Category Archives: Austrian Royals

Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, Queen of Bavaria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, Queen Consort of Bavaria: Credit – Wikipedia

Born on July 2, 1849, in Brno, Austrian Empire (now in the Czech Republic), Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este was the last Queen Consort of Bavaria and the Jacobite claimant to the British throne from 1875 until she died in 1919. She was the only child of Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este and Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria. When Maria Theresia was only five months old, her father Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor, aged 28, died from typhoid fever.

In 1854, her mother Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska married a second time to her first cousin Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen. From this marriage, Maria Theresia had six half-siblings:

Maria-Theresia (left) with her brother Friedrich and his wife Isabella (standing), sister Maria Christina (center), and their mother (right). source: Wikipedia

Francesco V, Duke of Modena, the current Jacobite claimant and Maria Theresia’s uncle and guardian, wanted his niece to marry Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany who was fourteen years older than Maria Theresia. In June 1867, Maria Theresia arrived in Vienna to attend the funeral of her friend Archduchess Mathilde of Austria who had tragically died due to burns after hiding a forbidden cigarette behind her very flammable dress. At that time, Maria Theresia met a first cousin of Archduchess Mathilde of Austria, Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, who was representing King Ludwig II of Bavaria at the funeral, and the couple fell in love.

Prince Ludwig, the future King Ludwig III of Bavaria, was the eldest child of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, a son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, and Archduchess Augusta of Austria. Prince Luitpold served as Prince Regent of Bavaria from 1886 to 1912, due to the mental incompetency of his nephews, King Ludwig II and King Otto. In August 1867, Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Prince Luitpold of Bavaria met in Salzburg, Austria to discuss the marriage. After initial outrage, the Duke of Modena agreed to the marriage, and the engagement was announced on October 22, 1867. Ludwig and Maria Theresia were married at the Augustinian Church, adjacent to the Hofburg Palace, in Vienna, Austria on February 20, 1868.

Maria Theresa inherited two large estates from her father: the Sárvár estate in Hungary and the Eiwanowitz estate in Moravia (now in the Czech Republic). With the income from these estates, Ludwig and Maria Theresa purchased the Leutstetten estate in Bavaria which became quite profitable. While they lived mostly at Leutstetten, they also had a residence at the Leuchtenberg Palace in Munich, Bavaria.

Their marriage was a happy one and they had thirteen children:

In 1875, after the death of her childless uncle Francesco V, Duke of Modena, Maria Theresia became the Jacobite claimant to the British throne. After James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, a son of King Charles I, lost his throne via the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Jacobite (from Jacobus, the Latin for James) movement formed. The goal of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic Stuart King James II of England/VII of Scotland and his Roman Catholic heirs to the thrones of England and Scotland. When the line of  King James II of England died out, the Jacobite claims to the British throne descended from his sister Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans. Maria Theresia was the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans who was the youngest sister of James II/VII and the daughter of King Charles I. However, unlike the Stuart Jacobite pretenders – James II’s son James Edward Francis Stuart and James II’s grandsons Charles Edward Stuart and Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart – none of the later Jacobite pretenders ever claimed the title.

See how the Jacobite succession arrived in the House of Austria-Este, Maria Theresia’a birth House via Henrietta of England below.

Charles I of England → his daughter Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans → her daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, Queen of Sardinia → her son Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia → his son Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia → his son Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia, first Jacobite Pretender from the House of Savoy → his brother Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia → his eldest surviving daughter Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena → her eldest son → Francesco V, Duke of Modena → his niece Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Bavaria

In 1912, Prince Regent Luitpold died and Ludwig became the Prince Regent for his first cousin King Otto. On November 4, 1913, the Bavarian constitution was changed to allow the Prince Regent to become King if the incapacitation of a king had lasted for ten years and there was no reasonable expectation that the incapacitated king would ever reign. On November 5, 1913, King Otto was deposed by Prince Regent Ludwig who assumed the title King Ludwig III. The Bavarian parliament gave its approval on November 6, 1913, and on November 8, 1913, King Ludwig III took the constitutional oath.

The Queen, The King, and The Crown Prince. source: Wikipedia

When World War I started in August of 1914, King Ludwig III sent an official dispatch to Kaiser Wilhelm II in Berlin to express Bavaria’s solidarity. Queen Maria Theresia appealed to Bavarian women and girls to support the country and the soldiers at the front by making packages with clothes and food for soldiers and the wounded. On February 20, 1918, amid World War I, Ludwig and Maria Theresia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by donating ten million marks to charity.

As World War I progressed, the conditions in Bavaria deteriorated. The population was restless, soldiers were dying at the front, women had to work harder and harder in the factories, and food was always scarce. Through all of this, the Bavarian royal family remained loyal to Kaiser Wilhelm II. On November 7, 1918, King Ludwig III of Bavaria was deposed and the Republic of Bavaria was proclaimed. When mass demonstrations occurred throughout Munich Ludwig and his family fled the Residenz Palace in Munich. He was the first of the monarchs in the German Empire to be deposed.

Ludwig and Maria Theresia first fled to Schloss Anif, near Salzburg, Austria. They returned to Bavaria and settled at Schloss Wildenwart in the village of Wildenwart about 80 kilometers southeast of Munich. Maria Theresia, aged 69, died at Schloss Wildenwart on February 3, 1919, and was buried in its chapel. Ludwig was afraid he might be assassinated, and fled to Hungary, later moving to Liechtenstein and Switzerland. He returned to Bavaria in April 1920 and lived once again at Schloss Wildenwart. He remained there until September 1921 when he took a trip to his Sárvár estate in Hungary. He died there on October 18, 1921, at the age of 76.

On November 5, 1921, Ludwig’s body was returned to Munich along with the remains of his wife. They were given a state funeral and were buried in the crypt of the Frauenkirche in Munich, Germany, Despite the abolition of the monarchy, the former King and Queen were laid to rest in the presence of the royal family, the Bavarian government, military personnel, and an estimated 100,000 spectators in the streets.

Tombs of King Ludwig III and Queen Maria Theresa in the Frauenkirche, Munich, Photo © Susan Flantzer, August 2012

Tombs of King Ludwig III and Queen Maria Theresa in the Frauenkirche, Munich. Photo © Susan Flantzer

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Archduke Franz Ferdinand with his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg and their three children, Princess Sophie; Maximilian, Duke of Hohenburg; and Prince Ernst von Hohenberg, Credit – Wikipedia

For many people, the name Archduke Franz Ferdinand immediately evokes his assassination in 1914 which led to a diplomatic crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia.  In turn, this caused several alliances formed over the previous decades to come into play, and within weeks, the major powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world becoming World War I.

Franz Ferdinand was born on December 18, 1863, in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Archduke Karl Ludwig’s elder brothers were Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and Maximilian, the executed Emperor of Mexico. As his father’s first marriage to Margaretha of Saxony did not produce children, Franz Ferdinand was his father’s eldest son.

Franz Ferdinand had three younger siblings:

Franz Ferdinand had two younger half-siblings via his father’s third marriage to Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal:

Franz Ferdinand’s life changed when his cousin Crown Prince Rudolf died by suicide in 1889 at his hunting lodge Mayerling.  Crown Prince Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, had no sons so that the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There have been suggestions that Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Franz Ferdinand. However, an act of renunciation was never formally signed and Karl Ludwig was never officially designated heir to the throne. He was only three years younger than Franz Joseph and not a realistic choice. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne.

In 1894, Franz Ferdinand fell in love with Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin, the daughter of Count Bohuslaw Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin and Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau.  Because Sophie was not a member of a reigning or formerly reigning family, she could not marry a member of the Imperial Family.  Franz Ferdinand refused to give Sophie up and he was helped in his efforts to marry her by Archduchess Maria Theresa (born Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal), Emperor Franz Joseph’s sister-in-law and Franz Ferdinand’s stepmother.

The emperor finally agreed to the marriage, but there were some catches.  Franz Ferdinand would keep his place in the succession, but Sophie could never be empress and their children would never have succession rights.  Before the marriage, Franz Ferdinand had to sign an agreement in front of the whole court declaring that Sophie would be his morganatic wife, would never bear the titles of empress, queen, or archduchess, and acknowledged that their descendants would not be in the line of succession.

Sophie and Franz Ferdinand were married on July 1, 1900, at Reichstadt (now Zákupy in the Czech Republic).  The only members of the Imperial Family to attend the wedding were Franz Ferdinand’s stepmother Archduchess Maria Theresa and her two daughters Archduchess Maria Annunciata and Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie.  Upon marriage, Sophie was given the style and title Her Serene Highness Princess of Hohenberg and in 1909, she was given the higher style and title Her Highness Duchess of Hohenberg.  Sophie never had the precedence of her husband, and at functions, she was forced to stand or sit far away from her husband.

Franz Ferdinand and Sophie had three children, two sons and a daughter.

There was one loophole in which Sophie could share her husband’s precedence and that was when he was acting in a military capacity.  Emperor Franz Joseph sent Franz Ferdinand to Sarajevo, Bosnia to observe military maneuvers and Sophie accompanied him out of fear for his safety.  After the military maneuvers, the couple was to open a state museum in Sarajevo. The Black Hand, a secret military society formed by members of the Serbian Army, conspired to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand on his visit to Sarajevo.  Seven conspirators were in the crowds lining the streets of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, each ready to assassinate the Archduke should there be an opportunity.  One attempt, a bomb thrown at the archduke’s car, failed.  Later, after a reception at the Town Hall, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip saw his chance and fired two shots at the couple as they rode in their car.  The first shot hit Sophie in the abdomen and the second shot hit Franz Ferdinand in the neck.  Sophie died soon after being shot and Franz Ferdinand died about 10 minutes later.

Five minutes before the assassination, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

The bodies of the Archduke and his wife were transported to Trieste, Italy by the battleship SMS Viribus Unitis, the same ship that the couple used to travel to Sarajevo.  From Trieste, a special train took the bodies back to Vienna.  Because Sophie was not a member of the Imperial Family, she could not be interred at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.  Instead, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenburg were buried at Artstetten Castle in Artstetten-Pöbring, Austria with only immediate family in attendance.

The death of Franz Ferdinand was very difficult for the 84-year-old Emperor Franz Joseph to deal. He had suffered the tragedies of the execution of his brother Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico in 1867, the suicide of his son Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889, and the assassination of his wife Empress Elisabeth in 1898.  Emperor Franz Josef died in 1916 and was succeeded by his grandnephew Karl, the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Tombs of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg at Artstetten Castle in Artstetten-Pöbring, Austria, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Memorial Plaque of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Holy Roman Empress, Empress of Austria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily was born at the Royal Palace of Portici in Naples, Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, now in Italy, on June 6, 1772, the eldest child of King Ferdinando IV & III of Naples and Sicily (later King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies) and Archduchess Marie Caroline of Austria. She was named after her maternal grandmother Maria Theresa of Austria and was a niece of Queen Marie Antoinette of France.

Maria Theresa had sixteen siblings, but only six survived childhood. Eight of her siblings died from smallpox.

The Royal Family of Naples by Angelica Kauffman; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 15, 1790, at the age of 18, Maria Theresa married her double first cousin Archduke Franz of Austria. Franz and Maria Theresa had the same four grandparents: Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia; and Carlos III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.

This was Franz’s second marriage and the only one of his four marriages that resulted in surviving children. Seven of their twelve children survived to adulthood. Among the children of Franz and Maria Theresa were: Marie-Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte; Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria and Maria Leopoldina, the wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil.  The marriage lasted nearly seventeen years and was said to be very happy.  Maria Theresa enjoyed participating in social events such as balls and masquerades, even during her twelve pregnancies.  She loved music and was an important patron of Viennese music.

Franz and Maria Theresa’s children:

Franz, Maria Theresa, and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Franz became Holy Roman Emperor at age 24 in 1792 after the two-year reign of his father Leopold. Holy Roman Emperor Franz II feared that Napoleon could take over his personal Habsburg lands within the Holy Roman Empire, so in 1804 he proclaimed himself Emperor Franz I of Austria. Two years later, after Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved. Lands held by the Holy Roman Emperor were given to Napoleon’s allies creating the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Württemberg, and the Grand Duchy of Baden. Therefore, Maria Theresa was the last Holy Roman Empress and the first Empress of Austria.

While pregnant with her twelfth child, Maria Theresa fell ill with the lung infection pleurisy. Her doctor bled her and this caused premature labor. Maria Theresa gave birth to her twelfth child who lived only three days. On April 13, 1807, a week after giving birth, Maria Theresa died at the age of 34. Franz was inconsolable and had to be forcibly removed from his wife’s body. Maria Theresa was buried in the Imperial Crypt in the Franzensgruft (Franz’s Vault) where her husband and his three other wives are also buried. The infant Archduchess Amalia Theresa was buried in the Imperial Crypt in the northeast pier of the Ferdinandsgruft (Ferdinand’s Vault).

Austria_tomb of Maria Theresa af Naples

Tomb of Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Theresa was the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg territories from 1740 until she died in 1780 and was the only female to hold the position. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria, Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and Holy Roman Empress.

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina, Archduchess of Austria was born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria on May 13, 1717, the second and eldest surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Maria Theresa’s siblings:

  • Leopold Johann, Archduke of Austria (born and died 1716), died aged seven months
  • Maria Anna, Archduchess of Austria (1718 – 1744), married Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, no children, died in childbirth
  • Maria Amalia, Archduchess of Austria (1724 – 1730), died aged six-years-old

Maria Theresa’s only brother died several weeks before she was born and her two younger siblings were sisters. The fact that Maria Theresa’s father did not have a male heir caused many problems. Maria Theresa’s grandfather Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I devised the Mutual Pact of Succession, a succession device secretly signed by his elder son, the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, and his younger son, Maria Theresa’s father the future Holy Roman Emperor  Karl VI in 1703. The Mutual Pact of Succession stated that the Habsburg hereditary lands would be inherited by both of 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.

When Joseph died on April 17, 1711, his brother, Maria Thersa’s father Karl succeeded him as the ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands and was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI. However, Karl’s only son died in infancy and upon his death, the Habsburg hereditary lands should have gone to Joseph’s daughter Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. However, Karl VI’s Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 annulled the Mutual Pact of Succession and made his future daughters the heirs to the Habsburg hereditary lands instead of 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) which ended in the confirmation of Maria Theresa’s Habsburg titles.

Maria Theresa married Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine on February 12, 1736, in the Augustinian Church in Vienna. Throughout his reign, Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI expected to have a male heir and never really prepared Maria Theresa for her future role as sovereign.  Upon her father’s death in 1740, Maria Theresa became Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right. She was unable to become the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire because she was female. The Habsburgs had been elected Holy Roman Emperors since 1438, but in 1742 Karl Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Prince-Elector of Bavaria from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was elected Holy Roman Emperor Karl VII. He died in 1745 and via a treaty Maria Theresa arranged for her husband Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine to be elected Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the snub, Maria Theresa wielded the real power.

Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen at their wedding breakfast, by Martin van Meytens; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 12, 1736, in the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Francis Stephen married Maria Theresa. The couple had sixteen children but eight of them died in childhood and four of the eight died from smallpox:

Maria Theresa with her family; Credit – Wikipedia

Even though he had 16 children with his wife, Francis was not faithful during his marriage and had many affairs.  Despite being the nominal Holy Roman Emperor, he was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife.  Francis died suddenly in 1765 at the age of 56 in his carriage while returning from the opera.  His son Joseph succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor although Maria Theresa continued to wield the real power.

In 1767, Maria Theresa had smallpox and after that, her health deteriorated.  She died on November 29, 1780, at Hofburg Palace, after a reign of 40 years and surrounded by her surviving children.  Maria Theresa was the last of the House of Habsburg.  Thereafter, the Imperial House was the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.  Her son Joseph, Holy Roman Emperor since his father’s death, succeeded his mother as King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia.  Maria Theresa was buried alongside her husband in a magnificent tomb in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

Tomb of Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Franz I; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Maria Anna of Savoy, Empress of Austria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria Anna of Savoy, Empress of Austria, Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna of Savoy and her twin sister Maria Teresa were born on September 19, 1803, at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome, Papal States, now in Italy, the daughters of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este.  Maria Anna spent part of her childhood on the island of Sardinia, the only part of her father’s lands that Napoleon had not conquered. In 1814, her father’s conquered land was restored and the family returned to Turin.

Maria Anna had six siblings:

Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia and his family; Credit – Wikipedia

In February 1831, Maria Anna married Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria. The marriage was childless and probably never consummated, but the couple remained devoted to each other. Emperor Ferdinand suffered from several ailments including epilepsy and hydrocephalus. He was considered incapable of ruling although he kept a coherent diary. His father’s will stipulated that Ferdinand’s uncle Archduke Ludwig be consulted on government matters and during Ferdinand’s reign a council called the Secret State Conference controlled the government. Ferdinand is famous for telling his cook, “I am the Emperor and I want dumplings” when the cook told him that the apricots needed for the traditional apricot dumplings (German: Marillenknödel) were not in season.

Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of his nephew Franz Joseph during the Revolutions of 1848 and lived the rest of his life at Hradčany Palace in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. He died on June 29, 1875, at the age of 82, and was buried in the Ferdinandsgruft (Ferdinand’s Vault) in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Maria Anna survived her husband by nine years and died at the age of 80 on May 4, 1884, in Prague, now in the Czech Republic, which was then part of the Kingdom of Bohemia. Empress Maria Anna was buried next to her husband in the Imperial Crypt.

Tomb of Maria Anna of Savoy; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Elisabeth of Württemberg, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Elisabeth of Württemberg, Archduchess of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth of Württemberg (Elisabeth Wilhelmine Luise) was born on April 21, 1767, in Treptow an der Rega in Brandenburg-Pomerania, now Trzebiatów, Poland. She was one of the twelve children of Friedrich II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg and Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Elisabeth had eleven siblings:

At the age of 15, Elisabeth went to Vienna to prepare to become the bride of Archduke Franz, the nephew of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. The Protestant princess was educated by nuns at the Church and Monastery of the Visitation and converted to Roman Catholicism. Elisabeth married Archduke Franz (the future emperor) on January 6, 1788, when she was 20 years old.

Elisabeth was very close to Emperor Joseph and his final illness in February 1790 greatly upset the then-pregnant Elisabeth. She fainted upon seeing the dying emperor and on February 18, 1790, gave premature birth to a daughter Archduchess Ludovika Elisabeth. The labor had lasted more than 24 hours and Elisabeth, age 22, died the same day due to complications. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph died two days later. Archduchess Elisabeth was buried at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, in the Imperial Crypt in the Franzensgruft (Franz’s Vault) where her husband and his three other wives are also buried. Elisabeth’s baby, Ludovika Elisabeth, lived only until June 24, 1791, and is buried in the Imperial Crypt in the southwest pier of Ferdinandsgruft (Ferdinand’s Vault) along with other Habsburgs who died young. After her death, Elisabeth’s husband became Holy Roman Emperor and then Emperor of Austria.

Tomb of Elisabeth of Württemberg, first wife of Holy Roman Emperor Franz II/Emperor Franz I of Austria; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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