Isabella Maria of Parma
Encyclopedia
Isabella of Parma was the daughter of Infante Felipe of Spain, Duke of Parma
and his wife Louise Elisabeth, eldest daughter of Louis XV of France
and Maria Leszczyńska
. Her paternal grandparents were Philip V of Spain
(in turn a grandson of Louis XIV
) and his second wife, Elisabeth of Parma
.
in Madrid, she was an Infanta of Spain and grew up at the court of her grandfather, Philip V of Spain
. As she was an Infanta she was allowed the style of Royal Highness
. One of three children, she had 2 younger siblings:
for many generations. The Duchy had been ruled between 1731 and 1736 by her uncle Charles
, but exchanged with Austria for The Two Sicilies after the War of Polish Succession. Twelve years later, in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
, Austria lost the Duchy, and Philip became the new Duke, founding the House of Bourbon-Parma
. As a result she, though still an Infanta of Spain, became a Princess of Parma and kept her style of Her Royal Highness
. When her father became the Duke of Parma, the family moved to the duchy in northern Italy
.
Isabella learned to play the violin
, and also read books by philosophers and theologians like Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
or John Law
. She sometimes became melancholic and, after her mother's death in 1759, was often preoccupied with thoughts about death.
In 1759 Isabella lost her mother, who at the time was in France, living at the Palace of Versailles
and plotting to get a better realm to rule. Her mother had been the Duchess of Parma for a mere 10 years and was only 32. The relationship between mother and daughter had not been good, since the Duchess was cold towards Isabella and showed a clear favouritism towards her youngest daughter, Maria Luisa.
who had promised her mother the Throne of the Netherlands. This idea never materialised but her eldest daughter was soon married to Maria Theresa's son. On 6 October 1760, at the age of 18, she was married to Archduke Joseph of Austria
, heir of the Habsburg Monarchy
. Due to her marriage to an Imperial
house, she became Her Imperial
and Royal Highness
- the "Royal" signifying her status as a Princess of Hungary and Bohemia. She quickly charmed the court in Vienna with her beauty and intelligence; apparently Isabella could solve difficult mathematical problems.
She and Joseph's sister Archduchess Maria Christina
quickly became best friends. Although they met every day, they also wrote letters to each other. In one letter she professes her love for Maria Christina:
It is worth noting that at the time it was not uncommon to use language such as this to describe familial love without the connotations such words would have in a modern day context. Nonetheless, the sheer passionate intensity of the feelings being conveyed can hardly be dismissed as mere "friendship" or even "familial love," unless that of a husband for his wife or vice-versa. Isabella gave birth to two children:
She died at Schönbrunn Palace
and was buried in Maria Theresa
's vault in the Imperial Crypt Vaults
in Vienna, Austria.
In 1765, her father-in-law Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
died and her husband succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II.
Philip, Duke of Parma
Philip of Spain was Duke of Parma from 1748 to 1765. He founded the House of Bourbon-Parma , a cadet line of the Spanish branch of the dynasty...
and his wife Louise Elisabeth, eldest daughter of Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
and Maria Leszczyńska
Maria Leszczynska
Marie Leszczyńska was a queen consort of France. She was a daughter of King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland and Catherine Opalińska. She married King Louis XV of France and was the grandmother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. In France, she was referred to as Marie Leczinska...
. Her paternal grandparents were Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
(in turn a grandson of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
) and his second wife, Elisabeth of Parma
Elisabeth of Parma
Elisabeth Farnese , the daughter of Odoardo Farnese and Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, was Queen consort of Spain who exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy.-Parma:Elisabeth was born at the Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma, the capital of a duchy which had been ruled by...
.
Early life
Born at Buen Retiro PalaceBuen Retiro Palace
Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid was a large palace complex designed by the architect Alonso Carbonell and built on the orders of Philip IV of Spain as a secondary residence and place of recreation . It was built in what was then the eastern limits of the city of Madrid...
in Madrid, she was an Infanta of Spain and grew up at the court of her grandfather, Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
. As she was an Infanta she was allowed the style of Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
. One of three children, she had 2 younger siblings:
- Ferdinando Maria Filippo Lodovico Sebastiano Francesco Giacomo of ParmaFerdinand, Duke of ParmaFerdinand Maria Philip Louis Sebastian Francis James of Parma was Duke of Parma from 1765 to 1802. He was the second child and only son of Philip, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise-Élisabeth of France, eldest daughter of Louis XV of France and Maria Leszczyńska...
(1751–1802) - he succeeded his father as Duke of Parma in 1765 and married his older sister's sister-in-law, the Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria. He left issue. - Luisa Maria Teresa Ana of Parma (1751–1819) - she was known as Maria Luisa. She married her cousin, the future Charles IV of SpainCharles IV of SpainCharles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...
. She left issue.
Princess of Parma
Isabella's paternal grandmother was from the House of Farnese, which had ruled the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and GuastallaDuchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
for many generations. The Duchy had been ruled between 1731 and 1736 by her uncle Charles
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
, but exchanged with Austria for The Two Sicilies after the War of Polish Succession. Twelve years later, in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
, Austria lost the Duchy, and Philip became the new Duke, founding the House of Bourbon-Parma
House of Bourbon-Parma
The House of Bourbon-Parma is an Italian cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. It is thus descended from the Capetian dynasty in male line. The name of Bourbon-Parma comes from the main name and the other from the title of Duke of Parma....
. As a result she, though still an Infanta of Spain, became a Princess of Parma and kept her style of Her Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
. When her father became the Duke of Parma, the family moved to the duchy in northern Italy
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
.
Isabella learned to play the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, and also read books by philosophers and theologians like Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a masterly French stylist....
or John Law
John Law (economist)
John Law was a Scottish economist who believed that money was only a means of exchange that did not constitute wealth in itself and that national wealth depended on trade...
. She sometimes became melancholic and, after her mother's death in 1759, was often preoccupied with thoughts about death.
In 1759 Isabella lost her mother, who at the time was in France, living at the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
and plotting to get a better realm to rule. Her mother had been the Duchess of Parma for a mere 10 years and was only 32. The relationship between mother and daughter had not been good, since the Duchess was cold towards Isabella and showed a clear favouritism towards her youngest daughter, Maria Luisa.
Marriage
Her mother had for some time been communicating with the very powerful Maria Theresa of AustriaMaria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
who had promised her mother the Throne of the Netherlands. This idea never materialised but her eldest daughter was soon married to Maria Theresa's son. On 6 October 1760, at the age of 18, she was married to Archduke Joseph of Austria
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
, heir of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
. Due to her marriage to an Imperial
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
house, she became Her Imperial
Imperial Highness
His/Her Imperial Highness is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial - as opposed to royal - status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor rather than a King .Today the style has mainly fallen from use with the exception of the Imperial Family of...
and Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
- the "Royal" signifying her status as a Princess of Hungary and Bohemia. She quickly charmed the court in Vienna with her beauty and intelligence; apparently Isabella could solve difficult mathematical problems.
She and Joseph's sister Archduchess Maria Christina
Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen , called "Mimi", was the fourth daughter and fifth child of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor...
quickly became best friends. Although they met every day, they also wrote letters to each other. In one letter she professes her love for Maria Christina:
- "I am writing you again, cruel sister, though I have only just left you. I cannot bear waiting to know my fate, and to learn whether you consider me a person worthy of your love, or whether you would like to throw me into the river.... I can think of nothing but that I am deeply in love. If I only knew why this is so, for you are so without mercy that one should not love you, but I cannot help myself.". In a different letter she wrote: "I am told that the day begins with God. I, however, begin the day by thinking of the object of my love, for I think of her incessantly.".
It is worth noting that at the time it was not uncommon to use language such as this to describe familial love without the connotations such words would have in a modern day context. Nonetheless, the sheer passionate intensity of the feelings being conveyed can hardly be dismissed as mere "friendship" or even "familial love," unless that of a husband for his wife or vice-versa. Isabella gave birth to two children:
- Her Imperial and Royal HighnessImperial and Royal HighnessImperial and Royal Highness is a style possessed by someone who either through birth or marriage holds two individual styles, Imperial Highness and Royal Highness....
Archduchess Maria Theresia of AustriaArchduchess Maria Theresia of Austria (1762-1770)Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria was a daughter of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, and his first wife, Isabella of Parma. She was the first grandchild of Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen regnant of Hungary and Bohemia, and was born during the lifetime of her great-great-grandfather, Stanisław...
(20 March 1762 - 23 January 1770); - Her Imperial and Royal HighnessImperial and Royal HighnessImperial and Royal Highness is a style possessed by someone who either through birth or marriage holds two individual styles, Imperial Highness and Royal Highness....
Archduchess Marie Christine of Austria (1763). Marie Christine (named after her sister-in-law) died at birth and Isabella herself died a few days later from smallpoxSmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. Her daughter Maria Theresia died in January 1770 from pneumoniaPneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
She died at Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna...
and was buried in Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
's vault in the Imperial Crypt Vaults
Imperial Crypt Vaults
right|thumb|400px|Plan of the Imperial Crypt A. Founders’ VaultB. Children’s ColumbariumC. Leopold's VaultD. Karl's VaultE. Maria Theresa’s VaultF. Franz’s VaultG. Ferdinand’s VaultH. New VaultI. Franz Joseph’s VaultJ. Crypt ChapelK...
in Vienna, Austria.
In 1765, her father-in-law Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...
died and her husband succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II.
Titles and Styles
- 31 December 1741 – 18 October 1748: Her Royal HighnessRoyal HighnessRoyal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
Doña Isabel, Infanta of Spain - 18 October 1748 – 7 September 1760: Her Royal HighnessRoyal HighnessRoyal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
Princess Isabella of Parma - 7 September 1760 – 27 November 1763: Her ImperialImperial HighnessHis/Her Imperial Highness is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial - as opposed to royal - status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor rather than a King .Today the style has mainly fallen from use with the exception of the Imperial Family of...
and Royal HighnessRoyal HighnessRoyal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
Archduchess Isabella, Princess Imperial of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia