Category Archives: Italian Royals

Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio, married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Beatrice of Savoy was the niece and the wife of Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio. She was also the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland from 1824 – 1840 (see below). Maria Beatrice Vittoria Giuseppina was born on December 6, 1792, in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy. She was the eldest of the seven children and the eldest of the six daughters of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. Maria Beatrice’s paternal grandparents were Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right.

Two of Maria Beatrice’s sisters died in childhood and her only brother died at the age of three from smallpox. Maria Beatrice and her three surviving sisters all married sovereigns. Children of Kings of Sardinia were often styled “of Savoy” as their fathers were also Dukes of Savoy from the House of Savoy.

Maria Adelaide of Savoy (1794 – 1795), died in infancy
Carlo Emanuele of Savoy (1796 – 1799) died in early childhood from smallpox
A daughter (1800 – 1801), died in infancy
Maria Teresa of Savoy (1803 – 1879), twin of Maria Anna, married Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma, had two children
Maria Anna of Savoy (1803 – 1884), twin of Maria Teresa, married Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, no children
Maria Cristina of Savoy (1812 – 1836), married Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, had one son, died due to childbirth complications, in 2014 she was beatified by Pope Francis and is known as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy

In 1798, when Maria Beatrice was six years old, the French occupied Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, and forced her uncle Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia to give up all his territories on the Italian mainland. Carlo Emanuele IV and the rest of the Sardinian royal family withdrew to the island of Sardinia in 1799. When his beloved wife Marie Clotilde of France died from typhoid fever on March 7, 1802, the childless Carlo Emanuele IV was so upset by her death that he decided to abdicate. He left the throne of Sardinia to his brother, Maria Beatrice’s father who reigned as Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. Maria Beatrice and her family remained on the island of Sardinia for fifteen years, living mostly in Cagliari. In 1814, two-thirds of Savoy was restored to the Kingdom of Sardinia following Napoleon’s defeat, and the family was able to return to Turin.

Maria Beatrice’s husband and uncle, Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 20, 1812, at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God and Saint Cecilia in Cagliari, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, 20-year-old niece Maria Beatrice married her 33-year-old maternal uncle Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio. Due to their close relationship, a special dispensation was received for their marriage from Pope Pius VII. Francesco was convinced that if he married Maria Beatrice, and her father and his two surviving brothers had no sons, he could become King of Sardinia. However, this plan did not work out. At a later date, Maria Beatrice’s mother and Francesco’s sister (and his mother-in-law) Maria Theresa was accused of trying to convince her childless brother-in-law Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia to name her brother Francesco as the heir to the throne of Sardinia and was exiled from the Kingdom of Sardinia for a while. On his deathbed, Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia named Carlo Alberto, Prince of Carignano, the senior male member of the House of Savoy-Carignano, a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, as his heir.

Francesco and Maria Beatrice had four children:

Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1817 – 1886), married Prince Henri, Count of Chambord, Legitimist pretender to the French throne, no children
Francesco V, Duke of Modena (1819 – 1875), married Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria, had one daughter who died in infancy, Francesco became the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland upon the death of his mother
Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este (1821 – 1849), married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, had one daughter Maria Theresia of Austria-Este who became the last Queen of Bavaria. Maria Theresia also became the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland upon the death of her uncle Francesco V of Modena.
Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este (1824 – 1906), married Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Montizón, Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, had two sons

Like Maria Beatrice’s family, her husband Francesco had also been exiled since 1796 from the Duchy of Modena and Reggio due to the occupation of Napoleon’s French forces. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the couple was able to return and made their solemn entry into Modena on July 14, 1814.

Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, Maria Beatrice’s great-great-great-grandmother; Credit – Wikipedia

As the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, daughter of King Charles I of England and sister of James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, Maria Beatrice became the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland after the death of her father Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia in 1824. James II had been deposed by the Glorious Revolution in 1688. The goal of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic heirs of King James II of England/VII of Scotland to the thrones of England and Scotland. 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.

James II’s last legitimate Stuart descendant Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart died in 1807. There were no surviving siblings of King James II/VII, son of King Charles I of England, or their legitimate descendants, except for the descendants of his youngest sister Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans. Henrietta married Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and they had one son who died in infancy and two daughters. Only their daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, who married Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia, had children and so the Jacobite line of succession proceeded in the House of Savoy. See how the Jacobite succession arrived in the House of Savoy 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 → his brother Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia → his daughter Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

Castello del Catajo; Credit – By Alessandro Vecchi – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25277385

During the last years of her life, Maria Beatrice preferred to live at the Castello del Catajo in Battaglia Terme near Padua, then in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy, a summer home that had been purchased by Francesco IV in 1803. It was there that Maria Beatrice died from heart failure on September 15, 1840, at the age of 47. She was interred at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy, in the funeral chapel her husband had built in 1836 for members of his family. Francesco IV survived his wife by less than six years, dying on January 21, 1846, aged 66, and was buried with his wife.

Funeral chapel of the House of Este and House of Austria-Este at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena; Credit – Wikipedia

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Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice of Savoy – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_of_Savoy> [Accessed 8 October 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-iv-duke-of-modena-and-reggio/> [Accessed 8 October 2021].
Flantzer, S., 2021. Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/vittorio-emanuele-i-king-of-sardinia-and-duke-of-savoy/> [Accessed 8 October 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice di Savoia (1792-1840) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_di_Savoia_(1792-1840)> [Accessed 8 October 2021].
Ru.wikipedia.org. 2021. Мария Беатриче Савойская — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5_%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F> [Accessed 8 October 2021].

Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2021

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

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Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio was born an Archduke of Austria-Este on October 6, 1779, at the Royal Palace of Milan in Milan, Duchy of Milan, now in Italy. Francesco Giuseppe Carlo Ambrogio Stanislao was the fifth of the ten children and the second but the eldest surviving of five sons of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right. At the time of Francesco’s birth, the Duchy of Milan was under Austrian Habsburg rule and his father was the Governor of Milan.

The marriage of Francesco’s parents, Ferdinand Karl and Maria Beatrice, created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Francesco’s paternal grandparents were Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. His maternal grandparents were Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio and Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara.

Francesco’s parents with his two eldest surviving sisters; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco had nine siblings:

Archduke Josef Franz of Austria-Este (born and died 1772), died in infancy
Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1773 – 1832), married Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia, had seven children
Archduchess Josepha of Austria-Este (1775 – 1777), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria-Este (1776 – 1848), married (1) Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria, third wife, Karl Theodor was 52 years older than Maria Leopoldina, he died four years after the wedding, no children (2) Count Ludwig von Arco, had three children
Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este (1781 – 1850), Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Army during the Napoleonic Wars, unmarried
Archduke Maximilian Joseph of Austria-Este (1782 – 1863), Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Major General in the Austrian Army, unmarried
Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria-Este (1784 – 1786), died in childhood
Archduchess Karl Ambrosius of Austria-Este (1785 – 1809), Archbishop of Esztergom, Primate of Hungary
Archduchess Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este (1787 – 1816), married her first cousin Franz I, Emperor of Austria, third of four wives, no children, died from tuberculosis

In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte. Francesco’s grandfather Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio was deposed and exiled, and then the duchy was added to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803. When Maria Beatrice’s mother died in 1790, she succeeded her as the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. However, as the Duchy of Modena and Reggio did not allow female succession, Maria Beatrice’s rights to the throne of Modena and Reggio passed to her son Francesco when her father died. In 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, Francesco was recognized as Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio by the Congress of Vienna. After the death of his mother in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

Francesco’s wife Maria Beatrice of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 20, 1812, at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God and Saint Cecilia in Cagliari, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, 33-year-old Francesco married his 20-year-old niece Maria Beatrice of Savoy, the daughter of his sister Maria Theresa and Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. Due to their close relationship, a special dispensation was received for their marriage from Pope Pius VII. Maria Beatrice was one of the four surviving children of Francesco’s sister Maria Theresa who married Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. Francesco was convinced that if he married Maria Beatrice, and her father and his two surviving brothers had no sons, he could become King of Sardinia. Francesco’s sister (and his mother-in-law) Maria Theresa was accused of trying to convince her childless brother-in-law Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia to name her brother Francesco as the heir to the throne of Sardinia and was exiled from the Kingdom of Sardinia for a while. On his deathbed, Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia named Carlo Alberto, Prince of Carignano, the senior male member of the House of Savoy-Carignano, a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, as his heir.

Francesco and Maria Beatrice had four children:

Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1817 – 1886), married Prince Henri, Count of Chambord, Legitimist pretender to the French throne, no children
Francesco V, Duke of Modena (1819 – 1875), married Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria, had one daughter who died in infancy, Francesco became the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland upon the death of his mother
Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este (1821 – 1849), married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, had one daughter Maria Theresia of Austria-Este who became the last Queen of Bavaria. Maria Theresia also became the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland upon the death of her uncle Francesco V of Modena.
Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este (1824 – 1906), married Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Montizón, Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, had two sons

While Francesco IV’s grandfather Ercole III reigned the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as an enlightened monarch who continued the reforms started by his father, Francesco IV’s reign was more autocratic. He saw conspiracies everywhere and was known for his stern and tyrannical rule and his repression of democratic movements. Francesco abolished all reforms and introduced censorship and the secret police. Like his mother, he believed that the people were never satisfied and that it was better to keep them as poor as possible. Francesco was reinforced in his extreme conservatism and his opposition to political or social change by the Jesuits, a religious order of the Catholic Church. He gave the Jesuits a great deal of authority, especially in the field of education.

Funeral chapel of the House of Este and House of Austria-Este at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio died January 21, 1846, aged 66, at the Ducal Palace in Modena, Duchy of Modena, now in Italy. He was buried with his wife Maria Beatrice who had died in 1840, at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena in the funeral chapel he had built in 1836 for members of his family.

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Karl,_Archduke_of_Austria-Este> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francis IV, Duke of Modena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_IV,_Duke_of_Modena> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice of Savoy – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_of_Savoy> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-of-austria-este-queen-of-sardinia/> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francesco IV d’Austria-Este – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_IV_d%27Austria-Este> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
Nl.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frans IV van Modena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frans_IV_van_Modena> [Accessed 7 October 2021].

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa and Carrara, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina was the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right from 1731 until she died in 1790, and the wife of Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. She was born on June 29, 1725, in Novellara, then in the County of Novellara and Bagnolo, later in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. Maria Teresa was the eldest of the three children and the eldest of the three daughters of Alderano I, Duke of Massa and Carrara and Ricciarda Gonzaga from the Gonzaga branch of the Counts of Novellara. Maria Teresa’s father died on August 18, 1731, when she was just six years old, and she became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara, in the Tuscany region of present-day Italy. Her mother served as regent until 1744.

Maria Teresa had two younger sisters:

Maria Anna Matilde Cybo-Malaspina (1726 – 1797), married Prince Orazio Albani, had three children
Maria Camilla Cybo-Malaspina (1728 – 1760), married Restaino Gioacchino di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, Prince of Montemiletto, had one son

On November 10, 1734, nine-year-old Maria Teresa was married by proxy to twenty-year-old Prince Eugenio Giovanni Francesco of Savoy. However, Eugenio Giovanni Francesco died thirteen days later from typhoid fever. The couple had never met and the marriage was annulled because it was never consummated.

Maria Teresa’s husband Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 16, 1741, Maria Teresa married the future Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. The marriage was made at the insistence of Ercole’s father who wanted the Duchy of Massa and Carrara because of its access to the sea. The marriage was not a happy one. After Maria Teresa gave birth to two children, Ercole humiliated her with his open relationships with his mistresses. Eventually, the couple began to live apart. Ercole remained in the Ducal Palace in Modena and Maria Teresa moved to the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia.

Ercole and Maria Teresa had two children but only their daughter survived childhood:

Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa and Carrara (1750 – 1829), married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, had ten children including Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este who married King Vittorio Emanuele I of Sardinia, Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and Archduchess Ludovika of Austria-Este who married Emperor Franz I of Austria
Rinaldo Francesco d’Este (born and died 1753), died in infancy.

Maria Teresa’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este with her husband Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and two of their ten children Archduchess Maria Leopoldine and Archduchess Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa and Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand’s marriage created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

As far as ruling her Duchy of Massa and Carrara, Maria Teresa was an enlightened ruler and demonstrated excellent administrative skills. She continued the work on the Via Vandelli, a road that connected Massa and Modena and had a hospital built in Massa. In 1769, Maria Teresa founded the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, a public academy of art in Carrara focusing on painting, sculpture, and architecture which is still in existence. The art academy complimented Carrara’s largest business, the quarrying of the famous Carrara marble, the white or blue-grey marble used in sculpture and building decor. Carrara marble has been used since the time of ancient Rome. It was used for many buildings of ancient Rome and Michelangelo used it for many of his sculptures. It is still an important industry in Carrara.

Funeral monument of Maria Teresa Cybo D’Este at the Basilica of the Madonna della Ghiara; Credit – Von Andrea.fusani – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48772495

Maria Teresa, Duchess of Massa and Carrara died at the age of 65 on December 29, 1790, at the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. She was buried at the Basilica of the Madonna della Ghiara in Reggio Emilia. Maria Teresa’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. After Maria Beatrice died in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ercole-iii-deste-duke-of-modena-and-reggio/> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
geni_family_tree. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo Malaspina, duchessa di Massa e Carrara. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Maria-Teresa-Cybo-Malaspina-duchessa-di-Massa-e-Carrara/6000000004140617051> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina> [Accessed 7 October 2021].

Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio was the last reigning duke from the House of Este that had reigned in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio from 1452 – 1796. Ercole Rinaldo was born on November 22, 1727, at the Ducal Palace in Modena, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. He was the fourth of the nine children and the eldest surviving of the four sons of Francesco III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio and Princess Charlotte Aglaé of Orléans. Ercole’s paternal grandparents were Rinaldo d’Este, Duke of Modena, and Charlotte of Brunswick-Lüneburg. His maternal grandparents were Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (son of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans who was the brother of King Louis XIV of France) and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (the legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan).

Ercole had eight siblings:

Alfonso d’Este (1723 – 1725), died in early childhood
Francesco Constantino d’Este (1724 – 1725), died in infancy
Maria Teresa Felicitas d’Este (1726 – 1754) married Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre, grandson of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress Madame de Montespan, had seven children, Maria Teresa and Louis Jean Marie were the maternal grandparents of Louis Philippe I, King of the French
Matilde d’Este (1729 – 1803), unmarried.
Beatrice d’Este (1730 – 1731), died in infancy
Beatrice d’Este (1731 – 1736), died in childhood
Maria Fortunata d’Este (1731 – 1803) married Louis François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, no children
Benedetto Filippo d’Este (1736 – 1751), died in his teens
Maria Elisabetta Ernestina d’Este (1741 – 1774) married Carlo Salomone, Count of Serravalle, had children

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 16, 1741, Ercole married Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara, now in Italy. The marriage was made at the insistence of Ercole’s father who wanted the Duchy of Massa and Carrara because of its access to the sea. The marriage was not a happy one. After Maria Teresa gave birth to two children, Ercole humiliated her with his open relationships with his mistresses. Eventually, the couple began to live apart. Ercole remained in the Ducal Palace in Modena and Maria Teresa moved to the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia.

Ercole and Maria Teresa had two children but only their daughter survived childhood:

Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa and Carrara (1750 – 1829), married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, had ten children including Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este who married King Vittorio Emanuele I of Sardinia, Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and Archduchess Ludovika of Austria-Este who married Emperor Franz I of Austria
Rinaldo Francesco d’Este (born and died 1753), died in infancy.

Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este with her husband Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and two of their ten children Archduchess Maria Leopoldine and Archduchess Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand’s marriage created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1790, upon the death of her mother, Maria Beatrice became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. After Maria Beatrice died in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

In 1795, five years after the death of his first wife, Ercole married his long-time mistress, the opera singer Chiara Marini (died 1800), and gave her the title Marchioness of Scandiano. They had one son, born 25 years before their marriage: Ercole Rinaldo d’Este who was a major general in the Modena army and was created Marquis of Scandiano in 1787. Ercole Rinaldo died unmarried in Modena on February 16, 1795, after a fall on a staircase.

Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio was considered an enlightened monarch who continued the reforms started by his father. He improved the infrastructure of his duchy, building bridges and roads. In 1785, Ercole established the Atestine Academy of Fine Arts, (link in Italian) a school that provided instruction in sculpture, painting, and architecture. The school is still in existence and is now called the Adolfo Venturi Higher Institute of Art. The arts and sciences flourished in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio during Ercole III’s reign. Scholars that Ercole sponsored included Lazzaro Spallanzani, a Catholic priest, biologist, and physiologist, Giovanni Battista Venturi, a physicist and the discoverer of the Venturi effect, Girolamo Tiraboschi, a literary critic and the first historian of Italian literature, and Lodovico Ricci, a historian and economist.

Funeral chapel of the Dukes of Modena in the Church of San Vincenzo, Modena; Credit – Di Marcordb – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85725981

In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. He was forced to flee to Venice on May 7, 1796, bringing with him a great deal of his personal wealth. In Venice, Ercole was the victim of armed robbery by French soldiers who stole some of his money from his home. After this incident, Ercole moved to the city of Treviso, north of Venice, where he died on October 14, 1803, at the age of 75. He was buried at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena. In 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, Ercole’s grandson, the son of Maria Beatrice d’Este and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV, Duke of Modena.

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ercole_III_d%27Este,_Duke_of_Modena> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ercole III d’Este – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ercole_III_d%27Este> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina> [Accessed 7 October 2021].

Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma was the second wife of Ferdinando IV, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany. At the time of their marriage in 1868, Ferdinando was no longer the reigning Grand Duke of Tuscany because of the unification of the former Italian monarchies into the Kingdom of Italy. However, Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorriane, of which Ferdinando was a member, allowed Ferdinando to keep the grand ducal title as a courtesy. Ferdinando’s descendants could only use the title of Archduke or Archduchess of Austria.

Alicia Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Rachael Giovanna Filomena was born in Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy, on December 27, 1849. She was the third of the four children and the second of the two daughters of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France, who was a granddaughter of King Charles X of France. Alicia’s paternal grandparents were Carlo II, Duke of Parma and Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Charles Ferdinand of France, Duke of Berry and Princess Carolina of Naples and Sicily.

Alicia had three siblings:

Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma (1847 – 1893), married Infante Carlos, Duke of Madrid, had five children
Roberto I, Duke of Parma (1848 – 1907), married (1) Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had twelve children including Princess Maria Luisa who married Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (2) Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, had twelve children including Princess Zita who married, Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and Prince Felix who married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg
Prince Enrico, Count of Bardi (1851 – 1905), married (1) Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, died three months after marriage (2) Infanta Adelgundes of Portugal, Duchess of Guimarães, no children

The authoritarian policies of Alicia’s father Carlo III, Duke of Parma made him unpopular. He placed Parma under martial law, inflicted heavy penalties on the members of the former provisional government, closed the university, and instituted persecution policies. His authoritarian policies made him unpopular, and after reigning only five years, he was assassinated on March 27, 1854. Alicia’s six-year-old brother Roberto became Duke of Parma with his mother as regent. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Louise Marie Thérèse and her four children, circa 1860, left to right: Roberto, Margherita, Enrico, and Alicia; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise Marie Thérèse and her four children made their way to Venice where they lived temporarily under Austrian protection. The Bourbon-Parma family had considerable wealth and later lived in exile at Schwarzau Castle (now a prison, link in German) at Schwarzau am Steinfeld near Vienna, Austria, the Villa Pianore (link in Italian) in northwest Italy, and the magnificent Château de Chambord in France.

In January 1864, 15-year-old Alicia became engaged to 23-year-old Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein. Johann, who never married and reigned for seventy years, broke the engagement in December 1864. He argued that because Liechtenstein was part of the German Confederation, a marriage to Alicia, who was descended from the French royal family on her mother’s side, could cause problems. However, according to some contemporary sources, Johann had broken the engagement because he was allegedly homosexual.

Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 11, 1868, at Schloss Frohsdorf (link in German) in Lanzenkirchen, Austria, a property owned by the family of Alicia’s mother Louise Marie Thérèse of France, Alicia married the former Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando lost his throne due to the Italian unification and was in exile like Alicia’s family. This was a second marriage for Ferdinando. He previously had been married to Princess Anna of Saxony, daughter of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three.

Alicia had a stepdaughter from Ferdinando’s first marriage:

Archduchess Maria Antonietta of Austria (1858 – 1883), unmarried

Alicia and Ferdinando had ten children:

Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria (1868 – 1935), renounced his titles in 1902 and took the name Leopold Wölfling, married (1) Wilhelmine Adamovicz, no children, divorced (2) Maria Magdalena Ritter, no children, divorced (3) Klara Hedwig Pawlowski, no children
Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870 – 1947), married (1) Crown Prince Friedrich August of Saxony (the future King Friedrich August III), had six children, divorced due to a scandal (2) Enrico Toselli, had one son, divorced
Archduke Giuseppe Ferdinando of Austria (1872 – 1942), married (1) Rosa Kaltenbrunner, no children, divorced (2) Gertrud Tomanek, had two children
Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria (1874 – 1948), married Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had four children
Archduke Heinrich Ferdinand of Austria (1878 – 1969), married Maria Karoline Ludescher, had three children
Archduchess Anna of Austria (1879 – 1961), married Johannes, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, had six children
Archduchess Margareta of Austria (1881 – 1965), unmarried
Archduchess Germana of Austria (1884 – 1955), unmarried
Archduke Robert Ferdinand Salvator (1885 – 1895), died in childhood
Archduchess Agnes of Austria (1891 – 1945), unmarried

Salzburg Residenz; Credit – By Andrew Bossi – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2871239

Ferdinando and Alicia lived at the Villa Tuscany in Lindau, Austria during the summer, and during the winter they lived in a wing of the Salzburg Residenz, formerly the residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Both residences were provided by Ferdinando’s second cousin Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. In 1870, Ferdinando relinquished all dynastic rights to the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany for himself, his children, and his future heirs in favor of Franz Joseph I and his future heirs.

Ferdinando died in Salzburg, Austria on January 17, 1908, at the age of 72. He was buried in the Tuscan Vault at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. His second wife Alicia survived him by twenty-seven years, dying on January 16, 1935, aged 85, at Schloss Schwertburg (link in German) in Schwertburg, Austria. She was first buried in Schwertburg and in 2007, her remains were reburied in the cemetery of the parish church in St. Gilgen, Austria.

Parish church and cemetery in St. Gilgen, Austria; Credit – By Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93056877

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles III, Duke of Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III,_Duke_of_Parma> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma (born 1849) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alice_of_Bourbon-Parma_(born_1849)> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Louise d’Artois – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Louise_d%27Artois> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iv-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2021. Alice de Bourbon-Parme (1849-1935) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_de_Bourbon-Parme_(1849-1935)> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Alice di Borbone-Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_di_Borbone-Parma> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.

Anna of Saxony, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Anna of Saxony, Princess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna of Saxony was the first wife of the future Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, she died before her husband became Grand Duke. Anna Maria Maximiliane Stephania Karoline Johanna Luisa Xaveria Nepomucena Aloysia Benedicta was born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony on January 4, 1836. She was the seventh of the nine children and the fourth of the six daughters of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna’s paternal grandparents were Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony and his first wife Carolina of Bourbon-Parma. Her maternal grandparents were Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden.

Anna had eight siblings:

Marie of Saxony (1827 – 1857), died of tuberculosis
Albert, King of Saxony (1828 – 1902), married Carola of Vasa, no children
Elisabeth of Saxony (1830 – 1912), married (1) Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, had two children (2) Niccolò Bernoud, Marchese di Rapallo, no children
Ernst of Saxony (1831 – 1847), died in his teens
Georg, King of Saxony (1832 – 1904), married Maria Ana of Portugal, had eight children
Sidonie of Saxony (1834 – 1862), unmarried, died from typhoid fever
Margaretha of Saxony (1840 – 1858), married Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria, no children, died from typhoid fever
Sophie of Saxony (1845 – 1867), married Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, had one daughter, died from influenza

Ferdinando of Tuscany, Anna’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna’s father was a close friend of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The two families were linked by several marriages. A marriage between Anna and Leopoldo’s eldest son and heir Ferdinando, Hereditary Grand Duke of Tuscany was negotiated when the future bride and groom were still children. Anna and Ferdinando were married on November 24, 1856, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony.

Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, during a trip to Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Anna and Ferdinando’s daughter Maria Antonietta, circa 1875; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando and Anna had one surviving daughter:

Archduchess Maria Antonietta of Austria (1858 – 1883), unmarried

Shortly after Anna’s death, on April 27, 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinando IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy, and Ferdinando’s hopes to reclaim the throne were ended. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. On January 11, 1868, Ferdinando married Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France. and the couple had ten children.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Maria von Sachsen – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_von_Sachsen> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Anna of Saxony (1836–1859) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Anna_of_Saxony_(1836%E2%80%931859)> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iv-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Maria di Sassonia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_di_Sassonia> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
Mehl, Scott, 2017. Johann, King of Saxony. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/johann-king-of-saxony/> [Accessed 29 September 2021].
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was located in present-day northwest Italy. It existed, with a few interruptions, from 1569 – 1859. Tuscany was ruled by the de Medici family from 1434–1494 and from 1512 until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. In 1569, Pope Pius V elevated Tuscany to a Grand Duchy and Cosimo I de’ Medici became its first Grand Duke.

In 1737, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine obtained control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. François Étienne, Duke of Lorraine exchanged the Duchy of Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Stanisław I, the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, had abdicated the throne of Poland in 1736 and now became the Duke of Lorraine.

Except for a period of thirteen years from 1801 – 1814 during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Two Grand Dukes of Tuscany were also Holy Roman Emperors: Francesco II Stefano, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765) also Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790) also Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792).

Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany: Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando IV was the last Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando Salvatore Maria Giuseppe Giovan Battista Francesco Luigi Gonzaga Raffaello Ranieri Gennaro was born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, on June 10, 1835. He was the second of the ten children and the eldest of the five sons of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his second wife Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Ferdinando’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. His maternal grandparents were Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain.

Ferdinando had three half-sisters from his father’s first marriage to Maria Anna of Saxony who died from tuberculosis in 1832.

Archduchess Carolina Auguste of Austria (1822 – 1841), died in her teens
Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria (1825 – 1864), married Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
Archduchess Maria Maximiliana of Austria (1827 – 1834), died in childhood

Ferdinando had nine siblings:

Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria (1834 – 1901), married her maternal uncle Francesco di Paola of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani, had six children
Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria (1836 – 1838), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Cristina of Austria (1838 – 1849), died in childhood
Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria (1839 – 1892), married Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had ten children
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1840 – 1841), died in infancy
Archduke Rainer of Austria (1842 – 1844), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria (1845 – 1917), married Karl, Prince of Isenburg, had nine children
Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria (1847 – 1915), unmarried, known for his scientific and regional studies of the Mediterranean region.
Archduke Johann Salvator of Austria (1852 – reported lost at sea in 1890, officially declared dead in 1911), married opera dancer Ludmilla Stubel, there was speculation of Johann Salvator’s survival under the alias Johann Orth

Princess Anna of Saxony, Ferdinando’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 24, 1856, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, Ferdinando married Princess Anna of Saxony, daughter of Johann, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Anna gave birth to a daughter in 1858. On February 6, 1859, Anna miscarried a daughter due to typhoid fever. Four days later Anna died at the age of twenty-three. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Ferdinando and Anna had one surviving daughter:

Archduchess Maria Antonietta of Austria (1858 – 1883), unmarried

Shortly after Anna’s death, on April 27, 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. Ferdinando was unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him on August 16, 1859. Ferdinando hoped to recover his throne because France and Austria had promised to recognize his rights. However, neither France nor Austria was willing to take any steps to bring about his restoration. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy, and Ferdinand’s hopes to reclaim the throne were ended. Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine put some limits on the use of titles and dynastic rights on Ferdinando’s branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Ferdinando was allowed to keep the grand ducal title as a courtesy but his descendants could only use the title of Archduke or Archduchess of Austria. Only family members born before 1866 could use the title Prince or Princess of Tuscany. In 1870, Ferdinando relinquished all dynastic rights to the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany for himself and his future heirs in favor of his second cousin Emperor Franz Joseph I and his future heirs. Upon Ferdinando’s death in 1908, his descendants were barred from using any Tuscan titles by Imperial decree.

Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Ferdinando’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 11, 1868, at Schloss Frohsdorf (link in German) in Lanzenkirchen, Austria, Ferdinando married Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France.

Ferdinando and Alicia had ten children:

Archduke Leopold Ferdinand of Austria (1868 – 1935), renounced his titles in 1902 and took the name Leopold Wölfling, married (1) Wilhelmine Adamovicz, no children, divorced (2) Maria Magdalena Ritter, no children, divorced (3) Klara Hedwig Pawlowski, no children
Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870 – 1947), married (1) Crown Prince Friedrich August of Saxony (the future King Friedrich August III), had six children, divorced due to a scandal (2) Enrico Toselli, had one son, divorced
Archduke Giuseppe Ferdinando of Austria (1872 – 1942), married (1) Rosa Kaltenbrunner, no children, divorced (2) Gertrud Tomanek, had two children
Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria (1874 – 1948), married Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had four children
Archduke Heinrich Ferdinand of Austria (1878 – 1969), married Maria Karoline Ludescher, had three children
Archduchess Anna of Austria (1879 – 1961), married Johannes, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, had six children
Archduchess Margareta of Austria (1881 – 1965), unmarried
Archduchess Germana of Austria (1884 – 1955), unmarried
Archduke Robert Ferdinand Salvator (1885 – 1895), died in childhood
Archduchess Agnes of Austria (1891 – 1945), unmarried

Salzburg Residenz; Credit – By Andrew Bossi – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2871239

From 1868, Ferdinando and his second wife Alicia lived at the Villa Tuscany in Lindau, Austria during the summer, and during the winter they lived in a wing of the Salzburg Residenz, formerly the residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Both residences were provided by Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria.

Ferdinando in 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando died in Salzburg, Austria on January 17, 1908, at the age of 72. He was buried in the Tuscan Vault in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. His second wife Alicia survived him by twenty-seven years, dying on January 16, 1935, aged 85, at Schloss Schwertburg (link in German) in Schwertburg, Austria. She was first buried in Schwertburg and in 2007, her remains were reburied in the cemetery of the parish church in St. Gilgen, Austria.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand IV. (Toskana) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_IV._(Toskana)> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_IV,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopoldo-ii-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinando IV di Toscana – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_IV_di_Toscana> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies was the second wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Maria Antonietta Giuseppa Anna was born at the Royal Palace of Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy on December 19, 1814. She was the sixth of the twelve children and the third of the six daughters of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. Maria Antonia’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinando, who reigned as King of Naples and King of Sicily from 1759 – 1816, and then as King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies from 1816 – 1825, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. Her maternal grandparents were Carlos IV, King of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma.

Maria Antonia had two half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to his double first cousin Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria who died from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-four:

Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1798 – 1870), married (1) Charles Ferdinand d’Artois, Duke of Berry, had two surviving children (2) Ettore Carlo Lucchesi-Palli, 8th Duke della Grazia, had five children
Fernando Francesco of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1800 – 1801), died in infancy

Left to right: Maria Isabella, second wife of Francesco holding Maria Carolina, Maria Antonia, Luisa Carlotta, Maria Cristina, Ferdinando, Francesco holding Maria Amalia, Carlo, Prince of Capua and Leopoldo, Count of Syracuse; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia had eleven siblings. Unusual for the time, all eleven survived childhood:

Luisa Carlotta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1804 – 1844), married her maternal uncle Francisco de Paula of Spain, had eleven children
Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1806 – 1878), married (1) her maternal uncle Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, had two daughters including Queen Isabella II of Spain (2) Agustín Fernando Muñoz y Sánchez, 1st Duke of Riánsares, had eight children
Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies (1810 – 1859), married (1) Maria Cristina of Savoy, had one child Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, died from childbirth complications (2) Maria Theresa of Austria, had twelve children
Carlo Ferdinando of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Capua (1811 – 1862), married morganatically Penelope Smyth, had two children
Leopoldo Beniamino of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Syracuse (1813 – 1860), Maria of Savoy-Carignan, had one daughter who died in infancy
Antonio Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lecce (1816 – 1843), unmarried, clubbed to death by the husband of a married woman he had tried to seduce
Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1818 – 1857), married Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain, no children
Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1820 – 1861), married Carlos of Spain, Count of Montemolin, Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, no children
Teresa Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1822 – 1889), married Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, had four children
Luigi Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Aquila (1824 – 1897), married Januária, Princess Imperial of Brazil, had four children
Francesco di Paola of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani (1827 – 1892), married his niece Maria Isabella of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, had six children

Maria Antonia at the time of her wedding; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1832, Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, the wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Saxony, died from tuberculosis. Leopoldo greatly grieved his beloved wife Maria Anna but because he had three daughters and needed a male heir to ensure the succession. If Leopoldo did not have a male heir, the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany would revert to Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives. On June 7, 1833, at the chapel of the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Leopoldo married his first cousin Maria Antonia.

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia and Leopoldo had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV:

Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria (1834 – 1901), married her maternal uncle Francesco di Paola of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani, had six children
Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1835 – 1908) married (1) Anna of Saxony, had one daughter, miscarried another daughter due to typhoid fever, and died four days later (2) Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, had ten children
Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria (1836 – 1838), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Cristina of Austria (1838 – 1849), died in childhood
Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria (1839 – 1892), married Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had ten children
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1840 – 1841), died in infancy
Archduke Rainer of Austria (1842 – 1844), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria (1845 – 1917), married Karl, Prince of Isenburg, had nine children
Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria (1847 – 1915), unmarried, known for his scientific and regional studies of the Mediterranean region.
Archduke Johann Salvator of Austria (1852 – reported lost at sea in 1890, officially declared dead in 1911), married opera dancer Ludmilla Stubel, there was speculation of Johann Salvator’s survival under the alias Johann Orth

The Revolutions of 1847/1848 caused Leopoldo to enact a constitution but it was not enough for the radical forces who wanted to eliminate Austrian influence. In January 1849, Leopoldo, Maria Antonia, and their family left Florence when a provisional republican government was formed. However, the republican government was short-lived due to a counter-revolution by Austrian troops and Leopoldo was able to return to Florence.

In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence permanently because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Schlackenwerth Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

The former Grand Ducal Family of Tuscany settled in the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ruled by Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives. The family resided at Schlackenwerth Castle (link in German) in Schlackenwerth, a German-speaking town in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now Ostrov, in the Czech Republic. The people of the town treated Leopoldo with great respect and asked him to become the mayor of Schlackenwerth. In November 1869, Leopoldo and Maria Antonia made a pilgrimage to Rome, and Leopoldo died there on January 29, 1870, at the age of 72. Initially, Leopoldo was buried in Rome at the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles (Santi Apostoli). In 1914, his remains were transferred to Vienna, Austria where they were interred in the Tuscan Vault at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church.

Schloss Ort; Credit – By Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77565334

After the death of her husband, Maria Antonia mostly lived at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, a town on the Traunsee, a lake in Austria. Every year she went to Rome where she prayed at her husband’s grave and visited the Pope.

Maria Antonia in 1898, the year of her death; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia survived her husband by twenty-eight years, dying at the age of 83 on November 7, 1898, at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, Austria. She was interred in the Ferdinand Vault at the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Antonia_of_the_Two_Sicilies> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
Flantzer, S., 2021. Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopoldo-ii-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Antonia di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Antonia_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 28 September 2021].
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna of Saxony was the first wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Maria Anna Carolina Josepha Vincentia Xaveria Nepomucena Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Johanna Antonia Elisabeth Cunigunde Gertrud Leopoldina was born on November 15, 1799, at the Royal Palace of Dresden in the Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She was the fifth of the seventh children and the third of the four daughters of Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony and his first wife Princess Carolina of Parma. Maria Anna’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich Christian, Elector of Saxony, and Maria Antonia Walpurgis of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinando, Duke of Parma and Maria Amalia of Austria.

Maria Anna had six siblings:

Princess Amalie of Saxony (1794 – 1870), unmarried
Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony (1796 – 1865), married Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (second wife), no children
Friedrich August II, King of Saxony (1797 – 1854), married (1) Archduchess Maria Caroline of Austria, no children (2) Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, no children
Prince Clemens of Saxony (1798 – 1822), unmarried
Johann I, King of Saxony (1801 – 1873), married Princess Amalia of Bavaria, had nine children
Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1803 – 1829), married Ferdinand VII, King of Spain (third wife), no children

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1817, Maria Anna became betrothed to the future Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The couple had a proxy marriage on October 28, 1817, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. However, Maria Anna was so terrified of meeting her bridegroom that she refused to leave Saxony unless her sister Maria Ferdinanda accompanied her. Accompanied by her sister Maria Ferdinanda, Maria Anna finally met Leopoldo and they were married in person on November 16, 1817, at the Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Maria Ferdinanda, sister of Maria Anna, in the year of her marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

Four years later, when his son Leopoldo and his daughter-in-law Maria Anna had not produced any children, Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany decided to marry twenty years after the death of his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. During his son’s wedding celebrations, Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, the bride’s sister, had caught the eye of Ferdinand III, who was twenty-seven years older than Maria Ferdinanda. He remembered Maria Ferdinanda and chose her as his second wife. They were married on May 6, 1821, in Florence. Ferdinando III hoped to have more children but his marriage to Maria Ferdinadna remained childless.

Maria Anna as Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Three years after his second wedding, Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, aged 55, died on June 18, 1824, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Maria Anna’s husband succeeded to the throne as Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Maria Anna replaced her sister Maria Ferdinanda as the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Maria Anna and her husband were the founding patrons of L’Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata, the first female boarding school in Florence to educate aristocratic and noble young ladies. The school is still in existence.

The three daughters of Maria Anna and Leopoldo; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna and Leopoldo eventually had children – three daughters who could not succeed to the throne. If Leopoldo did not have a male heir, the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany would revert to Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives.

Archduchess Carolina Auguste of Austria (1822 – 1841), died in her teens
Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria (1825 – 1864), married Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
Archduchess Maria Maximiliana of Austria (1827 – 1834), died in childhood

Maria Anna’s inability to produce a male heir caused depression and coupled with her chronic ill health, made her developing tuberculosis more severe. The doctors advised Maria Anna to move to Pisa because of its milder and healthier climate. The court moved to Pisa in the winter of 1832 but Maria Anna showed no improvement. Her condition worsened in March 1832 and it became clear that she would soon die. Maria Anna serenely awaited her death with her confessor at her bedside but she regretted abandoning her husband and children. On March 24, 1832, 32-year-old Maria Anna died at the Royal Palace (link in Italian) in Pisa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. She was interred at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence in a beautiful red porphyry sarcophagus surmounted by a crown.

Maria Anna’s husband Leopoldo greatly grieved his beloved wife. However, because he had three daughters and needed a male heir to ensure the succession he married again the following year to his first cousin Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies. Leopoldo and Maria Antonia had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir and the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Maria Anna of Saxony (1799–1832) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Anna_of_Saxony_(1799%E2%80%931832)> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopoldo-ii-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-ferdinanda-of-saxony-grand-duchess-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Anna Carolina di Sassonia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_Carolina_di_Sassonia> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany was the third of the five children and the second but the only surviving son of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. Given the names Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Francesco Ferdinando Carlo, the future Grand Duke of Tuscany was born on October 3, 1797, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. His paternal grandparents were Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Luisa of Spain. His maternal grandparents were King Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, later Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria.

Leopoldo had four siblings:

Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda of Austria (1793 – 1802), died in childhood
Francesco Leopoldo, Grand Prince of Tuscany (1794 – 1800), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria (1798 – 1857), unmarried
Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1801 – 1855), married Carlo Alberto I, King of Sardinia, had three children including Carlo Alberto’s successor Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later King of Italy

Leopoldo lived much of his childhood in exile. In 1801, Napoleon conquered Tuscany. Leopoldo’s father Ferdinando III was forced by the Treaty of Aranjuez to leave Tuscany to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria. Ferdinando III and his family went into exile in Vienna, Austria. Napoleon dissolved the Kingdom of Etruria and integrated it into France in 1807. After Napoleon’s downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to Ferdinando III. While the family was in exile in Vienna, Leopoldo’s mother Luisa, aged 29, died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son on September 19, 1802.

Leopoldo as a teenager; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo was 17 years old when his family returned to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He completed his studies having lessons in law, art, literature, and agriculture which greatly interested him. He studied and edited the writings of the physicist, astronomer, philosopher, and mathematician Galileo Galilei and edited and published an edition of the poems of Lorenzo de’Medici which earned him his appointment as a member of the Accademia della Crusca, a Florence-based society of scholars of the linguistics and philology of the Italian language.

Maria Anna of Saxony, Leopoldo’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 28, 1817, by proxy in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony and then in person at the Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, on November 16, 1817, Leopoldo married Princess Maria Anna of Saxony, daughter of Hereditary Prince Maximilian of Saxony and his first wife Caroline of Bourbon-Parma.

The three daughters of Maria Anna and Leopoldo; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopoldo and his first wife Maria Anna of Saxony had three daughters:

Archduchess Carolina Auguste of Austria (1822 – 1841), died in her teens
Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria (1825 – 1864), married Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
Archduchess Maria Maximiliana of Austria (1827 – 1834), died in childhood

Upon his father’s death on June 18, 1824, Leopoldo became Grand Duke of Tuscany. During the first twenty years of his reign, Leopoldo focused on the domestic affairs of the Grand Duchy. Although he was subject to Austrian influence, he refused to adopt some Austrian methods, allowed some freedom of the press, and permitted many political exiles from other countries to live in Tuscany.

Leopoldo’s wife Maria Anna, aged 32, died on March 24, 1832, at the Royal Palace in Pisa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, from tuberculosis which also caused the early death of her daughter Auguste. She was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Leopoldo greatly grieved his beloved wife but because he had three daughters and needed a male heir to ensure the succession. If Leopoldo did not have a male heir, the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany would revert to Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives.

Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Leopoldo’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 7, 1833, at the chapel of the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Leopoldo married his first cousin Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, daughter of King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabel of Spain.

Leopoldo and his second wife Maria Antonia had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir and the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV:

Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria (1834 – 1901), married her maternal uncle Francesco di Paola of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani, had six children
Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1835 – 1908) married (1) Anna of Saxony, had one daughter, miscarried another daughter due to typhoid fever and died four days later (2) Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, had ten children
Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria (1836 – 1838), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Cristina of Austria (1838 – 1849), died in childhood
Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria (1839 – 1892), married Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had ten children
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1840 – 1841), died in infancy
Archduke Rainer of Austria (1842 – 1844), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria (1845 – 1917), married Karl, Prince of Isenburg, had nine children
Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria (1847 – 1915), unmarried, known for his scientific and regional studies of the Mediterranean region.
Archduke Johann Salvator of Austria (1852 – reported lost at sea in 1890, officially declared dead in 1911), married opera dancer Ludmilla Stubel, there was speculation of Johann Salvator’s survival under the alias Johann Orth

Leopoldo and his family returning from exile in 1849; Credit – Wikipedia

The Revolutions of 1847/1848 caused Leopoldo to enact a constitution but it was not enough for the radical forces who wanted to eliminate Austrian influence. In January 1849, Leopoldo left Florence when a provisional republican government was formed. However, the republican government was short-lived due to a counter-revolution by Austrian troops and Leopoldo was able to return to Florence,

Leopoldo in 1860; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family took refuge in Austria. On July 21, 1859, Leopoldo II abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand IV who was Grand Duke of Tuscany in name but never really reigned. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Schlackenwerth Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

The former Grand Ducal Family of Tuscany settled in the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ruled by Leopoldo’s Austrian Habsburg relatives. The family resided at Schlackenwerth Castle (link in German) in Schlackenwerth, a German-speaking town in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now Ostrov, in the Czech Republic. The townspeople treated Leopoldo with great respect and asked him to become the mayor of Schlackenwerth. Leopoldo accepted and while he was mayor, a great deal was accomplished. The museum, which was closed due to its run-down condition was renovated and reopened. Leopoldo arranged for children from poor families to attend school. In 1866, when a fire in Schlackenwerth created much destruction, Leopoldo used his private fortune to repair the worst damage.

In November 1869, Leopoldo and his wife Maria Antonia made a pilgrimage to Rome, and Leopoldo died there on January 29, 1870, at the age of 72. Initially, Leopoldo was buried in Rome at the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles (Santi Apostoli). In 1914, his remains were transferred to Vienna, Austria where they were interred at the Capuchin Church in the Tuscan Vault in the Imperial Crypt. Leopoldo’s second wife Maria Antonia survived him by twenty-eight years, dying at the age of 83 on November 7, 1898, at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, Austria. She was interred at the Capuchin Church in the Ferdinand Vault at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_III,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-iii-grand-duke-of-tuscany-archduke-of-austria/> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopoldo II di Toscana – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_II_di_Toscana> [Accessed 27 September 2021].
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. New York: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

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