerly belonging to the House of Farnese, his mother’s family. Isabella was now a Princess of Parma and a member of the new House of Bourbon-Parma. Isabella and her mother arrived in Parma in November 1749.

Isabella’s family in Parma in 1757; Isabella, age 16, standing in a light purple dress. Left to right are Isabella’s brother Ferdinando and sister Maria Luisa, her mother Louise Élisabeth of France, her father Felipe of Spain, Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, and the children’s governess Marie Catherine de Bassecourt, Marchioness of Borghetto.

Isabella was well educated. She was eager to learn and was interested in many things. She read the writings of Italian and French philosophers and had an understanding of mathematics and military matters. Isabella was very musical and excelled at singing and playing the violin and the harpsichord. She drew, painted, and began to write about serious topics. As an adult, Isabella wrote on various topics including an analysis of her life, her philosophy, and the state of the world around her. Isabella wrote a humorous autobiography Les Aventures de l’étourderie (The Adventures of Amazement). In her Christian Reflections, she wrote about her thoughts on many religious questions, especially death.

Over and over again, Isabella expressed her desire to become a nun but other plans were in the works. To strengthen the relations between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs, Isabella’s grandfather King Louis XV of France and Maria Theresa of Austria, ruler in her own right of the Habsburg hereditary lands, Holy Roman Empress by her marriage to Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor and in reality the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire because her husband left the ruling to her, arranged a marriage between Isabella and Maria Theresa’s eldest son Archduke Joseph of Austria, the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and future ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands.

Isabella’s husband, then Archduke Joseph of Austria, after her death Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

A proxy marriage was held on September 5, 1760, at Padua Cathedral in Padua, then in the Republic of Venice, now in Italy. Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, who had a successful military career in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire and as a diplomat for the Holy Roman Empire, was given the honor of escorting Isabella to Vienna, Austria. On October 6, 1760, at the Augustinerkirche (Augustinian Church) in Vienna, Austria, the two 18-year-olds Joseph and Isabella were married by the Papal Nuncio Cardinal Vitaliano Borromeo.

Isabella and her elder daughter Archduchess Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph and Isabella had two daughters but neither survived childhood:

Left to right: Isabella’s husband Joseph, her mother-in-law Maria Theresa, Isabella, and Joseph’s sister Maria Christina in 1763; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph adored his wife but Isabella hated the strict court ceremonies and was very reserved toward Joseph. Joseph’s sister Archduchess Maria Christina was Isabella’s best friend and closest confidante. Some modern historians believe that Isabella and Maria Christina likely had a romantic, and possibly a sexual relationship. They exchanged letters and small notes in French but only the nearly two hundred letters and notes written by Isabella have survived. Isabella’s letters and notes show a deep affection toward Maria Christina and are characteristic of a romantic-sexual relationship. See Wikipedia: Relationship with Archduchess Maria Christina and scroll down to A selection of quotes by Isabella in letters to Marie cited by Badinter as supporting a love affair.

Isabella had a very difficult first pregnancy with her first child Maria Theresa, suffering from many physical symptoms, depression, and a lingering fear of death. This was worsened by her inexperienced husband not understanding her problems. Isabella had miscarriages in August 1762 and January 1763. Her mother-in-law Maria Theresa, who had given birth to sixteen children, was so worried that she advised her son Joseph to wait for six months before trying for another child. However, Isabella was soon again pregnant.

It was a tradition that the imperial court spent the summer at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna,  away from the more populated central part of Vienna. In 1763, warm weather lasted well into the autumn and the court returned to Hofburg Palace, located in central Vienna, on November 14, 1763. Isabella would have preferred to remain at the more isolated Schönbrunn Palace. She was six months pregnant and there were reports of smallpox cases in and around Vienna. After returning to Hofburg Palace, Isabella developed a fever on November 18, 1763, and it soon became clear that she had smallpox. Isabella’s high fever induced labor three months early, and on November 22, 1763, she gave birth to a premature second daughter. As Isabella requested, the baby was baptized Maria Christina but died the same day.

Following the birth, Isabella was rarely conscious but during her moments of consciousness, she displayed extraordinary courage. Joseph, who had already had smallpox, stayed by her side and took care of her without a break. On November 27, 1763, one month and three days before her 22nd birthday, Isabella died from smallpox at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Because her body was still infectious, it was buried quickly without an autopsy or embalming in the Maria Theresa Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. The tiny coffin of her daughter Maria Christina was placed under Isabella’s coffin. In 1770, when Isabella’s elder daughter Maria Theresa died at the age of seven from pleurisy, her coffin was placed next to her mother’s and younger sister’s coffins.

Isabella’s tomb in the middle with the coffin of her younger daughter Maria Christina sticking out underneath. To the right is the tomb of Isabella’s elder daughter Maria Theresa who died in 1770; Credit – By C.Stadler/Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28671919

Joseph was devastated by Isabella’s death and never fully recovered. In a letter to Isabella’s father, Joseph wrote: “I have lost everything. My adorable wife and only friend is no more. (…) What a frightful separation! Can I survive it? Yes, and only to be unhappy all my life. (…) There is nothing I will enjoy ever again.” At his mother’s insistence, Joseph married again to his second cousin Maria Josepha of Bavaria, daughter of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Elector of Bavaria and Maria Amalie of Austria. On May 28, 1767, after only two years of a childless marriage, Maria Josepha died of smallpox, as had her predecessor Isabella. Joseph never remarried.

Smallpox, now eradicated, was a serious contagious disease that killed many and left many survivors scarred. The disease knew no class boundaries and royalty was as likely to suffer from it as the common folk. (See Unofficial Royalty: Royal Deaths from Smallpox.) Smallpox was a leading cause of death in the 18th century. It killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans each year in the 18th century. Before Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine that contained the cowpox virus in 1796 and that ultimately led to the eradication of smallpox, there was another way to possibly prevent smallpox called variolation and it was first seen in China in the fifteenth century. In 1716, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu accompanied her husband to Turkey where he was to serve as the British ambassador. While she was in Turkey, Lady Mary observed the Turkish practice of smallpox variolation or inoculation and she brought the practice back to Great Britain. Lady Mary persuaded Caroline, Princess of Wales (wife of the future King George II) to arrange to have the inoculation tested using prisoners and orphans, all of whom survived the inoculation. In 1722, King George I allowed the inoculation of two of his grandchildren, the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales and they survived. Variolation gained acceptance and was used until Edward Jenner developed his much safer vaccination using the cowpox virus instead of the smallpox virus.

The tragedy of Isabella’s death and the death of Joseph’s second wife from smallpox along with the earlier deaths from smallpox of four of Joseph’s siblings, and the suffering of the Habsburg family members who had survived smallpox, contributed to Maria Theresa’s decision to have the younger members of the Habsburg family inoculated, and the subsequent acceptance of variolation in Austria, thus saving many lives.

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 II, Holy Roman Emperor also King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/joseph-ii-holy-roman-emperor-also-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 04 September 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) Smallpox knew no class boundaries, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-illnesses-and-deaths/smallpox-knew-no-class-boundaries/ (Accessed: 04 September 2023).
  • Isabella von Bourbon-Parma (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_von_Bourbon-Parma (Accessed: 04 September 2023).
  • Princess Isabella of Parma (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Isabella_of_Parma (Accessed: 04 September 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.

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor also King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor; 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.

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

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Joseph II reigned from 1765 to 1790 as Holy Roman Emperor after being elected Holy Roman Emperor following the death of his father Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1765. He was co-regent with his mother from 1765 – 1780 of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, and several other Habsburg hereditary lands and was the sole ruler from 1780 to 1790, following the death in 1780 of his mother Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, the only woman to be ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands in her own right. Joseph’s 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 Joseph’s father was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife.

Born Joseph Benedikt Anton Michael Adam on March 13, 1741, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, he was the fourth of the sixteen children and the eldest of the five sons of Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) also Duke of Lorraine (reigned 1729 – 1737), Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765), born of Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) also Duke of Lorraine (reigned 1729 – 1737), Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765), born François Étienne of Lorraine and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, in her own right Queen of Bohemia (reigned 1740 – 1741 and 1743 – 1780), Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, Archduchess of Austria (reigned 1740 – 1780) along with a number of other titles of Habsburg hereditary lands.

Joseph’s paternal grandparents were Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and Princess Élisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans, the daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (brother of King Louis XIV of France) and his second wife Princess Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. His maternal grandparents were Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor (and ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands) and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Joseph’s parents and their family; Joseph is in the red, standing next to his mother; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph had fifteen siblings but eight of them died in childhood and four of the eight died from smallpox:

Joseph in 1765: Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph’s mother Maria Theresa had a comprehensive, detailed educational program arranged for him to prepare him as optimally as possible for his future duties as a ruler. Starting at a young age, he received riding and fencing lessons. A Jesuit priest gave him religious instruction, supplemented by instruction in ethics, morality, and philosophy. Joseph had a talent for languages, learning Latin, French, Italian, Hungarian, and Czech. Science, mathematics, dance, and theater classes were included in the curriculum. As Joseph grew older, the focus shifted to history lessons, and the study of natural, constitutional, church, and international law. He received specific instruction related to the inner workings of the monarchy and military training.
Starting in 1760, Joseph was allowed to participate in the meetings of the high administrative authorities and the Council of State.

Joseph’s first wife Isabella of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

To strengthen the relations between the Habsburgs and the Bourbons, Joseph’s mother Maria Theresa and King Louis XV of France arranged a marriage between Joseph and Louis XV’s granddaughter Princess Isabella of Parma, daughter of Felipe of Spain, Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla and Louise Élisabeth of France. A proxy marriage was held on September 5, 1760 at Padua Cathedral in Padua, then in the Republic of Venice, now in Italy. Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, who had a successful military career in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire and as a diplomat for the Holy Roman Empire, was given the honor of escorting Isabella to Vienna, Austria. On October 6, 1760, at the Augustinerkirche (Augustinian Church) in Vienna, Austria, the two 18-year-olds Joseph and Isabella were married by the Papal Nuncio Cardinal Vitaliano Borromeo.

Isabella with her elder daughter Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph and Isabella had two daughters but neither survived childhood:

Joseph adored his wife but Isabella hated the strict court ceremonies and was very reserved toward Joseph. Joseph’s sister Archduchess Maria Christina was Isabella’s best friend and closest confidante. Some modern historians believe that Isabella and Maria Christina likely had a romantic, and possibly a sexual relationship. They exchanged letters and small notes in French but only the nearly two hundred letters and notes written by Isabella have survived. Isabella’s letters and notes show a deep affection toward Maria Christina and are characteristic of a romantic-sexual relationship.

Isabella had a very difficult first pregnancy with her first child Maria Theresa, suffering from many physical symptoms, depression, and a lingering fear of death. This was only worsened by her inexperienced husband not understanding her problems. Isabella had miscarriages in August 1762 and January 1763. Her mother-in-law Maria Theresa, who had given birth to sixteen children, was so worried that she advised her son Joseph to wait for six months before trying for another child. However, Isabella was soon again pregnant. In the fall of 1763, there was an outbreak of smallpox in and around Vienna, and the pregnant Isabella became ill with smallpox. Isabella’s high fever induced labor three months early, and on November 22, 1763, she gave birth to a second daughter. The baby was baptized Maria Christina, as Isabella requested, but died the same day. Five days later, a month short of her 22nd birthday, Isabella died from smallpox at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Isabella was interred in the Maria Theresa Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. The coffin of her daughter Maria Christina was placed under Isabella’s coffin. In 1770, when Isabella’s elder daughter Maria Theresa died at the age of seven, her tomb was placed next to her mother’s and younger sister’s coffins.

Isabella’s tomb in the middle with the coffin of her younger daughter sticking out underneath. To the right is the tomb of Isabella’s elder daughter Maria Theresa who died in 1770; Credit – By C.Stadler/Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28671919

Joseph was devastated by Isabella’s death and never fully recovered. In a letter to Isabella’s father, Joseph wrote: “I have lost everything. My adorable wife and only friend is no more. (…) What a frightful separation! Can I survive it? Yes, and only to be unhappy all my life. (…) There is nothing I will enjoy ever again.”

Joseph’s second wife Maria Josepha of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

At his mother’s insistence, Joseph married again to his second cousin Maria Josepha of Bavaria, daughter of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Amalie of Austria. After a proxy marriage on proxy on January 13, 1765, Joseph and Maria Josepha were married in person on January 25, 1765, at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. Joseph, who never wanted to remarry after the death of Isabella, found Maria Josepha unattractive. On May 28, 1767, after only two years of a childless marriage, Maria Josepha died of smallpox, as had her predecessor Isabella. Joseph never remarried.

Joseph and Isabella’s daughter Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Sadly, Joseph had one more death to endure. On January 23, 1770, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, the seven-year-old daughter of Joseph and his first wife Isabella, died from pleurisy. She was buried next to her mother and sister in a tomb with an effigy representing Maria Theresa sleeping on a bed, covered by a blanket, with her hands in prayer. (See photo above.) Joseph was heartbroken over his daughter’s death and cried out to heaven, “I’ve stopped being a father. Oh my God give me back my daughter…”

Coronation of Joseph as as King of the Romans in Frankfurt Cathedral, April 3 1764; Credit – Wikipedia

During his unsuccessful marriage to Maria Josepha of Bavaria, Joseph’s father Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor died suddenly of a stroke or heart attack on August 18, 1765, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera in Innsbruck, Austria. Holy Roman Emperors could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed them after their death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans. In 1764, Joseph had been elected and crowned King of the Romans, and so when his father died, Joseph became Holy Roman Emperor although his mother Maria Theresa continued to wield the real power. On September 17, 1765, Joseph was elevated by his mother Maria Theresa to be her co-regent in the Habsburg hereditary lands. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany that Joseph had inherited from his father was given to his younger brother Leopold, who would be the childless Joseph’s successor.

Joseph in 1775; Credit – Wikipedia

It was not until his mother’s death in 1780, that Joseph could finally pursue his own policies. Josephinism was the name given collectively to his policies. Joseph was educated during the Age of Enlightenment which emphasized rationality, order, and careful organization in statecraft. Joseph issued over 6,000 edicts, plus 11,000 new laws designed to regulate and reorder every aspect of the lands he ruled. Among many other issues, Joseph tried to reduce the influence of the nobility and clergy, and the serfdom of the peasants was abolished in 1781. Despite Joseph’s policies provoking resistance both inside and outside the Habsburg hereditary lands, he is still remembered by historians as an enlightened ruler.

Joseph came from a family in which all members played at least one musical instrument and music was important to him. He declared the Burgtheater in Vienna as the German national theater. Joseph was passionate about opera, and often attended opera rehearsals at the Burgtheater, accompanying the singers on the harpsichord like a professional. Antonio Salieri was his choirmaster and opera director but he focused on the fashionable Italian opera. Joseph commissioned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to write the first opera in the German language: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) in 1782.

Coffin of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in front of the tomb of his parents; Credit – By Wotau – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21894136

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor died from tuberculosis, aged 48, on February 20, 1790, in Vienna, Austria. Before his death, Joseph had renounced the Habsburg practice of separate burial, a form of partial burial in which internal organs are buried separately from the rest of the body. He was buried in a field marshal’s uniform in an oak coffin at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. At a later date, the oak coffin was put in a simple copper coffin and placed in front in front of his parents’ magnificent double sarcophagus.

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. (2021) Francis Stephen of Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francis-stephen-of-lorraine-duke-of-lorraine-grand-duke-of-tuscany-holy-roman-emperor/ (Accessed: 03 September 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/ (Accessed: 03 September 2023).
  • Joseph II. (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_II. (Accessed: 03 September 2023).
  • Joseph II (Empereur du Saint-Empire) (2023) Wikipedia (French). Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_II_(empereur_du_Saint-Empire) (Accessed: 03 September 2023).
  • Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 03 September 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 Amalie of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, Electress of Bavaria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Amalie of 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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Archduchess Maria Amalie of Austria was the wife of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor who was also Karl I, Elector of Bavaria. Born on October 22, 1701, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, Maria Amalie was the youngest of the three children and the second of the two daughters of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King of Croatia, King of Hungary and Princess Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Her paternal grandparents were Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his third wife Eleonore Magdalena of Neuburg. Maria Amalie’s maternal grandparents were Johann Friedrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate.

Maria Amalie had two elder siblings. Her brother, her parents’ only son, died from hydrocephalus before his first birthday, eleven weeks before Maria Amalie’s birth.

Maria Amalie as a child, 1709; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalie was raised with her sister Maria Josepha who was less than two years older. Both girls received a strict Roman Catholic upbringing. Maria Amalie was proposed as a bride for Vittorio Amadeo, Prince of Piedmont, the heir to the Kingdom of Sicily and the Duchy of Savoy, in the hopes of improving relations between Austria and Sicily and Savoy. Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sicily and Duke of Savoy was not in favor of the marriage and his son died from smallpox in 1715.

Karl of Bavaria, as a young man; circa 1717 – 1719; Credit – Wikipedia

At the imperial court in Vienna, Maria Amalie met Karl of Bavaria, the heir to the Electorate of Bavaria. Karl thought a marriage into the House of Habsburg would widen his dynastic and economic prospects. On October 5, 1722, Marie Amalie married Karl of Bavaria, son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Prince-Elector of Bavaria and his second wife Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska.

Two of Maria Amalie and Karl’s children, Karl’s successor Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria and Joseph Ludwig; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalie and Karl had seven children but only four survived to adulthood:

Nymphenburg Palace; Credit – By Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4083697

Maria Amalie and Karl lived at the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, then in the Electorate of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. In 1726, after his father died, Karl became Elector of Bavaria. He maintained good relations with both the Habsburgs and France, continuing his father’s policies. In May 1727, after the birth of an heir to the Electorate of Bavaria, Karl gave Maria Amalie Fürstenried Palace in Munich as her own residence. Despite Karl having a mistress and an illegitimate son, Maria Amalie and Karl’s marriage was relatively happy. The couple had similar personalities and interests. They both enjoyed the pomp and the festive life at court and together they made the Bavarian court a cultural center. Maria Amalie enjoyed opera, politics, and hunting, and loved to travel. She supported churches and convents and had a close relationship with her sister-in-law Maria Anna Karoline of Bavaria (1696 – 1750), a Poor Clare nun.

During his reign, Maria Amalie’s grandfather Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor had devised the 1703 Mutual Pact of Succession, a succession device, because there was a lack of males in the family. The Mutual Pact of Succession effectively made Maria Josepha, Maria Amalie’s elder sister the heir presumptive to the Habsburg hereditary lands if neither of his sons, the future Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor and the future Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, had sons. However, when Maria Josepha and Maria Amalie’s 32-year-old father Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor died suddenly from smallpox in 1711, he was succeeded in the Habsburg hereditary lands by his brother Karl who was also elected Holy Roman Emperor. In 1713, Karl VI annulled the 1703 Mutual Pact of Succession with his Pragmatic Sanction which made his daughter Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria the heir presumptive to the Habsburg hereditary lands instead of her cousin Maria Josepha. Both Maria Josepha and Maria Amalie would have to renounce their succession rights to the Habsburg hereditary lands before they were allowed to marry.

After Karl VI died in 1740, his daughter Maria Theresa succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands as the Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, Queen of Bohemia, and Archduchess of Austria in her own right, the only female to hold those sovereign positions. However, as the son-in-law of the late Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and brother-in-law of Archduchess Maria Josepha, Karl, Elector of Bavaria, Maria Amalie’s husband rejected the Pragmatic Sanction. He claimed the Habsburg hereditary territories against Maria Theresa, even though his wife Maria Amalia had renounced her claims to the Habsburg lands upon her marriage. With the 1741 Treaty of Nymphenburg, Karl, Elector of Bavaria aligned himself with Spain, France, Prussia, Saxony, and Sardinia against Austria. This led to led to the War of Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748) which resulted in the eventual confirmation of Maria Theresa’s Habsburg titles.

Maria Amalie’s husband as Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

While the War of the Austrian Succession was occurring, Karl, Elector of Bavaria was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII in 1742, and his wife Maria Amalie was now Holy Roman Empress. Karl VII’s three-year reign as Holy Roman Emperor was greatly overshadowed by the War of Austrian Succession.

On January 20, 1745, 47-year-old Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor died at the Munich Residenz in Munich, then in the Electorate of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. His autopsy report listed gout, kidney stones, and heart problems as contributory factors to his death. He was interred in the Theatinerkirche in Munich. On the day of his death, Karl VII, Holy Roman had declared his son Maximilian III Joseph, two months short of his eighteenth birthday, to be of legal age, which enabled him to succeed as Elector of Bavaria without a regent. At the urging of his mother Maria Amalie, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria made peace with Austria via the 1745 Treaty of Füssen. Bavaria recognized the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria promised to support the candidacy of Francis Stephen of Lorraine, the husband of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (the daughter of Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor) and future Habsburgs, as Holy Roman Emperor. In return, Austria recognized the legitimacy of Karl VII’s election as Holy Roman Emperor.

Maria Amalie as a widow; Credit – Wikipedia

After the death of her husband, Maria Amalie lived at the home her husband had given her, Fürstenried Palace, for the rest of her life. In 1754, she founded the first modern hospital in Munich (link in German), managed by nuns of the Order of Saint Elisabeth whom she had invited to found a convent. The nuns at the hospital not only served the sick people of Munich, but they also trained lay nursing assistants.

Theatinekirke where Maria Amalie and her husband are interred; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Maria Amalie of Austria, daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor and wife of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, survived her husband by nearly thirteen years, dying at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich on December 11, 1756, aged 55. Like her husband, she was buried in the Theatinerkirche in Munich.

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 I, Holy Roman Emperor, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/joseph-i-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-archduke-of-austria-king-of-croatia-king-of-hungary/ (Accessed: 01 September 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-vii-holy-roman-emperor/ (Accessed: 01 September 2023).
  • Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia,_Holy_Roman_Empress (Accessed: 01 September 2023).
  • Maria Amalia von Österreich (1701–1756) (2022) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_von_%C3%96sterreich_(1701%E2%80%931756) (Accessed: 01 September 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.

Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

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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Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Reigning as Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor from 1742 – 1745 and as Karl I, Prince-Elector of Bavaria from 1726 – 1745, Karl Albrecht was born on August 6, 1697, in Brussels, then in the Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium. His reign as Holy Roman Emperor marked the end of three centuries of the House of Habsburg’s rule as Holy Roman Emperors. Karl was the second of the nine children and the eldest of the eight sons of Maximilian II Emanuel, Prince-Elector of Bavaria and his second wife Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska. His paternal grandparents were Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. Karl’s maternal grandparents were Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania and Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquien, a French noblewoman

Karl had eight siblings:

Karl had three half-brothers from his father’s first marriage to Maria Antonia of Austria, daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor but none survived childhood. Maria Antonia died in childbirth delivering her last son. Because Maria Antonia’s mother Margarita Teresa of Spain (died 1673) was the eldest sister of the childless Carlos II, King of Spain who had had physical and mental conditions probably caused by the continued inbreeding of the House of Habsburg, her son Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria was a claimant to the throne of Spain after Carlos’ death in 1700. Joseph Ferdinand died suddenly at the age of six after suffering seizures, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. He was rumored to have been poisoned which is very possible due to his close connection to the Spanish throne. The fight for the throne of Spain caused the War of the Spanish Succession, a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1715.

A young Karl, circa 1717 – 1719; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl had been born in Brussels because his father was Governor-General of the Habsburg Netherlands. In 1701, the family returned to Bavaria. Bavaria fought against the Holy Roman Empire during the War of the Spanish Succession, Karl’s father Maximilian II Emanuel, Prince-Elector of Bavaria, who had served the Holy Roman Emperor as Governor-General of the Habsburg Netherlands was exiled from any territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Karl and his siblings remained in Bavaria and his mother acted as Regent for her husband. In May 1705, after a stay in Venice, the Austrian authorities refused to allow Karl’s mother to return to Bavaria and forced her into exile in Venice, which lasted ten years.

In 1706, Karl and the three eldest of his brothers were taken to Klagenfurt, Austria on the orders of Holy Emperor Joseph I where they were taught and brought up by Jesuit priests. Karl’s sister and his two youngest brothers remained with their mother. The family was not reunited until the Spanish War of Succession ended in 1715. From December 1715 to August 1716, Karl took an educational tour of Italy. In 1717, he served with the Bavarian army on the Austrian side in the Austro-Turkish War.

Karl’s wife Archduchess Maria Amalie of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 5, 1722, Karl married Archduchess Maria Amalie of Austria, whom he had met at the imperial court in Vienna. Maria Amalie was the younger of the two daughters of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor who had died in 1711 and Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Karl thought that a marriage with the House of Habsburg would widen his dynastic and economic prospects.

Two of Karl’s children, his successor Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria and Joseph Ludwig; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl and Maria Amalie had seven children but only four survived to adulthood:

Nymphenburg Palace; Credit – By Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4083697

In 1726, after the death of his father, Karl became Elector of Bavaria. He maintained good relations with both the Habsburgs and France, continuing his father’s policies. Karl and his family lived at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich.

In 1711, Karl’s father-in-law Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I died suddenly from smallpox. Joseph I had three children but his only son died from hydrocephalus before his first birthday. His two daughters were Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria and Karl’s wife Archduchess Maria Amalie of Austria. Upon the sudden death of his elder brother Joseph I, Archduke Karl of Austria automatically succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor. However, Karl VI also had a succession problem. He had one son who died in infancy and three daughters, with one daughter dying in childhood.

Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I had devised the Mutual Pact of Succession, a succession device. The Mutual Pact of Succession stated that the Habsburg hereditary lands would be inherited by the respective male heirs of his sons, the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, and the future Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. If either Joseph I or Karl VI should fail to have a son, the other one would succeed him in all the Habsburg hereditary lands. If both brothers died without sons, the daughters of Joseph I, the elder brother, would have absolute precedence over the daughters of Karl VI, the younger brother, and the eldest daughter of Joseph would ascend to the thrones of all the Habsburg hereditary lands. This meant that Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1699 – 1757), the elder of the two daughters of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, would inherit the Habsburg hereditary lands upon the death of her uncle Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI.

However, when Karl VI became Holy Roman Emperor, he amended the Mutual Pact of Succession. Karl VI’s Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 annulled the terms of the Mutual Pact of Succession, making his daughter Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria the heir to the Habsburg hereditary lands instead of his niece Archduchess Maria Josepha. After Karl VI’s death in 1740, his daughter Maria Theresa succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands as the Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, Queen of Bohemia, and Archduchess of Austria in her own right, the only female to hold those sovereign positions.

However, as the son-in-law of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and brother-in-law of Archduchess Maria Josepha, Karl, Elector of Bavaria rejected the Pragmatic Sanction and claimed the Habsburg hereditary territories against Maria Theresa. With the 1741 Treaty of Nymphenburg, Karl, Elector of Bavaria aligned himself with Spain, France, Prussia, Saxony, and Sardinia against Austria. This led to led to the War of Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748), resulting in the eventual confirmation of Maria Theresa’s Habsburg titles.

While all this was occurring, Karl, Elector of Bavaria was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII in 1742. Karl VII was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor marked the end of three centuries of uninterrupted Habsburg imperial rule. The War of Austrian Succession Karl greatly overshadowed three-year reign as Holy Roman Emperor.

Tomb of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria;  Credit – By krischnig – Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12359771

On January 20, 1745, 47-year-old Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor died at the Munich Residenz in Munich, then in the Electorate of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. His autopsy report listed gout, kidney stones, and heart problems as contributory factors to his death. He was interred in the Theatinerkirche in Munich. Maria Amalie of Austria, daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, survived her husband by nearly thirteen years, dying at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich on December 11, 1756, aged 55. Like her husband, she was buried in the Theatinerkirche in Munich.

On the day of his death, Karl VII, Holy Roman had declared his son Maximilian III Joseph, two months short of his eighteenth birthday, to be of legal age, which enabled him to succeed as Elector of Bavaria without a regent. Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria made peace with Austria via the 1745 Treaty of Füssen. Bavaria recognized the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria promised to support the candidacy of Francis Stephen of Lorraine, the husband of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria and future Habsburgs, as Holy Roman Emperor. Austria did not demand any reparations and recognized the legitimacy of Karl VII’s election as Holy Roman Emperor.

Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right; Credit – Wikipedia

As for Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, since only a male could be Holy Roman Emperor, she arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the snub for being a female, Maria Theresa wielded the real power. The last four Holy Roman Emperors were her husband who reigned as Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor, her two sons Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, and her grandson Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor.

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

  • Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VII,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 31 August 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/may-13-daily-featured-royal-date/ (Accessed: 31 August 2023).
  • Karl VII. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_VII._(HRR) (Accessed: 31 August 2023).
  • Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II_Emanuel,_Elector_of_Bavaria (Accessed: 31 August 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.

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, 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.

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

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Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the wife of Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, King of Croatia, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, who also held a number of other titles. Born on August 28, 1691, in Brunswick, then located in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, Elisabeth Christine was the eldest of the four children, all daughters, of Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Christine Luise of Oettingen-Oettingen. Her paternal grandparents were Anton Ulrich, Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Elisabeth Juliane of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg. Elisabeth Christine’s maternal grandparents were Albrecht Ernst I, Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen (link in German) and Duchess Christine Friederike of Württemberg (link in German).

Elisabeth Christine had three younger sisters but only two survived childhood:

Elisabeth Christine’s sister Charlotte Christine; Credit – Wikipedia

The two surviving sisters of Elisabeth Christine have interesting backgrounds. Because Elisabeth Christine was married to Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI, Peter I (the Great) Emperor of All Russia thought her sister Charlotte Christine would be a good match for his son and heir Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia. In 1711, 17-year-old Charlotte Christine married 21-year-old Alexei with the expectation that one day, Alexei Petrovich would be Emperor of All Russia and she would be Empress of All Russia. Charlotte Christine and Alexei Petrovich had one daughter Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna and one son Peter II, Emperor of All Russia. After giving birth to her son, Charlotte Christine felt well until the third day after the birth when abdominal pain, fever, and delirium developed. Eleven days after her son’s birth 21-year-old Charlotte Christine died from puerperal fever (childbed fever). Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia never became Emperor of All Russia because he predeceased his father. Peter II, the son of Charlotte Christine and Alexei did succeed to the Russian throne but reigned for less than three years, dying of smallpox at age 14. His sister Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna had died a few years earlier from tuberculosis, also at age 14.

Elisabeth Christine’s sister Antoinette Amalie; Credit – Wikipedia

Because Elisabeth Christine’s father Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel had no sons, his first cousin Prince Ferdinand Albrecht of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern was his heir. In 1712, Elizabeth Christine’s 16-year-old sister Antoinette Amalie married her 32-year-old first cousin once removed Prince Ferdinand Albrecht of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern. In 1735, when his first cousin and father-in-law died, Ferdinand Albrecht succeeded him as Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Antoinette Amalie and Ferdinand Albrecht had fifteen children. Their eldest son Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg married Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Elisabeth, also known as Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia, the daughter of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Ivanovna of Russia, the eldest of the three surviving daughters of the five daughters of Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia. Because of a succession issue, Elisabeth had a claim to the Russian throne. In 1740, the two-month-old son of Anton Ulrich and Elisabeth succeeded to the Russian throne as Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia. The story of Ivan VI and his family is one of the most tragic stories in royal history. A little more than a year after succeeding to the Russian throne, Ivan VI was deposed and spent the next 23 years imprisoned before being murdered during the reign of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia. Ivan VI’s parents Anton Ulrich and Elisabeth spent the rest of their lives imprisoned and except for his sister Catherine, all Ivan’s other siblings were born while their parents were imprisoned. Ivan’s siblings remained imprisoned until 1780. Read more at Unofficial Royalty: Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia.

Among the other children of Antoinette Amalie and Ferdinand Albrecht were Elisabeth Christine who married Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia; Sophie Antoinette who married Ernst Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the great-grandparents of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; and Juliana Maria who married Frederik V, King of Denmark.

Arrival of Elisabeth Christine in Spain to marry Karl, then Archduke of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Before Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I died in 1705, and his elder son succeeded him as Joseph II, he arranged a marriage for his younger son Karl with Elisabeth Christine. However, the Lutheran Elisabeth Christine initially opposed the marriage because she would have to convert to Roman Catholicism. She finally gave in and was tutored in Roman Catholicism by her future mother-in-law Empress Eleonore Magdalene. Elisabeth Christine officially converted to Roman Catholicism in 1707. At the time of the wedding, Karl was fighting for his ultimately unsuccessful claim to the Spanish throne against the French candidate Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, later Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain, so he was living in Barcelona, Spain. Elisabeth Christine traveled to Barcelona in July 1708 and the couple was married on August 1, 1708, at the Church of Santa María del Mar in Barcelona, Spain.

Elisabeth Christine with her husband Karl and their three daughters in 1730; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth Christine and Karl had one son who died in infancy and three daughters, with one dying in childhood:

The reign of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor lasted just six years. During the smallpox epidemic of 1711, which killed Louis, Le Grand Dauphin of France, the only surviving child and heir of King Louis XIV of France, Joseph also became ill with smallpox. He died, aged thirty-two, on April 17, 1711. Because Joseph had no sons, his brother Karl automatically succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Elisabeth Christine was Holy Roman Empress and held the female counterpart of all Karl’s other titles.

Elisabeth Christine and her husband Karl V (in the middle) at the wedding breakfast of their daughter Maria Theresa and her husband Francis Stephen (on the right); Credit – Wikipedia

The fact that Karl VI did not have a male heir caused problems. Joseph I and Karl VI’s father Leopold I had devised the Mutual Pact of Succession, a succession device that stated the daughters of Joseph I, the elder brother, would have absolute precedence over the daughters of Karl VI, the younger brother, and the eldest daughter of Joseph I, Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria, would ascend to the thrones of all the Habsburg hereditary lands. However, Karl decided to amend the Mutual Pact of Succession. Karl VI’s Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 annulled the terms of the Mutual Pact of Succession and made his future daughters (his elder daughter Maria Theresa was not born until 1717) the heirs to the Habsburg hereditary lands instead of his niece Archduchess Maria Josepha.

Even though the Pragmatic Sanction allowed a daughter of Karl VI to succeed in the Habsburg hereditary lands, Elisabeth Christine’s life was dominated by the pressure upon her to give birth to a male heir. After the death of her seven-month-old son in 1716, she found her situation very stressful. Her physical and mental health was ruined by the now ridiculous methods to make her conceive another son – if only it was known at the time that it was the male who determined the gender. Elisabeth Christine was given large doses of liquor to make her more fertile. During her last pregnancy, her bed-chamber was decorated with erotic images of male beauty to make her expected baby a male by stimulating her fantasy. Then the the court doctors prescribed a a calorie-laden diet to increase her fertility. Elisabeth Christine gained so much weight that she was unable to walk, had breathing problems and insomnia, and had to be lowered into her chairs by a specially constructed machine.

Elisabeth Christine got along very well with her mother-in-law Eleonore and her sister-in-law and widow of Joseph I, Wilhelmine Amalie, and the three empresses were supportive toward each other. Wilhelmine Amalie nursed Elisabeth Christine when she had smallpox, and Elisabeth Christine nursed Eleonore during her last illness. Elisabeth Christine was not outwardly involved in politics but stayed in the background, and had some influence. However, she was instrumental in arranging the marriages of her niece and nephew, the children of her sister Antoinette Amalie: Elisabeth Christine to the future Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia and Anton Ulrich and Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (also known as Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna).

On October 20, 1740, at the age of 55, Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor died at the Palais Augarten in Vienna, Austria, after a ten-day illness. Ten days earlier, Karl had eaten large amounts of a mushroom dish. The following day, he developed severe nausea, vomiting, and episodes of unconsciousness. After a few days of feeling fine, the symptoms returned, accompanied by a high fever, and eventually led to his death. The symptoms are typical of death cap mushroom poisoning but the definitive cause of Karl’s death remains unknown. Karl was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna.

Elisabeth Christine in her later years; Credit – Wikipedia

After Karl’s death, his daughter Maria Theresa succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands as the Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, Queen of Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria in her own right, the only female to hold those sovereign positions. This led to led to the War of Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748) which led to the eventual confirmation of Maria Theresa’s Habsburg titles. However, Maria Theresa was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female, and so Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria, the husband of Maria Theresa’s first cousin Maria Amalia of Austria, the younger daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, was elected Holy Roman Emperor. He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor marked the end of three centuries of uninterrupted Habsburg imperial rule. After Karl Albrecht died in 1745, Maria Theresa, via a treaty, arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor, as Franz I. Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power.

Tomb of Elisabeth Christine; Credit – By DALIBRI – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21030087

Like her father, Maria Theresa did not allow her mother Elisabeth Christine to be involved in politics. Maria Theresa had Hetzendorf Palace, very close to the summer residence Schönbrunn Palace, expanded as a widow’s residence for her mother. Elisabeth Christine survived her husband by ten years, dying, aged 59, in Vienna, Austria, on December 21, 1750. She was 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

  • Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Christine_von_Braunschweig-Wolfenb%C3%BCttel (Accessed: 27 August 2023).
  • Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Christine_of_Brunswick-Wolfenb%C3%BCttel (Accessed: 27 August 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, King of Croatia, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-vi-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-hungary-king-of-croatia-king-of-bohemia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 27 August 2023).
  • Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Rudolph,_Duke_of_Brunswick (Accessed: 27 August 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.

Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, King of Croatia, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor; 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.

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

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Baptized Carolus Franciscus Josephus Wenceslaus Balthasar Johannes Antonius Ignatius, Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor was born on October 1, 1685, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. He was the seventh of the ten children and the third of the three sons of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his third wife and second cousin Eleonore Magdalena of Neuburg. Karl’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and the first of his three wives who was also his first cousin, Maria Anna of Austria. His maternal grandparents were Philipp Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich-Berg and his second wife Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Karl had nine siblings but only four survived childhood:


Karl’s parents Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleonore Magdalena of Neuburg

Karl’s father Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor had been married twice before to Margarita Teresa of Spain and Claudia Felicitas of Austria. From these two marriages, Leopold had six children, however, all except the oldest daughter from his first wife, had died.

Karl had one surviving half-sister from his father’s first marriage to Margarita Teresa of Spain:

Prince Anton Florian, the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, had served Karl’s father Leopold I as a member of the Imperial Privy Council and as ambassador to the papal court in Rome. Due to his extensive knowledge, in 1693, Anton Florian became Karl’s governor and was responsible for his education.

The death of the last Spanish Habsburg King, Leopold I’s childless nephew Carlos II resulted in the War of the Spanish Succession in which Leopold and then his son Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I unsuccessfully sought to give Leopold’s younger son Karl the entire Spanish inheritance, disregarding the will of the late Carlos II who had named 16-year-old Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, and the grandson of Carlos’ half-sister Maria Teresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain and her husband King Louis XIV of France, as his successor. However, Philippe of France did reign in Spain as King Felipe V, the first King of Spain from the House of Bourbon that still reigns in Spain.

Karl’s brother Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl’s father Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I died in 1705, in Vienna, and his 27-year-old son Joseph succeeded him in the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor. Before he died in 1705, Leopold I arranged a marriage for Karl with Princess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the daughter of Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Christine Luise von Oettingen-Oettingen. However, the Lutheran Elisabeth Christine initially opposed the marriage because she would have to convert to Roman Catholicism. She finally gave in and was tutored in Roman Catholicism by her future mother-in-law, Empress Eleonore Magdalene. Elisabeth Christine officially converted to Roman Catholicism in 1707. At the time of the wedding, Karl was fighting for his claim to the Spanish throne against the French candidate Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, so he was living in Barcelona, Spain. Elisabeth Christine traveled to Barcelona in July 1708 and the couple was married on August 1, 1708, at the Church of Santa María del Mar in Barcelona, Spain.

Karl VI with his wife Elisabeth Christine and their three daughters in 1730; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl and Elisabeth Christine had one son who died in infancy and three daughters, with one dying in childhood:

Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein, Karl’s former childhood governor and then his Chairman of the Council of State and Chief Chamberlain until Anton Florian died in 1721; Credit – Wikipedia

The reign of Karl’s brother Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I lasted just six years. During the smallpox epidemic of 1711, which killed Louis, Le Grand Dauphin of France, the only surviving child and heir of King Louis XIV of France, Joseph also became ill with smallpox and died on April 17, 1711. Upon the sudden death of his elder brother, Karl automatically succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Karl’s former childhood governor, Prince Anton Florian of Liechtenstein, headed the imperial government as Chairman of the Council of State and served as Karl VI’s Chief Chamberlain until he died in 1721.

Karl had a long string of titles:

  • Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, King of Croatia, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria (reigned 1711 – 1740)
  • King of Naples (reigned 1707 – 1735)
  • King of Sardinia (reigned 1708 – 1720)
  • Duke of Teschen (reigned 1711- 1722)
  • Duke of Brabant, Duke of Limburg, Duke of Lothier, Duke of Milan, Count of Namur, Count of Flanders, Count of Hainaut, Duke of Luxembourg (reigned 1714 – 1740)
  • King of Serbia (reigned 1718 – 1739)
  • King of Sicily (reigned 1720 – 1735)
  • Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Duke of Guastalla (reigned 1735 – 1740)

The fact that Karl did not have a male heir caused many problems. His father Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I had devised the Mutual Pact of Succession, a succession device secretly signed in 1703 by his elder son, the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, and his younger son, the future Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. The Mutual Pact of Succession stated that the Habsburg hereditary lands would be inherited by both the brothers’ respective male heirs. However, if one should fail to have a son, the other one would succeed him in all the Habsburg hereditary lands. If both brothers died without sons, the daughters of Joseph, the elder brother, would have absolute precedence over the daughters of Karl, the younger brother, and the eldest daughter of Joseph would ascend to the thrones of all the Habsburg hereditary lands. This meant that Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1699 – 1757), the elder of the two daughters of Karl’s elder brother Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, would inherit the Habsburg hereditary lands upon the death of her uncle Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI.

When Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I died, his brother Karl succeeded him as the ruler of all the Habsburg hereditary lands with Joseph’s daughter Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria as his heir. However, Karl decided to amend the Mutual Pact of Succession. Karl VI’s Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 annulled the terms of the Mutual Pact of Succession and made his future daughters (Maria Theresa was not born until 1717) the heirs to the Habsburg hereditary lands instead of his niece Archduchess Maria Josepha.

Tomb of Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – By Welleschik – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3946431

On October 20, 1740, at the age of 55, Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor died at the Palais Augarten in Vienna, Austria, after a ten-day illness. Ten days earlier, Karl had eaten large amounts of a mushroom dish. The following day, he developed severe nausea, vomiting, and episodes of unconsciousness. After a few days of feeling fine, the symptoms returned, accompanied by a high fever, and eventually led to his death. The symptoms are typical of death cap mushroom poisoning but the definitive cause of Karl’s death remains unknown. Karl was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna.

Karl’s daughter Maria Theresa, circa 1744; Credit – Wikipedia

After Karl’s death, his daughter Maria Theresa succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands as the Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, Queen of Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria in her own right, the only female to hold those sovereign positions. This led to led to the War of Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748) which led to the eventual confirmation of Maria Theresa’s Habsburg titles. However, Maria Theresa was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female, and so Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria, the husband of Maria Theresa’s first cousin Maria Amalia of Austria, the younger daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, was elected Holy Roman Emperor. He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor marked the end of three centuries of uninterrupted Habsburg imperial rule. After Karl Albrecht died in 1745, Maria Theresa, via a treaty, arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor, as Franz I. Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power.

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

  • Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VI,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 24 August 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) 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, 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: 24 August 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/ (Accessed: 24 August 2023).
  • Karl VI. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_VI._(HRR) (Accessed: 24 August 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.

Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

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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Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor was also King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, and King of Croatia from 1705 – 1711, and King of Hungary from 1687 – 1711. Joseph Jacob Ignaz Johann Anton Eustachius was born in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, on July 26, 1678. He was the eldest of the ten children and the eldest of the three sons of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his third wife and second cousin Eleonore Magdalena of Neuburg. Joseph’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and the first of his three wives and his first cousin, Maria Anna of Austria. His maternal grandparents were Philipp Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich-Berg and his second wife Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Joseph had nine siblings but only four survived childhood:

Joseph’s father Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor had been married twice before to Margarita Teresa of Spain and Claudia Felicitas of Austria. From these two marriages, Leopold I had six children, however, all except the oldest daughter from his first wife, had died.

Joseph had one surviving half-sister from his father’s first marriage to Margarita Teresa of Spain:

Joseph at the age of six; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph was educated by Karl Theodor Otto, Prince of Salm, Leopold I’s Oberhofmeister, the head of the imperial court and household, and also the first privy councilor, a position similar to a prime minister. When Joseph succeeded his father, Karl Theodor Otto remained Oberhofmeister and first privy councilor. Joseph was studious, multi-talented, and very intelligent. In 1687, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor gave his nine-year-old son the Kingdom of Hungary, one of the Habsburg hereditary lands, to rule over. In 1690, Joseph was elected King of the Romans, meaning he would be elected the next Holy Roman Emperor.

Joseph’s wife Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 24, 1699, in Vienna, Joseph married Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of Johann Friedrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate. Joseph began having affairs at the age of 15 with maids and noble women. Wilhelmine Amalie was very pious and had received a Catholic education from her great-aunt Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate who had converted to Roman Catholicism, became a nun, and later the abbess at the Cistercian Maubuisson Abbey in France. It was thought that the pious Wilhelmine Amalie, who was five years older than Joseph, would be a positive influence on Joseph and he would then stop having affairs.

Joseph and Wilhelmine Amalie had three children but their only son died from hydrocephalus before his first birthday:

Joseph did not stop his affairs, and the affairs combined with the death of his only son took a toll on his marriage. Joseph contracted a venereal disease, probably syphilis, and probably passed the disease to his wife. The venereal disease was most likely the reason for the failure of the couple to produce more children. Without male heirs, a succession crisis developed over who would inherit the Habsburg hereditary lands of Bohemia, Austria, Croatia, and Hungary. The Holy Roman Emperor was not inherited but was elected by the prince-electors, or electors for short, from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Joseph’s father Holy Roman Leopold I was still alive and he devised the Mutual Pact of Succession, a succession device secretly signed by Joseph and his younger brother Karl in 1703. The Mutual Pact of Succession stated that the Habsburg hereditary lands would be inherited by the brothers’ respective male heirs. However, if one brother should fail to have a son, the other one would succeed him in all the Habsburg hereditary lands. If both brothers died without sons, the daughters of Joseph, the elder brother, would have absolute precedence over the daughters of Karl, the younger brother, and the eldest daughter of Joseph would ascend to the thrones of all the Habsburg hereditary lands.

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged sixty-four, on May 5, 1705, in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria, and his 27-year-old son Joseph succeeded him in the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor. His father had left him with the War of the Spanish Succession (1701 – 1715). The death of the last Spanish Habsburg King, Leopold’s childless nephew King Carlos II of Spain resulted in the War of the Spanish Succession in which Leopold and then his son Holy Roman Joseph I unsuccessfully sought to give Leopold’s younger son Karl the entire Spanish inheritance, disregarding the will of the late Carlos II who had named 16-year-old Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin of France, and the grandson of Carlos’ half-sister Maria Teresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain and her husband King Louis XIV of France, as his successor. However, Philippe of France did reign in Spain as King Felipe V, the first King of Spain from the House of Bourbon that still reigns in Spain.

Tomb of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I; Credit – By PaulT (Gunther Tschuch) – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132637549

Joseph’s reign lasted just six years. During the smallpox epidemic in 1711, which killed Louis, Le Grand Dauphin of France, the only surviving child and heir of King Louis XIV of France, and three siblings of the future Holy Roman Emperor Franz I, Joseph also became ill with smallpox. He died, aged thirty-two, on April 17, 1711, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Joseph had promised his wife that if he survived, he would stop having affairs. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna. His tomb, designed by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, is decorated with images of various battles from the War of Spanish Succession.

Joseph’s brother and successor Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph’s brother Karl succeeded him as the ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. However, Karl’s only son had died in infancy and upon his death, the Habsburg hereditary lands should have gone to Joseph’s daughter Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria as declared in the Mutual Pact of Succession. However, Karl VI’s Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 annulled the Mutual Pact of Succession and made his daughter Maria Theresa the heir to the Habsburg hereditary lands instead of Joseph’s daughter Maria Josepha. When Karl died in 1740, Maria Theresa’s succession to the Habsburg hereditary lands led to the War of Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748), resulting in the eventual confirmation of Maria Theresa’s Habsburg titles.

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) 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, 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: 19 July 2023).
  • Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 19 July 2023).
  • Joseph I. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_I._(HRR) (Accessed: 19 July 2023).
  • Mutual Pact of Succession (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_Pact_of_Succession (Accessed: 19 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.

Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress, 3rd wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

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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Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg was the third of the three wives and also the second cousin of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor who was also 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 in the Palatinate-Neuburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on January 6, 1655, Eleonore Magdalene was eldest of the seventeen children and the eldest of the eight daughters of Philipp Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich-Berg and his second wife Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her paternal grandparents were Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and Magdalene of Bavaria. Eleonore Magdalene’s maternal grandparents were Georg II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Sophie Eleonore of Saxony.

Eleonore Magdalene had sixteen younger siblings:

Eleonore Magdalene was raised in a very religious environment and received an excellent education. Besides her native language German, Eleonore Magdalene was fluent in Latin, French, and Italian, translated biblical texts and spiritual literature into German, was well-versed in theology, and was fond of music and art. From the age of seventeen, Eleanore Magdalene lived with her mother in Benrath Castle where a lady-in-waiting instructed her in court etiquette.

From an early age, Eleonore Magdalene showed a strong devotion to her Roman Catholic faith. She developed a daily prayer practice and an ascetic life which included self-flagellation and the secret wearing of a chain cilice. Eleonore Magdalene visited the sick, gave alms to the poor, and asked others not to treat her as royalty because she considered all people equally dear to God. When she was fourteen-year-old, Eleonore Magdalene joined the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Sorrows at the Cross, a secular order, and remained a member all her life. She wanted to become a Carmelite nun but her parents would not let her. Five monarchs asked to marry her and were refused by her.

Eleonore Magdalene’s husband Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1676, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor was devastated by the loss of his second wife, and he retired to a monastery near Vienna to mourn. From his two marriages, he had six children, however, all except the oldest daughter from his first wife, had died. Leopold needed to marry again to provide a male heir. Eleanore Magdalene’s mother had 23 pregnancies and 17 live births and the family gained the reputation as a fertile family. Because of this reputation, 36-year-old Leopold chose his 21-year-old second cousin Eleonore Magdalene to be his third wife. The wedding took place on December 14, 1676, in Passau, then in the County of Palatine, now in Bavaria, Germany. Having an imperial wedding in Passau was a major event and it is remembered with an 1892 painting of the wedding, displayed in the Passau Town Hall.

The painting of the wedding of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and Eleonore Magdalene, displayed in the Passau Town Hall; Credit – https://tourismus.passau.de/

Leopold made a good choice because his third wife Eleonore Magdalene had ten children with five surviving childhood including two Holy Roman Emperors:

Eleonore had one surviving stepchild from her husband’s first marriage to Margarita Teresa of Spain:

Eleonore Magdalene was politically active and influenced her husband in governmental matters, particularly as he grew older. Because she was fluent in several languages, Eleonore Magdalene translated foreign political documents for her husband, as many were written in French. She used her position as Holy Roman Empress to secure high-status marriages for her sisters, to promote the careers of her brothers in the Roman Catholic Church, and to oversee the political needs of her brother Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine of Neuburg. Eleonore Magdalene’s generosity to those in need was almost limitless. She built hospitals and shelters, supported numerous brotherhoods, churches, and monasteries, distributed alms, and visited the sick in hospitals. In 1684, Eleonore received the Golden Rose from Pope Innocent XI as a token of his affection for her reverence.

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged sixty-four, on May 5, 1705, in Vienna, then in the Archduchy of Austria. He was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna. After Leopold’s death, Eleonore Magdalene dressed in mourning for the rest of her life. During the six-year reign of her son Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, Eleonore Magdalene continued to influence the affairs of the state. After Joseph I’s death, by the decision of the Privy Council, Eleanore Magdalene served as regent until the return of her son, the new Emperor Karl VI, from Spain where he was dealing with issues relating to the War of the Spanish Succession.

During her last years, Eleonore Magdalene lived a very ascetic life, similar to a nun. She instructed her servants, who had witnessed her ascetic life, never to tell anyone. On January 1, 1720, while preparing for the sacrament of confession, Eleonore Magdalene suffered a stroke which left the right side of her body paralyzed. She received the Anointing of the Sick and gave her blessing to her children and grandchildren who were at her deathbed. During her final days, Eleonore Magdalene was constantly nursed by her two daughters-in-law Wilhelmine Amalia and Elisabeth Christine.

Eleonore Magdalene’s second coffin; Credit – By Krischnig – de.wikipedia.org, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51297806

Eleonore Magdalene died on January 19, 1720, aged sixty-five, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Following her wishes, Eleonora Magdalene was buried wearing the robe of a nun, in a very simple wooden coffin that bore the inscription “Eleonore Magdalene Theresa, poor sinner”. Her coffin was placed at the foot of her husband’s tomb in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna. The current lead Baroque coffin containing Eleonore Magdalene’s remains was made in August 1755 following the orders of her granddaughter Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, because the old wooden coffin had deteriorated considerably.

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

  • Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleonore_Magdalene_of_Neuburg (Accessed: 18 July 2023).
  • Eleonore Magdalene von Pfalz-Neuburg (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleonore_Magdalene_von_Pfalz-Neuburg (Accessed: 18 July 2023).
  • Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 18 July 2023).
  • Philip William, Elector Palatine (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_William,_Elector_Palatine (Accessed: 18 July 2023).
  • Rathaussäle Passau (2023) Startseite Passau Tourismus. Available at: https://tourismus.passau.de/passau-sehen-erleben/sehenswuerdigkeiten-in-passau/altes-rathaus-und-rathaussaele/ (Accessed: 18 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.

Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, 2nd wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

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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Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

Archduchess Claudia Felicitas of Austria was the second of the three wives and the second cousin of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor who was also 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 in Innsbruck, then in the County of Tyrol, now in Austria, on May 30, 1653, Claudia Felicitas was the elder of the two children, both daughters, of  Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Further Austria and Count of Tyrol and first cousin Anna de’ Medici. Her paternal grandparents were Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria and Claudia de’ Medici. Claudia Felicitas’ maternal grandparents were Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Maria Maddalena of Austria.

Claudia Felicitas had one younger sister who died in childhood:

  • Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria (1656 – 1669), died at age twelve

Claudia Felicitas grew up at her father’s court in Innsbruck, a center of baroque art and music. She loved hunting but also showed a great interest in music. Claudia Felicitas had an excellent singing voice, played several instruments, and composed music. She took her Roman Catholic faith very seriously and was a secular member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. In 1662, when Claudia Felicitas was nine-years-old, her 34-year-old father Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Further Austria died. He was succeeded by his brother Sigismund Franz, who died three years later in 1665. Claudia Felicitas and her sister, who would die in 1669, became the last members of the Tyrolean branch of the House of Habsburg.

Claudia Felicitas’ mother Anna de’ Medici; Credit – Wikipedia

After the extinction of the male line of the Tyrolean branch of the House of Habsburg in 1665, the Archduchy of Further Austria and the County of Tyrol came under the direct control of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. A dispute ensued with the Imperial Court when Claudia Felicitas’ mother Anna de’ Medici tried to protect the rights of her daughters. However, in 1673, when the first wife of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, Margarita Teresa of Spain, died without providing a surviving male heir, a solution to solve the dispute and Leopold’s lack of male heirs became apparent. Because Leopold had no male heirs, he needed to marry again as soon as possible. He opted for Claudia Felicitas and her mother eagerly agreed. After a proxy marriage, 20-year-old Claudia Felicitas and 33-year-old Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I were married at Graz Cathedral on October 15, 1673. After her marriage, Claudia Felicitas retained the title of Countess of Tyrol, and the dispute ended.

The House of Habsburg 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. Leopold I’s first wife Margarita Teresa of Spain was his first cousin and his niece. She had six pregnancies in six years (four living childbirths and two miscarriages), and four months into her seventh pregnancy, Margarita Teresa died. Her only surviving child, a daughter, gave birth to three sons – two died at birth and one died at the age of seven.

Claudia Felicitas’ husband Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I; Credit – Wikipedia

Claudia Felicitas and Leopold I combined for a gene pool that was also problematic. They were second cousins four times over. Leopold’s parents and Claudia Felicitas’ parents were all double first cousins with each other. All four had the same pair of grandparents Karl II, Archduke of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria.

Claudia Felicitas and Leopold I had two daughters, who died in infancy:

  • Archduchess Anna Maria Josepha of Austria (born and died 1674)
  • Archduchess Maria Josepha Clementina of Austria (1675 – 1676), died in infancy

The Dominican Church in Vienna, Austria where Claudia Felicitas is buried; Credit – By Thomas Ledl – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28719844

Six months after giving birth to her daughter Maria Josepha, 22-year-old Claudia Felicitas died from tuberculosis in Vienna, on April 8, 1676, less than two-and-a-half years after her marriage. She was buried in the Dominican Church, also known as the Church of St. Maria Rotund, in Vienna. Three months later, her 9-month-old daughter Maria Josepha Clementina died. Leopold I was devastated by the loss of his second wife, and he retired to a monastery near Vienna to mourn. From his two marriages, he had six children, however, all except the oldest daughter from his first marriage had died. One has to wonder what role the serious inbreeding played. Leopold did marry for a third time but not to another Habsburg. His 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

  • Claudia Felicitas of Austria (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Felicitas_of_Austria (Accessed: 13 July 2023).
  • Claudia Felizitas von Österreich-Tirol (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Felizitas_von_%C3%96sterreich-Tirol (Accessed: 13 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: 13 July 2023).
  • Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Charles,_Archduke_of_Austria (Accessed: 13 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.