Maria Theresa of Tuscany
Encyclopedia
Maria Theresa of Austria (21 March 1801 – 12 January 1855) was born an Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Tuscany. In 1817 she married and became the Queen of Sardinia. She was the wife of King Charles Albert of Sardinia
and a daughter of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
, and Luisa of Naples and Sicily
. She was named after her double great grandmother Empress Maria Theresa.
) was a member of the Tuscan branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and an Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Bohemia, Hungary, and Tuscany by birth. She was born in Vienna
during the exile
of her parents and their many children, due to Napoleon Bonaparte
's invasion of Tuscany. Her father was Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
, and her mother was Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily
, who died giving birth to a stillborn
son one year after Maria Theresa's birth.
After the Restoration of 1814, Ferdinando III was made Elector of the secularized archbishopric Salzburg
and the family moved to Würzburg
.
on 30 September 1817 Charles Albert of Sardinia
(Paris
, 29 October 1798 - Porto
, 28 July 1849), and a wedding mass was celebrated on 2 October in Florence Cathedral. In Italian
her name was Maria Teresa Francesca Giuseppa Giovanna Benedicta.
In March 1820 an heir to the throne was born followed by two more children the later of which died in infancy.
In 1824 Charles Albert was recognised as heir to the throne by Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
. He and Maria Theresa became king and queen in 1831, when his successor Charles Felix of Sardinia
died without issue.
Maria Theresa stopped appearing in public and even returned to Italy in 1851, where she died four years later, in Turin
. She was buried in the Basilica of Superga
in Turin.
A convinced Catholic and conservative, she had a great influence on her eldest son on the new Italian throne.
As a consequence, her grandparents consisted of two brother/sister pairs. Her paternal grandfather, Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
, was the brother of her maternal grandmother, Maria Caroline of Austria. Matching that combination, her paternal grandmother, Maria Louisa of Spain, was the sister of her maternal grandfather, Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
. As a consequence she only had four great-grandparents rather than the usual eight. (Although not so unusual, it may be worth pointing out that her grandmothers and great-grandmothers, as well as her mother or herself and her sister, or her daughter were all surnamed "Maria".)
Charles Albert of Sardinia
Charles Albert was the King of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. He succeeded his distant cousin Charles Felix, and his name is bound with the first Italian statute and the First War of Independence...
and a daughter of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1790 to 1801 and, after a period of disenfranchisement, again from 1814 to 1824. He was also the Prince-elector and Grand Duke of Salzburg and Grand Duke of Würzburg .-Biography:Ferdinand was born in Florence, Tuscany, into the...
, and Luisa of Naples and Sicily
Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily
Maria Luisa of Naples and Sicily , was a Neapolitan and Sicilian princess and the wife of the third Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany.-Background:...
. She was named after her double great grandmother Empress Maria Theresa.
Birth and childhood
Maria Theresia Franziska Josepha Johanna Benedikta (GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) was a member of the Tuscan branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and an Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Bohemia, Hungary, and Tuscany by birth. She was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
during the exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
of her parents and their many children, due to Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's invasion of Tuscany. Her father was Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1790 to 1801 and, after a period of disenfranchisement, again from 1814 to 1824. He was also the Prince-elector and Grand Duke of Salzburg and Grand Duke of Würzburg .-Biography:Ferdinand was born in Florence, Tuscany, into the...
, and her mother was Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily
Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily
Maria Luisa of Naples and Sicily , was a Neapolitan and Sicilian princess and the wife of the third Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany.-Background:...
, who died giving birth to a stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
son one year after Maria Theresa's birth.
After the Restoration of 1814, Ferdinando III was made Elector of the secularized archbishopric Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
and the family moved to Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
.
Marriage and children
Maria Theresa married in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
on 30 September 1817 Charles Albert of Sardinia
Charles Albert of Sardinia
Charles Albert was the King of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. He succeeded his distant cousin Charles Felix, and his name is bound with the first Italian statute and the First War of Independence...
(Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 29 October 1798 - Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, 28 July 1849), and a wedding mass was celebrated on 2 October in Florence Cathedral. In Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
her name was Maria Teresa Francesca Giuseppa Giovanna Benedicta.
In March 1820 an heir to the throne was born followed by two more children the later of which died in infancy.
In 1824 Charles Albert was recognised as heir to the throne by Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel I was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1802 to 1821, and Jacobite Pretender from 1819 until his death.-Biography:...
. He and Maria Theresa became king and queen in 1831, when his successor Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.-Early life:...
died without issue.
End of life
After the death of her husband in 1849 in Oporto, the Queen motherQueen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
Maria Theresa stopped appearing in public and even returned to Italy in 1851, where she died four years later, in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. She was buried in the Basilica of Superga
Basilica of Superga
The Basilica of Superga is a church in the vicinity of Turin.It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga, to fulfill a vow the duke had made during the Battle of Turin...
in Turin.
A convinced Catholic and conservative, she had a great influence on her eldest son on the new Italian throne.
Issue
- Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando TommasoVictor Emmanuel II of ItalyVictor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
(14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) married Archduchess Maria Adelaide of AustriaMaria Adelaide of AustriaAdelaide of Austria was the first wife of Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, future King of Italy. She was the mother of some eight children including the future Umberto I of Italy...
and had issue; would become the first King of a united Italy; - Ferdinando Maria Alberto Amedeo Filiberto Vincenzo (15 November 1822 – 10 February 1855) married Princess Elisabeth of Saxony and had issue; Duke of GenoaDuke of GenoaThe Royal Dukedom of Genoa was a subsidiary title of the King of Sardinia. It was first awarded in 1831 to Prince Ferdinando of Savoy, second son of King Charles Albert of Sardinia. The title became extinct on the death of Prince Eugenio, grandson of King Charles Albert in 1996.-External links:...
; - Maria Cristina (4 July 1826 – 25 July 1827) died in infancy.
Genealogy
Even among the frequently tangled genealogies of European nobility, the ancestry of Maria Theresa of Tuscany was unusual. In fact, her parents had the same four grandparents, so they were double cousins when they spoused: this practice of alliances between cousins that was still common at that time, given that the families (and notably the parents and grandparents of Maria Theresa) had a lot of children, and this avoided to split too much the benefit of heirs though alliances and their descendance, and the multiplication of nobility titles to satisfy the various claims by descendants.As a consequence, her grandparents consisted of two brother/sister pairs. Her paternal grandfather, Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...
, was the brother of her maternal grandmother, Maria Caroline of Austria. Matching that combination, her paternal grandmother, Maria Louisa of Spain, was the sister of her maternal grandfather, Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
. As a consequence she only had four great-grandparents rather than the usual eight. (Although not so unusual, it may be worth pointing out that her grandmothers and great-grandmothers, as well as her mother or herself and her sister, or her daughter were all surnamed "Maria".)
Genealogy chart
Ancestory
Titles and styles
- 21 March 1801 – 30 September 1817 Her Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
- 30 September 1817 – 27 April 1831 Her Royal Highness the Princess of Carignan
- 27 April 1831 – 23 March 1849 Her Majesty the Queen of Sardinia
- 23 March 1849 – 12 January 1855 Her Majesty the Queen Mother