Category Archives: Former Monarchies

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, had four children including King Ludwig III 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, while ill with typhoid fever, Anna miscarried a daughter. 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.

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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

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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.

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 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, 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, Ferdinando 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 Ferdinando IV, 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.

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

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

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.

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse was head of the House of Hesse, and pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine from 1980 until his death in 2013.

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse, Head of the House of Hesse; photo: Wikipedia

Moritz Friedrich Karl Emanuel Humbert, Prince of Hesse-Kassel, was born at the Castle of Racconigi in Italy on August 6, 1926. He was the eldest child of Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse and Princess Mafalda of Savoy. Moritz had three younger siblings:

Heinrich of Hesse-Kassel (1927) – unmarried
Otto of Hesse-Kassel (1937) – married (1) Angela von Doering, no issue; (2) Elisabeth Bonker, no issue
Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel (1940) – married Count Friedrich von Oppersdorff, had issue

Moritz with his mother and younger brother. photo: Wikipedia

Raised primarily in Italy, Moritz returned to Germany in 1943 and served briefly in the German forces. That year, both of his parents were arrested by the Nazis and placed in different concentration camps. His mother died in 1943 as a result of injuries after the Buchenwald concentration camp was bombed. His father was released but then taken into custody by Allied forces until his eventual release in 1947. After his military service, Moritz studied agriculture and took over the administration of the family’s estate at Gut Panker in Schleswig-Holstein (link in German).

In 1960, Moritz was adopted by his distant relative Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine. Ludwig had no children and would be the last member of the House of Hesse and by Rhine. This adoption ensured that the former grand ducal family’s estates and assets would remain in the Hesse family upon his death.

Embed from Getty Images

In June 1964, Moritz married Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, the daughter of Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Margareta Fouché d’Otrante. The couple had four children before divorcing in 1974:

Mafalda (1965) – married (1) Enrico dei Conti Marone Cinzano, no issue; (2) Carlo Galdo, has issue; (3) Ferdinando Peretti, has issue
Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse (1966) – married Countess Floria Franziska of Faber-Castell, has issue
Elena (1967) – unmarried, has issue
Philip (1970) – married Laetitia Bechtoff, has issue

Moritz succeeded his father as Head of the House of Hesse and pretender to the former grand ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine in 1980. Having also inherited the holdings of the former House of Hesse and by Rhine some years earlier, Moritz contributed many of these assets and much of his vast personal art collection to the Hesse Family Foundation which oversees and manages the family’s estates and collections. These include the Schlosshotel Kronberg, which was originally built as Schloss Friedrichshof by his great-grandmother, Empress Friedrich (nee Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom); the Prinz von Hessen winery; Gut Panker; and Schloss Wolfsgarten (which Moritz inherited from Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine).

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse died in Frankfurt on May 23, 2013. Following his funeral at St. John’s Church in Kronberg, he was buried in the family cemetery on the grounds of the former Schloss Friedrichshof.

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

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.

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