by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2017
Maria Theresia of Austria, Queen of Saxony – source: Wikipedia
Queen Maria Theresia was the wife of King Anton of Saxony. She was born Archduchess Maria Theresia Josepha Charlotte Johanna of Austria, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, on January 14, 1767, the eldest child of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor) and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. Maria Theresia’s paternal grandparents were the formidable and powerful Holy Roman 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. Even though her husband was the nominal Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Theresa wielded real power. Maria Clementina’s maternal grandparents were Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.
She had fifteen younger siblings:
- Franz I, Emperor of Austria (1768-1835) – married (1) Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg, had issue; (2) Princess Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily, had issue; (3) Archduchess Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, no issue; (4) Princess Karoline Auguste of Bavaria, no issue
- Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1769-1824) – married (1) Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily, had issue; (2) Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, no issue
- Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1770-1809) – unmarried
- Archduke Charles of Austria (1771-1847) – married Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg, had issue
- Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria (1772-1795) – unmarried
- Archduke Albrecht of Austria (1773-1774) – died in infancy
- Archduke Maximilian of Austria (1774-1778) – died in childhood
- Archduke Joseph of Austria (1776-1847) – married (1) Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia, no issue; (2) Princess Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had issue; (3) Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg, had issue
- Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria (1777-1801) – married the future King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies, had issue
- Archduke Anton of Austria (1779-1835) – unmarried
- Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780-1798) – unmarried
- Archduke Johann of Austria (1782-1852) – married Countess Anna Plochl, had issue
- Archduke Rainer of Austria (1783-1853) – married Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignan, had issue
- Archduke Ludwig of Austria (1784-1864) – unmarried
- Archduke Rudolph of Austria (1788-1831) – unmarried
Maria Theresia and her siblings were raised by their parents instead of a household of servants and governesses – something quite unusual for the time. Despite their father’s position, they were brought up very simply and kept away from the pomp and ceremony of court. As Maria Theresia grew up, she became a very private person and enjoyed a simple and religious home life.
Anton of Saxony. source: Wikipedia
On October 18, 1787, in Dresden, Maria Theresia married, as his second wife, Prince Anton of Saxony. They were previously married by proxy in Florence on September 8. At the time, Anton was heir-presumptive to his brother, the Elector of Saxony, who later became King Friedrich August I of Saxony. However, it was assumed that Friedrich August would have children, and Anton would not inherit the throne which pleased the very private princess. The couple had four children, none of whom lived past infancy:
- Maria Ludovika (1795-1796) – died in infancy
- Friedrich August (born and died 1796) – died at birth
- Maria Johanna (1798-1799) – died in infancy
- Maria Theresia (born and died 1799) – died at birth
After the death of her sister-in-law, Princess Caroline of Parma (married to Prince Maximilian of Saxony) in 1804, Maria Theresia helped to raise Caroline’s children.
Dresden Cathedral; Credit – By User:Kolossos – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5032853
Upon her brother-in-law’s death on May 5, 1827, Maria Theresia and her husband became King and Queen of Saxony. Sadly, her tenure as Queen was short-lived. Just six months after her husband’s accession, Queen Maria Theresia died in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, on November 7, 1827. She is buried in the Wettin Crypt at the Dresden Cathedral, formerly known as the Katholische Hofkirche (Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony).
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Saxony Resources at Unofficial Royalty