Category Archives: Italian Royals

Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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

Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony was the second wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Born at the Royal Palace in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, on April 27, 1796, Maria Ferdinanda was the second of the seven children and the second of the four daughters of Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony and Princess Carolina of Parma. She was given the names Maria Ferdinanda Amalia Xaveria Theresia Josepha Anna Nepomucena Aloysia Johanna Vincentia Ignatia Dominica Franziska de Paula Frances de Chantal. Maria Ferdinanda’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 Ferdinanda had six siblings:

Princess Amalie of Saxony (1794 – 1870), unmarried
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
Princess Maria Anna of Saxony (1799 – 1832), married Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had three children
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

Engraving of Maria Ferdinanda in 1822, the year of her wedding; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Ferdinanda’s younger sister Maria Anna was to marry the future Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, son of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, Maria Anna was so terrified at the idea of meeting her bridegroom that she refused to leave Saxony unless her sister Maria Ferdinanda accompanied her. During the wedding celebrations, Maria Ferdinanda caught the eye of the groom’s father Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany who was twenty-seven years older than Maria Ferdinanda.

husband Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

Four years later, when his son Leopoldo and his wife Maria Anna had not produced any children, Ferdinando decided to marry twenty years after the death of his first wife Luisa of Naples and Sicily. He chose Maria Ferdinanda as his second wife and they were married on May 6, 1821, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. Ferdinando hoped to have more children but his marriage to Maria Ferdinadna remained childless. 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 of Saxony, sister of Maria Ferdinanda; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Ferdinanda became a widow at the age of twenty-eight but she never remarried. After Ferdinando III’s death, his son Leopoldo succeeded him and Maria Ferdinanda’s sister Maria Anna became the new Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Maria Anna and Leopoldo eventually had children – three daughters who could not succeed to the throne of Tuscany. After Maria Anna died in 1832 from tuberculosis, Leopoldo married Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies and the couple had ten children including Leopoldo’s heir and the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand IV.

In 1859, the Grand Ducal family was forced to flee Florence because of the wars caused by the Italian unification movement, and the family, including Maria Ferdinanda, 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.

Maria Ferdinanda lived partly in the Kingdom of Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire, and also in Dresden at the court of her brother King Johann of Saxony. She had a very close relationship with her unmarried sister Amalie, a comedic opera composer under the pen name A. Serena, and a dramatist under the name Amalie Heiter.

Maria Ferdinanda survived her husband Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany by forty-one years, dying on January 3, 1865, aged 68, at the Chateau Brandýs nad Labem, a private property of the former Tuscany grand ducal family, in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. She was buried in the Ferdinand Vault at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria where her husband’s first wife was also buried.

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Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Ferdinanda_of_Saxony> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 26 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 26 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Ferdinanda di Sassonia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Ferdinanda_di_Sassonia> [Accessed 26 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.

Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

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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Luisa of Naples and Sicily was the first wife of Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa was born on July 27, 1773, at the Royal Palace in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy. She was the second of the seventeen children and the second of the ten daughters of 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. Luisa’s paternal grandparents were Carlos IV, King of Naples and Sicily, later Carlos III, King of Spain, and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Her maternal grandparents were Maria Theresa of Austria, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and Francis Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine.

Luisa’s family in 1783: Maria Theresa, Francesco, her father Ferdinando, her mother Maria Carolina, Maria Cristina, Gennaro, Maria Amelia, Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Luisa had had sixteen siblings but only seven survived childhood. Seven of her siblings died from smallpox. However, her surviving four sisters all married sovereigns although her sister Maria Antonia died before her husband became King of Spain.

Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily (1772 – 1807), married her first cousin Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Franz I, Emperor of Austria), had twelve children
Carlo of Naples and Sicily (1775 – 1778), died in early childhood from smallpox.
Maria Anna of Naples and Sicily (1775 – 1780), died in childhood from smallpox.
Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies (1777 – 1830), married (1) Maria Clementina of Austria, had two children (2) Maria Isabella of Spain, had twelve children
Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily (1779 – 1849), married Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia, no children
Gennaro of Naples and Sicily (1780 – 1789), died in childhood from smallpox
Giuseppe of Naples and Sicily (1781 – 1783), died in early childhood from smallpox.
Maria Amelia of Naples and Sicily (1782 – 1866), married Louis Philippe d’Orléans, Duke of Orléans, later King of the French, had ten children
Maria Carolina of Naples and Sicily (born and died 1783)
Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily (1784 – 1806), married Infante Ferdinand of Spain, Prince of Asturias, later King Ferdinand VII of Spain, no children, died from tuberculosis
Maria Clotilde of Naples and Sicily (1786 – 1792), died in childhood from smallpox
Maria Enricheta of Naples and Sicily (1787- 1792), died in childhood from smallpox
Carlo Gennaro of Naples and Sicily (1788 – 1789), died in infancy from smallpox
Leopoldo of Naples and Sicily (1790 – 1851), married his niece Clementina of Austria, had two children
Alberto of Naples and Sicily (1792 – 1798), died in childhood
Maria Isabella of Naples and Sicily (1793 – 1801), died in childhood

Portrait by Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun of Luisa whose features have been “modified”; Credit – Wikipedia

Luisa was not considered to be good-looking. In 1790, Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, a prominent French portrait painter of the late 18th century, visited Naples to paint portraits of Luisa’s family and later stated: “Princess Luisa Maria was extremely ugly, and I would have gladly done without finishing her portrait, but in the end, I modified some features of the princess in order to make her at least presentable.”

In 1790, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany had been elected Holy Roman Emperor as Leopold II upon the death of his childless brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, and he abdicated the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in favor of his second son who became Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Leopold wanted his son Ferdinando to be married as soon as possible and turned to his sister Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily, and a match was made between the double first cousins Luisa and Ferdinando. Luisa’s father Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily was the brother of Ferdinando’s mother Maria Luisa of Spain. Luisa’s mother Maria Carolina was the sister of Ferdinando’s father Leopold. Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790), later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792)

Luisa’s husband Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 15, 1790, in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy, Luisa married by proxy Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The couple married in person in Vienna, Austria on September 19, 1790. At the Tuscan court, there was gossip about Luisa’s lack of attractiveness. However, many considered the gossip about her looks superficial and saw Luisa as a person who showed great kindness to everyone.

Grand Duchess Luisa of Tuscany with her children pointing to a bust of Empress Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Luisa and Ferdinando had five children:

Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda of Austria (1793 – 1802), died in childhood
Francesco Leopoldo, Grand Prince of Tuscany (1794 – 1800), died in childhood
Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1797 – 1870), married (1) Maria Anna of Saxony, had three daughters including Auguste of Austria who married Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (2) Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had ten children including Leopoldo II’s successor Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany
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

In 1801, Napoleon conquered Tuscany and Ferdinando was forced by the Treaty of Aranjuez to leave Tuscany to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria. Ferdinando and his family went into exile in Vienna, Austria. In 1807, Napoleon dissolved the Kingdom of Etruria and integrated it into France. After Napoleon’s downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to Ferdinando.

Tomb of Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Von Krischnig in der Wikipedia auf Deutsch – Eigenes Werk, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5557226

While the family was in exile in Vienna, Austria, Luisa, aged 29, died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son on September 19, 1802, at Hofburg Palace. She was buried with her stillborn son in her arms in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. Twenty years after Luisa’s death, 52-year-old Ferdinando married 25-year-old Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony. The couple had no children. Ferdinando survived his first wife Luisa by twenty-two years, dying at the age of 55, on June 18, 1824, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. He was buried in the Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy.

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Luisa of Naples and Sicily – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luisa_of_Naples_and_Sicily> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 26 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 26 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Luisa Maria Amalia di Borbone-Napoli – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luisa_Maria_Amalia_di_Borbone-Napoli> [Accessed 26 September 2021].
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was born on May 6, 1769, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. He was the third of the sixteen children and the second of the twelve sons of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1765 – 1790), later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1790 – 1792) and Maria Luisa of Spain. (Ferdinando’s father is commonly known as Leopold.) Ferdinando’s paternal grandfather was Francis Stephen, Grand Duke of Tuscany (reigned 1737 – 1765), Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1745 – 1765) and Duke of Lorraine (reigned 1729 – 1737). His paternal grandmother was the formidable and powerful Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia – the Sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. Ferdinando’s maternal grandparents were Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.

Ferdinando’s parents and siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando had fifteen siblings. Unusual for the time, only two died in childhood.

Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1767 – 1827), married Anton I, King of Saxony, had four children who all died in infancy
Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Franz I, Emperor of Austria) (1768 – 1835), married (1) Elisabeth of Württemberg, died in childbirth giving birth to a daughter who died in infancy (2) Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, had twelve children, died after giving birth to her twelfth child who died three days later (3) Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, no children, died from tuberculosis (4) Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, no children
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1770 – 1809), unmarried
Archduke Karl of Austria (1771 – 1847), married Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, had seven children including Maria Theresa who married Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies
Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria (1772 – 1795), unmarried, accidentally burned to death from a mishap while conducting a fireworks show
Archduke Albrecht Johann Joseph of Austria (1773 – 1774), died in infancy
Archduke Maximilian Johann Joseph of Austria (1774 – 1778), died in childhood
Archduke Joseph of Austria (1776 – 1847), married (1) Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia, died due to childbirth complications after giving birth to a daughter who died in early childhood (2) Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had children, died in childbirth (3) Maria Dorothea of Württemberg, had five children including Marie-Henriette who married Leopold II, King of the Belgians
Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria (1777 – 1801), married Francesco, Duke of Calabria, later King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies, had two children, died from tuberculosis
Archduke Anton of Austria (1779 – 1835), unmarried
Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780 – 1798), unmarried
Archduke Johann of Austria (1782 – 1859), married morganatically to Countess Anna Plochl, had one son
Archduke Rainer of Austria (1783 – 1853), married Elisabeth of Savoy, had eight children including Adelaide of Austria who married Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later King of Italy
Archduke Louis of Austria (1784 – 1864), unmarried
Archduke Rudolph of Austria, Cardinal-Archbishop of Olomouc (1788 – 1831)

On February 20, 1790, Ferdinando’s childless uncle Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria died and Ferdinando’s father Leopold succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary titles. When his father was elected Holy Roman Emperor, he abdicated the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinando who officially became Grand Duke of Tuscany on July 22, 1790. Ferdinando’s elder brother Franz would succeed to the Habsburg hereditary titles and be elected Holy Roman Emperor upon his father’s death in 1792.

Luisa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 15, 1790, in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy, Ferdinando married by proxy his double first cousin Luisa of Naples and Sicily. The couple married in person in Vienna, Austria on September 19, 1790. Luisa was the daughter of Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily (later King of the Two Sicilies) and Maria Carolina of Austria. Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily was the brother of Ferdinando’s mother Maria Luisa of Spain. Maria Carolina was the sister of Ferdinando’s father Leopold.

Grand Duchess Luisa of Tuscany with her children pointing to a bust of Empress Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando and Luisa had five children:

Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda of Austria (1793 – 1802), died in childhood
Francesco Leopoldo, Grand Prince of Tuscany (1794 – 1800), died in childhood
Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1797 – 1870), married (1) Maria Anna of Saxony, had three daughters including Auguste of Austria who married Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (2) Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had ten children including Leopoldo II’s successor Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany
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

While the family was in exile in Vienna, Luisa, aged 29, died in childbirth delivering a stillborn son on September 19, 1802, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried with her stillborn son in her arms at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna Austria.

Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Ferdinando III’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

For the last years of his reign, Ferdinando was occupied with public works including road and aqueduct construction. Ferdinando was personally involved with these projects and developed malaria which ultimately led to his death. Twenty years after the death of his first wife, on May 6, 1821, 52-year-old Ferdinando married 25-year-old Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony. The couple had no children.

Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, aged 55, died on June 18, 1824, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. He was buried in the Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

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].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-holy-roman-emperor-pietro-leopoldo-i-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinando III di Toscana – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_III_di_Toscana> [Accessed 24 September 2021].
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Luisa of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Maria Luisa of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

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The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

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

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Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain was Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor/Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Born on November 24, 1745, at the Palace of Portici in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, Maria Luisa was the fifth of the thirteen children and the fifth of the seven children of Carlo VII, King of Naples/Carlo IV, King of Sicily (later Carlos III, King of Spain) and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Maria Luisa’s paternal grandparents were Felipe V, King of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Her maternal grandparents were Augustus III, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Elector of Saxony and Maria Josepha of Austria.

In 1759, upon the death of his childless half-brother King Ferdinand VI of Spain, Maria Luisa’s father Carlo VII of Naples/Carlo IV of Sicily succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. Because of treaties, Carlos could not be the sovereign of all three kingdoms. His eldest son Felipe was excluded from the succession because of mental disability and his second son Carlos was the heir apparent to the Spanish throne. That left the third son Ferdinando to become King of Naples and King of Sicily. Ferdinando was only eight years old when he became King of Naples and Sicily and a regency council ruled until his sixteenth birthday. Fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa and her family, minus her brother Ferdinando, moved to Spain. Maria Luisa and her surviving siblings received the Spanish royal titles Infante or Infanta.

Maria Luisa with her brother Francisco Javier on the left and Carlos on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had twelve siblings but six did not survive childhood:

Princess Maria Isabel of Naples and Sicily (1740 – 1742), died in early childhood
Princess Maria Josefa of Naples and Sicily (born and died 1742), died in infancy
Princess Maria Isabel of Naples and Sicily (1743 – 1749), died in childhood.
Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain (1744 – 1801), unmarried
Prince Felipe of Spain, Duke of Calabria (1747 – 1777), excluded from succession to the throne due to his mental disability, died from smallpox
Carlos IV, King of Spain (1748 – 1819), married Princess Maria Luisa of Parma, had fourteen children
Princess Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily (1749 – 1750), died in infancy
Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies (1751 – 1825), married (1) Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria, had issue (2) Lucia Migliaccio, Duchess of Floridia (morganatic 2nd wife of Ferdinando I, no children
Infante Gabriel of Spain (1752 – 1788), married Mariana Vitória of Portugal, had three children
Princess Maria Ana of Naples and Sicily (1754 – 1755), died in infancy
Infante Antonio Pascual of Spain (1755 – 1817), married his niece Infanta Maria Amalia of Spain who died in childbirth with her son
Infante Francisco Javier of Spain (1757 – 1771), died in his teens

Maria Luisa was supposed to marry the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa, who was in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, and Queen of Bohemia and Francis Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine. However, King Louis XV of France disapproved of the match and instead wanted Joseph to marry his granddaughter Isabella of Parma. Not about to give an alliance with Spain, the formidable and powerful Maria Theresa substituted her second surviving son Leopold who was heir to his father’s Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Maria Luisa’s husband Leopold; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa and Leopold were married by proxy on February 16, 1764, in Madrid, Spain. 18-year-old Leopold and 20-year-old Maria Luisa were married in person on August 5, 1765, in Innsbruck, Austria. Sadly, just thirteen days later, Leopold’s father Francis Stephen died suddenly in Innsbruck of a stroke or heart attack, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera. The eldest son was elected Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Joseph II. The second (surviving) son and Maria Luisa’s husband Leopold succeeded his father as Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The newlyweds settled at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where they would live for the next twenty-five years.

Maria Luisa and Leopold with their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa and Leopold had sixteen children. Because his elder brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor had no children, Leopold became the founder of the main line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1767 – 1827), married Anton I, King of Saxony, had four children who all died in infancy
Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Franz I, Emperor of Austria) (1768 – 1835), married (1) Elisabeth of Württemberg, died in childbirth giving birth to a daughter who died in infancy (2) Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, had twelve children, died after giving birth to her twelfth child who died three days later (3) Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, no children, died from tuberculosis (4) Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, no children
Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1769 – 1824), married (1) Luisa of Naples and Sicily, had five children, died in giving birth to a stillborn son (2) Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, no children
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1770 – 1809), unmarried
Archduke Karl of Austria (1771 – 1847), married Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, had seven children including Maria Theresa who married Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies
Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria (1772 – 1795), unmarried, accidentally burned to death from a mishap while conducting a fireworks show
Archduke Albrecht Johann Joseph of Austria (1773 – 1774), died in infancy
Archduke Maximilian Johann Joseph of Austria (1774 – 1778), died in childhood
Archduke Joseph of Austria (1776 – 1847), married (1) Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia, died due to childbirth complications after giving birth to a daughter who died in early childhood (2) Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had children, died in childbirth (3) Maria Dorothea of Württemberg, had five children including Marie-Henriette who married Leopold II, King of the Belgians
Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria (1777 – 1801), married Francesco, Duke of Calabria, later King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies, had two children, died from tuberculosis
Archduke Anton of Austria (1779 – 1835), unmarried
Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780 – 1798), unmarried
Archduke Johann of Austria (1782 – 1859), married morganatically to Countess Anna Plochl, had one son
Archduke Rainer of Austria (1783 – 1853), married Elisabeth of Savoy, had eight children including Adelaide of Austria who married Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later King of Italy
Archduke Louis of Austria (1784 – 1864), unmarried
Archduke Rudolph of Austria, Cardinal-Archbishop of Olomouc (1788 – 1831)

Maria Luisa remained largely unknown to the Tuscan aristocracy and maintained contact with a small group of friends in her private life. She mostly spent her time on the upbringing of her children. As parents, Maria Luisa and Leopold allowed their children a great deal of freedom without being tied to formal court life, and occasionally took them on excursions to rural areas and the coast.

Maria Luisa’s coronation as Queen of Hungary; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 after the death of his childless brother Joseph. Maria Luisa became Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary, and Queen of Bohemia. At that time, he abdicated the throne of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinand. Leopold, Maria Luisa, and their family moved to Vienna, Austria. After only seventeen months as Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 1, 1792, aged 44, in Vienna, Austria. He was buried at the Capuchin Church in the Tuscan Crypt of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Leopold’s eldest son Franz was elected (the last) Holy Roman Emperor and later was the first Emperor of Austria.

Maria Luisa’s tomb in the Imperial Crypt; Credit – Wikipedia

Less than three months after the sudden death of her husband, Maria Luisa also died suddenly, aged 46, on May 15, 1792, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried next to her husband at the Capuchin Church in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Their early deaths left their nine youngest children, all under the age of 18, orphans.

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Luisa of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Spain> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-holy-roman-emperor-pietro-leopoldo-i-grand-duke-of-tuscany/> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Luisa di Borbone-Spagna (1745-1792) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_di_Borbone-Spagna_(1745-1792)> [Accessed 23 September 2021].
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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Grand Duke of Tuscany as Pietro Leopoldo I from 1765 – 1790 and Holy Roman Emperor as Leopold II from 1790 – 1792, Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard was born on May 5, 1747, in Vienna, Austria. Leopold, as was known, was the ninth of the sixteen children and the third but the second surviving of the five sons of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in her own right. His mother was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. Maria Theresa, who had arranged for her husband to be elected Holy Roman Emperor, wielded the real power and Francis Stephen was content to leave the act of reigning to his wife. Leopold’s paternal grandparents were Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans. His maternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Leopold’s parents and his siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold had fifteen siblings but six of them died in childhood. His youngest sister Maria Antonia married King Louis XVI of France and became the ill-fated Queen Marie Antoinette of France.

Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1737-1740), died in childhood
Archduchess Maria Anna (1738-1789), died unmarried, no issue
Archduchess Maria Carolina (1740-1741), died in childhood
Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790), married 1) Infanta Isabel of Spain, married 2) Princess Marie Josephe of Bavaria, had issue from his first marriage (two daughters, who died young)
Archduchess Maria Christina (1742-June 1798), married Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen, had one stillborn daughter
Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1743-1808), died unmarried, no issue
Archduke Charles Joseph (1745-1761), died of smallpox, no issue
Archduchess Maria Amalia (1746-1804), married Ferdinand, Duke of Parma, had issue
Archduchess Maria Carolina (born and died 1748), died hours after baptism
Archduchess Maria Johanna (1750-1762), died of smallpox, no issue
Archduchess Maria Josepha (1751-1767), died of smallpox, no issue
Archduchess Maria Carolina (1752-1814), married King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily, the future King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies after her death, had seventeen children
Archduke Ferdinand (1754-1806), married Maria Beatrice d’Este, had issue
Archduchess Maria Antonia (1755-1793), married King Louis XVI of France, became Queen Marie Antoinette of France
Archduke Maximilian Franz (1756–1801) became Archbishop-Elector of Cologne

When Leopold’s father became Grand Duke of Tuscany, it was decided that the second son would inherit that title and territory. However, Karl Joseph, the second son, died from smallpox at the age of fifteen, and Leopold, the third son became the second surviving son and the heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Like all of his siblings, Leopold received an excellent education as befitted a prince during the Age of the Enlightenment. He was particularly interested in the natural sciences and all the new discoveries and ideas. In addition to German, Leopold mastered Latin, spoke French and Italian, and also spoke a little Czech.

Maria Luisa of Spain, Leopold’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 16, 1764, in Madrid, Spain Leopold was married by proxy to Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain, daughter of Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. 18-year-old Leopold and 20-year-old Maria Luisa were married in person on August 5, 1765, in Innsbruck, Austria. Sadly, just thirteen days later, Leopold’s father Francis Stephen died suddenly In Innsbruck of a stroke or heart attack, at the age of 56, in his carriage while returning from the opera. The eldest son was elected Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as Joseph II. The second (surviving) son Leopold succeeded his father as Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the newlyweds settled at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where they would live for the next twenty-five years.

Leopold with his wife Maria Luise and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold and Maria Luisa had sixteen children. Because his elder brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor had no children, Leopold became the founder of the main line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1767 – 1827), married Anton I, King of Saxony, had four children who all died in infancy
Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Franz I, Emperor of Austria) (1768 – 1835), married (1) Elisabeth of Württemberg, died in childbirth giving birth to a daughter who died in infancy (2) Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, had twelve children, died after giving birth to her twelfth child who died three days later (3) Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, no children, died from tuberculosis (4) Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, no children
Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1769 – 1824), married (1) Luisa of Naples and Sicily, had five children, died in giving birth to a stillborn son (2) Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, no children
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1770 – 1809), unmarried
Archduke Karl of Austria (1771 – 1847), married Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, had seven children including Maria Theresa who married Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies
Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria (1772 – 1795), unmarried, accidentally burned to death from a mishap while conducting a fireworks show
Archduke Albrecht Johann Joseph of Austria (1773 – 1774), died in infancy
Archduke Maximilian Johann Joseph of Austria (1774 – 1778), died in childhood
Archduke Joseph of Austria (1776 – 1847), married (1) Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia, dieddue to childbirth complications after giving birth to a daughter who died in early childhood (2) Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had children, died in childbirth (3) Maria Dorothea of Württemberg, had five children including Marie-Henriette who married Leopold II, King of the Belgians
Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria (1777 – 1801), married Francesco, Duke of Calabria, later King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies, had two children, died from tuberculosis
Archduke Anton of Austria (1779 – 1835), unmarried
Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780 – 1798), unmarried
Archduke Johann of Austria (1782 – 1859), married morganatically to Countess Anna Plochl, had one son
Archduke Rainer of Austria (1783 – 1853), married Elisabeth of Savoy, had eight children including Adelaide of Austria who married Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later King of Italy
Archduke Louis of Austria (1784 – 1864), unmarried
Archduke Rudolph of Austria, Cardinal-Archbishop of Olomouc (1788 – 1831)

As Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold was a moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism and an advocate of the Leopoldine Code, a consolidation of the criminal law of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany that made the Grand Duchy the first country in the world to formally abolish the death penalty. Leopold was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 after the death of his childless brother Joseph. At that time, he abdicated the throne of Tuscany in favor of his second son Ferdinand.

Leopold’s coronation as King of Hungary in Pressburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold had three coronations. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on October 9, 1790, in the Imperial Free City of Frankfurt am Main. His coronation as King of Hungary in Pressburg, now Bratislava, Slovakia, took place on November 15, 1790, and then he was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague, now in the Czech Republic, on September 6, 1791. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s opera La clemenza di Tito was commissioned for the festivities that accompanied Leopold’s coronation as King of Bohemia.

Leopold’s short reign as Holy Roman Emperor saw problems from the east side of the constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire and also on the west side. The growing revolutionary feelings and actions in France endangered and eventually took the lives of his sister Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI, and also threatened Leopold’s territories with the spread of revolutionary agitation. From the east, Leopold was threatened by the aggressive ambitions of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia and Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia.

Death of Leopold with his wife and doctor at his bedside; Credit – Wikipedia

After only seventeen months as Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 1, 1792, aged 44, in Vienna, Austria. He was buried in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Leopold’s eldest son Franz was elected (the last) Holy Roman Emperor and later was the first Emperor of Austria.

Less than three months after the sudden death of her husband, Maria Luisa died, aged 46, on May 15, 1792, at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was buried next to her husband in the Tuscan Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. Their early deaths left their nine youngest children, all under the age of 18, orphans.

Tomb of Leopold; Credit – Von krischnig – selbst fotografiert, Bild-frei, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3431815

Grand Duchy of Tuscany Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II. (HRR) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II._(HRR)> [Accessed 22 September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor> [Accessed 22 September 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-theresa-archduchess-of-austria-queen-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia/> [Accessed 19 September 2021].
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Maria Sophie of Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was located in today’s southern Italy. It included the island of Sicily and all of the Italian peninsula south of the Papal States. Ferdinando I, the first King of the Two Sicilies, had previously reigned over two kingdoms, as Ferdinando IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinando III of the Kingdom of Sicily. He had been deposed twice from the throne of Naples: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805, before being restored in 1816 after the defeat of Napoleon. After the 1816 restoration, the two kingdoms were united into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies was deposed, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist, and its territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia. Eventually, the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

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Maria Sophie, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophie, Duchess in Bavaria was the wife of Francesco II, the last King of the Two Sicilies. Maria Sophie Amalie was born on October 4, 1841, at Possenhofen Castle in Possenhofen, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She was the sixth of the nine children and the third of the five daughters of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Pius August, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Amélie Louise of Arenberg were her paternal grandparents. Her maternal grandparents were Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden. Maria Sophie was a younger sister of the more well-known Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria (Sisi) who married Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and was assassinated in 1898. The painting below is a group portrait of the siblings of Empress Elisabeth given to her by her brother Karl Theodor on the occasion of her wedding.

Maria Sophie with her siblings: (left to right) Sophie Charlotte, Maximilian Emanuel, Karl Theodor, Helene, Ludwig Wilhelm, Mathilde Ludovika, and Maria Sophie; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophie had eight siblings:

Ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria (1831 – 1920), morganatically married Henriette Mendel, had two children
Wilhelm Karl, Duke in Bavaria (1832 – 1833), died in infancy
Helene, Duchess in Bavaria (1834 – 1890), married Maximilian Anton, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis, had four children
Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria (Sisi) (1837 – 1898), married Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria, had four children, assassinated
Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (1839 30 November 1909), (1) married Sophie of Saxony, had one daughter (2) Maria Josepha of Portugal, had five children including Elisabeth who married Albert I, King of the Belgians
Mathilde Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria (1843 – 1925), married Lodovico of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani, had one daughter
Sophie Charlotte, Duchess in Bavaria (1847 – 1897), married Ferdinand Philippe Marie, Duke of Alençon, had two children, died in a fire at the Bazar de la Charité, an annual charity event in Paris
Maximilian Emanuel, Duke in Bavaria (1849 – 1893), married Amalie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had three sons

Maria Sophie’s father Maximilian Joseph was from a junior branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Maximilian Joseph did much to promote Bavarian folk music. He played the zither, the national instrument of Bavaria, and composed music for it. Although the family had a home in Munich, Herzog-Max-Palais (Duke Max Palace, link in German), Maria Sophie’s parents had no obligations with the Bavarian royal court and their nine children spent much time living a carefree, unstructured, unrestrained childhood at Possenhofen Castle on Lake Starnberg.

Maria Sophie’s husband Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1858, 16-year-old Maria Sophie of Bavaria was betrothed to 23-year-old Francesco, Duke of Calabria, the eldest son and heir of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Cristina of Savoy. On January 8, 1859, a proxy marriage was held at the Court Church of All Saints in the Munich Residenz, the royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs. The couple married in person on February 5, 1859, in Bari, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.

Three months after the marriage, Francesco’s father Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died on May 22, 1859, aged 49 from a strangulated hernia after hesitating for months to have surgery. Francesco began his two-year reign as King of the Two Sicilies and Maria Sophie became Queen of the Two Sicilies. During the reign of Francesco’s father, Ferdinando II, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. The Second War of Italian Independence began shortly before Ferdinando II’s death. During the reign of Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861, ending the reign of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies. After losing the throne of the Two Sicilies, Francesco and Maria Sophie lived in Rome as guests of Pope Pius IX. In 1870, the annexation of the Papal States to Italy, including Rome, forced Francesco and Maria Sophie to find refuge in Austria, France, and Bavaria.

Maria Sophie in the 1860s; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco had a congenital condition that prevented him from consummating his marriage. Maria Sophie, after having been patient for some time, began having affairs. While in Rome, Maria Sophie fell in love with Belgian Count Armand de Lawayss and became pregnant. To avoid scandal, the pregnancy was kept secret and Maria Sophie stayed at her parents’ home Possenhofen Castle in Bavaria. On November 24, 1862, Maria Sophie gave birth to a daughter at St. Ursula’s Convent in Augsburg, Kingdom of Bavaria. The child was immediately given to the father’s family. A year later, on the advice of her family, Maria Sophie decided to confess the affair to her husband. Subsequently, the relationship between Maria Sophie and Francesco improved, and after nearly ten years after his marriage, Francesco finally had surgery that corrected the condition. Maria Sofia became pregnant and a daughter was born to joyful parents but sadly, she lived for only three months. Francesco and Maria Sophie had no other children.

Maria Cristina Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (December 24, 1869 – March 28, 1870)

Garatshausen Castle; Credit – Von 2micha – Eigenes Werk, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8311631

In 1870, Maria Sophie purchased Garatshausen Castle (link in German) on Lake Starnberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria from her brother Ludwig Wilhelm, and the castle became their home. The former Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies died on December 27, 1894, aged 58, in Arco, where he spent winters, then in Austria-Hungary, now in Italy. He was originally buried with his daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans (link in Italian) in Rome.

After her husband’s death, Maria Sophie lived for a time in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She also spent time in Paris, France where she lived in a house her husband had purchased. There she presided over an informal Bourbon-Two Sicilies court in exile. Maria Sophie never stopped hoping that the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies would be returned to her husband’s family. It was even rumored she was involved in the 1900 anarchist assassination of Umberto I, King of Italy in hopes of destabilizing the Kingdom of Italy.

During World War I, Maria Sophie was actively on the side of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in their war against the Kingdom of Italy. Again, some rumors claimed she participated in sabotage and espionage against Italy hoping that an Italian defeat would restore the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Despite her dislike of the Kingdom of Italy, Maria Sophie would anonymously visit Italian soldiers in prisoner-of-war camps in Germany, giving them books and food.

Coat of arms of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on the entrance to the royal crypt at the Basilica of Santa Chiara; Credit – Di Giuseppe Guida – Flickr: Basilica di Santa Chiara., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20267754

After World War I, Maria Sophie returned to her birthplace of Bavaria, Germany, living in Munich. It is there that she died on January 19, 1925, at the age of 83. Maria Sophie was initially buried with her husband and daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans (link in Italian) in Rome. In 1984, their remains were transferred to the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the traditional burial site of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in Naples, Italy.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Marie in Bayern – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_in_Bayern> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Maximilian_Joseph_in_Bavaria> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Sophie of Bavaria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sophie_of_Bavaria> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina Pia di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_Pia_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Sofia di Baviera – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sofia_di_Baviera> [Accessed 18 August 2021].

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco II was the last King of the Two Sicilies. Francesco d’Assisi Maria Leopoldo was born in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, on January 16, 1836. He was the only child of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Cristina of Savoy. His paternal grandparents were Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este were his maternal grandparents.

Francesco’s mother Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Sadly, Francesco’s mother Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications on January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to him. Maria Cristina had been called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She was frequently ill which she patiently endured with her piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility.

In 1859, a cause for the canonization of Maria Cristina as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church was opened. On July 10, 1872, Maria Cristina was declared to be a Servant of God and on May 6, 1937, she was declared a Venerable Servant of God. On May 3, 2013, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession and approved Maria Cristina’s beatification. Her beatification took place on January 25, 2014, at the Basilica of Santa Chiara where she is buried. She is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy and is one step away from canonization as a saint. Her son Francesco may be following in her footsteps. In December 2020, Cardinal Sepe Crescenzio, Archbishop of Naples announced the opening of a cause for the beatification and canonization of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, and Francesco was declared to be a Servant of God.

A year after his mother’s death, Francesco’s father Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies married Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. Francesco had a good relationship with his stepmother. He respected his stepmother, who was the only mother he had ever known, and Maria Theresa considered him her son.

Francesco (standing fourth from the left) with his father, stepmother Maria Theresa (sitting on chair), and his half-siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco had twelve half-siblings from his father’s second marriage:

Luigi of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani (1838 – 1886), married Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria, had one daughter
Alberto of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Castrogiovanni (1839 – 1844), died in childhood
Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta (1841 – 1934), married his first cousin Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had twelve children, the Heads of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies descend from Alfonso
Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1843 – 1871), married Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, had four children including Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination in 1914 sparked the start of World War I
Maria Immaculata Clementina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1844 – 1899), married Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, had ten children
Gaetano of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Girgenti (1846 – 1871), married Infanta Isabel of Spain, no children, suffered from epilepsy and poor health, died by suicide
Giuseppe of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lucera (1848 – 1851), died in childhood
Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1849 – 1882), married Roberto I, Duke of Parma, had twelve children, six of them were mentally disabled, died in childbirth
Vincenzo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Melazzo (1851 – 1854), died in childhood
Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Bari (1852 – 1904), morganatically married to Blanche Marconnay, no issue
Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1855 – 1874), married Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, no children, died one year after her marriage
Gennaro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caltagirone (1857 – 1867), died in childhood from cholera five days after his mother Maria Theresa of Austria died from the same illness

Maria Sophie of Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1858, Francesco was betrothed to Maria Sophie of Bavaria, the daughter of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, daughter of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria. Maria Sophie was the younger sister of the better-known Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi) who married Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. On January 8, 1859, a proxy marriage was held at the Court Church of All Saints in the Munich Residenz, the royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs. The couple married in person on February 5, 1859, in Bari, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.

Francesco and Maria Sophie, circa 1865; Credit – Wikipedia

After the loss of the throne of the Two Sicilies, Francesco and Maria Sophia lived in Rome as guests of Pope Pius IX where Francesco maintained a government in exile recognized by some Catholic powers including France, Spain, Austria, and Bavaria. After the Third Italian War of Independence and the Austro-Prussian War weakened his allies, Francesco ended his government in exile. In 1870, the annexation of the Papal States to Italy, including Rome, forced Francesco and Maria Sophie to find refuge in Austria, France, and Bavaria.

Francesco had a congenital condition that prevented him from consummating his marriage. Maria Sophie, after having been patient for some time, began having affairs and she became pregnant. To avoid scandal, the pregnancy was kept secret by Maria Sophie’s mother and her brothers. On November 24, 1862, Maria Sophie gave birth to a daughter in St. Ursula’s Convent in Augsburg, Kingdom of Bavaria. The child was immediately given to the family of the father. A year later, on the advice of her family, Maria Sophie decided to confess the affair to her husband. In addition, Maria Sophie’s brother-in-law Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria intervened. In a letter to Francesco, Franz Joseph attempted to persuade him to fulfill his marital duties. Nearly ten years after his marriage, Francesco finally had surgery that corrected the condition. A daughter was born to joyful parents but sadly, she lived for only three months.

Maria Cristina Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (December 24, 1869 – March 28, 1870)

Garatshausen Castle; Credit – Von 2micha – Eigenes Werk, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8311631

In 1870, Maria Sophie purchased Garatshausen Castle on Lake Starnberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria from her brother Ludwig, and the castle became their home. The former Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies died on December 27, 1894, aged 58, in Arco, where he spent winters, then in Austria-Hungary, now in Italy. He was originally buried with his daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans (link in Italian) in Rome. Upon the death of Francesco, his half-brother Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta became the pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Francesco shortly before his death; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophie survived her husband by thirty-one years, dying at the age of 83 on January 19, 1925, in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. She was buried with her husband and daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans in Rome. In 1984, their remains were transferred to the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the traditional burial site of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in Naples, Italy.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Franz II. (Sizilien) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_II._(Sizilien)> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francis II of the Two Sicilies – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_II_of_the_Two_Sicilies> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, S., 2021. Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-cristina-of-savoy-queen-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francesco II delle Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_II_delle_Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina Pia di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_Pia_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 16 August 2021].

Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria was the second wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. Maria Theresia Isabella was born at Weilburg Castle in Baden bei Wien, Austria, near Vienna, on July 31, 1816. She was the eldest of the seven children and the eldest of the two daughters of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. Her paternal grandparents were Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg and Luise Isabelle of Kirchberg.

Maria Theresa had six younger siblings:

Archduke Albrecht of Austria, Duke of Teschen (1817 – 1895), married Hildegard of Bavaria, had three children
Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria (1818 – 1874), married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, had six children including Maria Christina of Austria who married King Alfonso XII of Spain
Archduke Friedrich of Austria (1821 – 1847), unmarried
Archduke Rudolf of Austria (born and died 1822), died in infancy
Archduchess Maria Karoline of Austria (1825 – 1915), married her first cousin Archduke Rainer of Austria, no children
Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria (1827 – 1894), unmarried, died in a horse accident

Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and his six surviving children, painted after the death of his wife whose bust is on the left. Left to right: Wilhelm Franz, Karl Ferdinand, Maria Theresa, Archduke Karl, Albrecht, Maria Karoline and Friedrich; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1829, Maria Theresa’s mother died at the age of 32 after contracting scarlet fever and pneumonia from her children. Maria Theresa, the eldest child, was thirteen years old and took over the child-rearing role for her siblings who ranged in age from two to twelve years old. With her father and her brother Albrecht, she served as a tutor for her four youngest siblings. From 1834 to 1835, she was abbess of the Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies in Prague, founded in 1755 by Empress Maria Theresa to serve as a religious order for impoverished noblewomen. The noblewomen were not required to take vows of celibacy and were allowed to leave to marry. The Theresian Institution was run by a Princess-Abbess selected by the Holy Roman Emperor and later the Emperor of Austria. By birth, each Princess-Abbess was an Archduchess of Austria.

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

In January 1836, Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died at the age of 23 from childbirth complications after giving birth to a son. The widowed king met Maria Theresa during his stay in Vienna, Austria in July 1836, and they became engaged to strengthen the relations between Austria and the Two Sicilies. Maria Cristina and Ferdinando were married on January 9, 1837, at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Austria.

Maria Theresa became the stepmother of Ferdinando’s one-year-old son:

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies (1836 – 1894), married Maria Sophie in Bavaria; had one daughter

Maria Theresa and Ferdinando II had twelve children:

Luigi of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani (1838 – 1886), married Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria, had one daughter
Alberto of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Castrogiovanni (1839 – 1844), died in childhood
Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta (1841 – 1934), married his first cousin Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had twelve children, the Heads of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies descend from Alfonso
Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1843 – 1871), married Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, had four children including Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination in 1914 sparked the start of World War I
Maria Immaculata Clementina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1844 – 1899), married Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, had ten children
Gaetano of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Girgenti (1846 – 1871), married Infanta Isabel of Spain, no children, suffered from epilepsy and poor health, died by suicide
Giuseppe of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lucera (1848 – 1851), died in childhood
Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1849 – 1882), married Roberto I, Duke of Parma, had twelve children, six of them were mentally disabled, died in childbirth
Vincenzo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Melazzo (1851 – 1854), died in childhood
Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Bari (1852 – 1904), morganatically married to Blanche Marconnay, no issue
Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1855 – 1874), married Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, no children, died one year after her marriage
Gennaro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caltagirone (1857 – 1867), died in childhood from cholera

Ferdinando II and Maria Theresa with their children; Credit – Wikipedia

The court of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies considered Maria Theresa poorly dressed and not their idea of a queen. Maria Theresa disliked her public role as Queen of the Two Sicilies and her life at court. She preferred to spend time in her rooms with her children and doing needlework. Maria Theresa had a good relationship with her husband and her stepson Francesco. Francesco respected his stepmother, the only mother he had ever known, and Maria Theresa considered him her son. Despite not liking her public role, Maria Theresa was interested in politics and advised her husband on many matters.

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies had hesitated for months to have surgery for a strangulated hernia. His hesitancy probably caused his death. Maria Theresa nursed him until he died at the age of 49 at the Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy on May 22, 1859. He was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.

Maria Theresa surrounded by her sons in 1862 (Gennaro is not in the photo); Credit – Wikipedia

During Ferdinando II’s reign, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. the Second War of Italian Independence began shortly before Ferdinando II’s death. During the reign of Ferdinando’s son Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Maria Theresa and her children were among the first to leave Naples. She eventually made her way to Rome which was part of the Papal States and not the new Kingdom of Italy. Pope Pius IX placed the Quirinal Palace in Rome at her disposal.

Maria Theresa in 1866; Credit – Wikipedia

In the summer of 1867, a cholera epidemic broke out in Rome. Maria Theresa and her family left the city and moved to a villa in Albano Laziale, outside of Rome but they did not escape the illness. Both Maria Theresa and her youngest son, ten-year-old Gennaro developed cholera. Maria Theresa survived her husband by eight years, dying at the age of 51 from cholera on August 8, 1867, just five days before her youngest child also died from cholera. Maria Theresa and her son Gennaro were buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Theresia von Österreich (1816–1867) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresia_von_%C3%96sterreich_(1816%E2%80%931867)> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Charles,_Duke_of_Teschen> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_of_Austria_(1816%E2%80%931867)> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa d’Asburgo-Teschen (1816-1867) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_d%27Asburgo-Teschen_(1816-1867)> [Accessed 16 August 2021].

Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies

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Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Cristina of Savoy was the first wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, and has been venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy since her beatification in 2014. Maria Cristina Carlotta Giuseppa Gaetana Efisia was born on November 14, 1812, in Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia in the Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy. She was the youngest of the six daughters and the youngest of the seven children of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. Her paternal grandparents were Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa.

Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia, his wife Maria Theresa, and their daughters: twins Maria Teresa and Maria Anna and Maria Cristina; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Cristina had five sisters and one brother. Two of her sisters died in infancy and her brother died in childhood from smallpox.

Maria Beatrice of Savoy (1792 – 1840), married Francesco IV, Duke of Modena, had four children
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’s husband Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 21, 1832, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Acquasanta in Genoa, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, 20-year-old Maria Cristina married 22-year-old Ferdinando II, King of Two Sicilies. Ferdinando had become King of the Two Sicilies two years earlier upon the death of his father Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies.

Maria Cristina at prayer; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Cristina was shy, modest, reserved, and a very devout Catholic. She found herself living in a court with a lifestyle that was far from her sensitivity. This caused her to feel quite uncomfortable. During the short time that she was Queen of the Two Sicilies, Maria Cristina managed to prevent the carrying out of all death sentences. Maria Cristina was called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She endured her nearly constant illnesses with patience and piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility.

Ferdinando and Maria Cristina had one child:

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies (1836-1894), married Maria Sophie in Bavaria; had one daughter

On January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to her only child, 23-year-old Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications. She was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the traditional burial site for the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, now in Italy. A year after Maria Cristina’s death, Ferdinando married Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. The couple had twelve children.

Tomb of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38973019

In 1859, a cause for the canonization of Maria Cristina as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church was opened. On July 10, 1872, Maria Cristina was declared a Servant of God and on May 6, 1937, she was declared a Venerable Servant of God. On May 3, 2013, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession and approved Maria Cristina’s beatification. She is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy and is one step away from canonization as a saint.

Guests at the Beatification of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy at the Basilica of Santa Chiara; Credit – https://realcasadiborbone.it/en/duke-duchess-castro-attend-beatification-queen-maria-cristina/

On January 25, 2014, the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the burial site of Maria Cristina, was the site of her beatification ceremony. Several thousand people attended the ceremony including the two branches of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies led by Carlos, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain, Duke of Calabria and Carlo, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro. Both branches claim to be Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and this event united them for the first time in fifty years. Carlos, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain, Duke of Calabria, who died the following year, did not attend the beatification and was represented by his wife.

Beatification of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy at the Basilica of Santa Chiara; Credit – https://realcasadiborbone.it/en/duke-duchess-castro-attend-beatification-queen-maria-cristina/

Pope Francis was represented at the beatification ceremony by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Cardinal Sepe Crescenzio, Archbishop of Naples was celebrant, and Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, Grand Prior of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George, a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, was also present. Following the beatification ceremony, members of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies paid their respects at the tomb of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy.

Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Beatification of Maria Cristina of Savoy

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina of Savoy – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_of_Savoy> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 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 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina di Savoia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_di_Savoia> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Realcasadiborbone.it. 2014. Beatification of Queen Maria Cristina of Savoy – Real Casa di Borbone delle Due Sicilie. [online] Available at: <https://realcasadiborbone.it/en/duke-duchess-castro-attend-beatification-queen-maria-cristina/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies

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Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on January 12, 1810, in Palermo, Sicily in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Ferdinando Carlo Maria was the eldest of the six sons and the third of the twelve children of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. His paternal grandparents were Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily, who died before her husband became King of the Two Sicilies. His maternal grandparents were Carlos IV, King of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. Ferdinando I and Carols IV were brothers, both sons of Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.

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

Ferdinando II had eleven siblings. Unusual for the time, they all 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
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
Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1814 – 1898), married Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had ten children
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

Ferdinando had two half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria who died from tuberculosis in 1801:

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

Ferdinando was well-educated by Giuseppe Capocasale (link in Italian), an abbot known by the nickname of “the Christian Socrates“, who became his tutor in 1822. Ferdinando also received a political and military education in local academies. Twenty-year-old Ferdinando II succeeded to the throne of the Two Sicilies upon the death of his father on November 8, 1830. He quickly got to work on reorganizing the government, focused on reducing public debt, and calming the country still affected by the turbulence following the Napoleonic Wars.

Ferdinando’s first wife Maria Cristina of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 21, 1832, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Acquasanta in Genoa, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, Ferdinando married Maria Cristina of Savoy, the daughter of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este.

Ferdinando and Maria Cristina had one child:

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies (1836-1894), married Maria Sophie in Bavaria; had one daughter who died in infancy

On January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to her only child, 23-year-old Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications. She was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. Maria Cristina had been called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She was constantly ill which she patiently endured with her piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility.

The Roman Catholic Church opened a cause for Maria Cristina’s possible canonization as a saint. On July 10, 1872, Maria Cristina was declared to be a Servant of God and on May 6, 1937, she was declared a Venerable Servant of God. On May 3, 2013, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession and approved Maria Cristina’s beatification. Her beatification took place on January 25, 2014, at the Basilica of Santa Chiara where she is buried. She is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy and is one step away from canonization as a saint.

Ferdinando’s second wife Maria Theresa of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

A year after Maria Cristina’s death, Ferdinando married Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. He had met Maria Theresa during his stay in Vienna, Austria in July 1836, and they married on January 9, 1837, at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Austria.

Ferdinando II and his family; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando and Maria Theresa of Austria had twelve children:

Luigi of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani (1838 – 1886), married Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria, had one daughter
Alberto of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Castrogiovanni (1839 – 1844), died in childhood
Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta (1841 – 1934), married his first cousin Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had twelve children, the Heads of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies descend from Alfonso
Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1843 – 1871), married Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, had four children including Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination in 1914 sparked the start of World War I
Maria Immaculata Clementina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1844 – 1899), married Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, had ten children
Gaetano of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Girgenti (1846 – 1871), married Infanta Isabel of Spain, no children, suffered from epilepsy and poor health, died by suicide
Giuseppe of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lucera (1848 – 1851), died in childhood
Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1849 – 1882), married Roberto I, Duke of Parma, had twelve children, six of them were mentally disabled, died in childbirth
Vincenzo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Melazzo (1851 – 1854), died in childhood
Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Bari (1852 – 1904), morganatically married to Blanche Marconnay, no issue
Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1855 – 1874), married Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, no children, died one year after her marriage
Gennaro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caltagirone (1857 – 1867), died in childhood from cholera

The Revolutions of 1848 reached the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and Ferdinando II was forced to grant a constitution to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The goodwill created by the constitution did not last long. Between 1849 and 1851, Ferdinando returned to repressive policies causing many who opposed him to go into exile. An estimated 2,000 suspected revolutionaries or dissidents were jailed.

The attempted assassination of Ferdinando II by Agesilao Milano: Credit – Wikipedia

On December 8, 1856, on feast of the Immaculate Conception, Ferdinando II attended mass in Naples with his family, government officials, and nobles. After the mass, Ferdinando reviewed the troops. During the military review, Agesilao Milano (link in Italian), a soldier who had accused Ferdinando of being a “tyrant from whom the nation had to free itself” wounded the king with a bayonet in an assassination attempt. Milano was arrested and sentenced to death and was hanged five days later.

Ferdinando II on his deathbed; Credit _ Wikipedia

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died at the Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy on May 22, 1859, aged 49 from a strangulated hernia after hesitating for months to have surgery. There is some speculation that his condition could have been related to the assassination attempt. He was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. His second wife Maria Theresa survived her husband by eight years, dying at the age of 51 from cholera on August 8, 1867, just days before her youngest child also died from cholera. She was buried with her husband at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand II. (Sizilien) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II._(Sizilien)> [Accessed 12 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_the_Two_Sicilies> [Accessed 12 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 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 12 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Royal Burial Sites. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/kingdom-of-the-two-sicilies-royal-burial-sites/> [Accessed 12 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinando II delle Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_II_delle_Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 12 August 2021].

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