by Scott Mehl 
© Unofficial Royalty 2013

photo credit Wikipedia

We’ve often talked about King Peter II of Yugoslavia being the only European monarch buried in the United States. After being deposed, he settled in the United States. King Peter died in 1970 and was buried at the Saint Sava Monastery Church in Libertyville, Illinois. Recently, his remains were repatriated to Serbia where they will be reburied at the Serbian Royal Family Mausoleum along with several other members of the Yugoslavian/Serbian royal family.

However… not many people know that there is also an Empress buried in Philadelphia!

Ana María Josefa Ramona de Huarte y Muñiz (1786-1861) was the Empress Consort of the first Mexican Emperor, Agustín de Iturbide. The daughter of Spanish nobility, Ana María married Agustín in 1805. Later, after the Mexican War of Independence, he was proclaimed President, and then the first Emperor of Mexico in 1822. However, his reign was short-lived and he abdicated in March 1823. The family went into exile in Tuscany and then London. In 1824, Agustín was encouraged to return to Mexico, however, he was immediately arrested and executed. Ana María was allowed to leave Mexico and settled in the United States, even receiving an annual pension from the Mexican government for many years.

She initially settled in New Orleans, followed by Baltimore, Washington DC, and then finally in Philadelphia. The former Empress of Mexico died in March 1861 and was buried at the Church of Saint John the Evangelist in Philadelphia.

Who knew?!

Wikipedia: Ana María de Huarte y Muñiz

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