Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of Sardinia
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Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa
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Maria Theresa of Austria (21 March 1801 – 12 January 1855) was Queen of Sardinia by marriage to King Charles Albert of Sardinia.
She was a daughter of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Luisa of Naples and Sicily. She was named after her great-grandmother Empress Maria Theresa. In 1817, she married Charles Albert of Sardinia and subsequently became the Queen of Sardinia upon her husband's accession to the throne in 1831.
Life
Early life
Maria Theresia Franziska Josepha Johanna Benedikta (German) was a member of the Tuscan branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and an Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Bohemia, Hungary and Tuscany by birth. She was born in Vienna during the exile of her parents and their many children, due to Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Tuscany. Her father was Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and her mother was Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily, who died giving birth to a stillborn son one year after Maria Theresa's birth.
In 1805, Ferdinand III was made Elector of the Electorate of Salzburg, and the family moved to Würzburg.
Marriage
Maria Theresa married in Florence on 30 September 1817 to Charles Albert, prince of Carignano. A wedding mass was celebrated on 2 October in Florence Cathedral. In Italian, her name was Maria Teresa Francesca Giuseppa Giovanna Benedetta.[1] From her marriage, she was known as the Princess of Carignano.
She was described as innocent, naive and shy.[2]
In March 1820, an heir was born, followed by two more children, the latter of which died in infancy. In 1824, Charles Albert was recognised as heir to the throne by King Charles Felix.
Queen of Sardinia
Maria Theresa became Queen of Sardinia in 1831, when Charles Albert succeeded Charles Felix, who died without issue.
During the reign of her spouse, Maria Theresa did not involve herself in state affairs, reportedly devoting her time solely to her family and religion.[3] She was described as a strict Catholic but also as a spontaneous and affectionate family oriented person.
A convinced Catholic, a fully converted fervent Italian Nationalist, and a new brand conservative who believed in checks and balances on royal power, she had a great influence on her eldest son.
Later life
After the death of her husband in 1849 in Porto, the Queen mother, Maria Theresa, stopped appearing in public.
While she never involved in politics as queen, she did engage in state affairs during the reign of her son. When the reforms against the privileges of the Church was introduced by the Cavour government in 1854, she united with her daughter-in-law to pressure her son to prevent the reform with the argument that the reform was hostile against the Church and thus unacceptable for a Christian.[4] The effort was, however, unsuccessful.
She died in Turin, and is buried in the Basilica of Superga.
Issue
- Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso (14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878); married Adelaide of Austria and had issue. He would become the first king of united Italy.
- Ferdinando Maria Alberto Amedeo Filiberto Vincenzo (15 November 1822 – 10 February 1855); married Princess Elisabeth of Saxony and had issue. He became Duke of Genoa.
- Maria Cristina (4 July 1826 – 25 July 1827); died in infancy.
Genealogy
Even among the frequently tangled genealogies of European nobility, the ancestry of Maria Theresa of Tuscany was unusual. In fact, her parents had the same four grandparents, so they were double cousins when they married: this practice of alliances between cousins was still common at that time, given that the families (and notably, including the parents and grandparents of Maria Theresa) had a lot of children, and this avoided dividing the benefit of heirs too much through alliances and their descendants, and the multiplication of nobility titles to satisfy the various claims by descendants.
As a consequence, her grandparents consisted of two brother/sister pairs. Her paternal grandfather, Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, was the brother of her maternal grandmother, Maria Carolina of Austria. Matching that combination, her paternal grandmother, Maria Luisa of Spain, was the sister of her maternal grandfather, Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. Because of this she only had four great-grandparents rather than the usual eight. (Although not so unusual, it may be worth pointing out that her grandmothers and great-grandmothers, as well as her mother or herself and her sister, or her daughter were all surnamed "Maria".)
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References
- ^ Calendario generale pe' regii stati. Ministry of the Interior, Kingdom of Sardinia. 1847.
- ^ Lorenzo del Boca, Savoia boia - L'Italia unita come non ce l'hanno raccontata, Piemme, Marzo 2018.
- ^ MARIA TERESA d'Asburgo-Lorena, regina di Sardegna. Enciclopedia Italiana (1934)
- ^ MARIA TERESA d'Asburgo-Lorena, regina di Sardegna. Enciclopedia Italiana (1934)
Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of Sardinia Cadet branch of the House of Lorraine Born: 21 March 1801 Died: 12 January 1855 | ||
Italian royalty | ||
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Preceded by | Queen consort of Sardinia 27 April 1831 – 23 March 1849 | Succeeded by |
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- t
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- Eleanor, Queen of Portugal and France*
- Isabella, Queen of Denmark and Norway*
- Maria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia*
- Catherine, Queen of Portugal*
- Isabella Clara Eugenia, Co-sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands**
- Catalina Micaela, Duchess of Savoy**
- Anna, Queen of Spain
- Elisabeth, Queen of France
- Margaret (1567–1633)
- Maria (1584–1649)
- Anna, Holy Roman Empress
- Anna, Queen of Poland
- Maria Christina, Princess of Transylvania
- Catherine Renata
- Gregoria Maximiliana
- Eleanor (1582–1620)
- Margaret, Queen of Spain
- Constance, Queen of Poland
- Maria Maddalena, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
- Anna, Queen of France**
- María**
- Maria Anna, Holy Roman Empress**
- Margarita**
- Maria Anna, Electress of Bavaria
- Cecilia Renata, Queen of Poland
- Isabella Clara, Duchess of Mantua
- Maria Leopoldine, Holy Roman Empress
- Maria Antonia, Electress of Bavaria
- Maria Elisabeth
- Maria Anna, Queen of Portugal
- Maria Theresa
- Maria Josepha
- Maria Magdalena
- Maria Josepha, Queen of Poland
- Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress
- Maria Theresa
- Princess Maria Anna of Lorraine
- Maria Elisabeth^
- Maria Anna^
- Maria Carolina^
- Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen^
- Maria Elisabeth^
- Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma^
- Johanna^
- Maria Josepha^
- Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples^
- Maria Antonia, Queen of France^
- Maria Theresa
- Maria Theresia, Queen of Saxony^
- Maria Anna^
- Maria Clementina, Duchess of Calabria^
- Maria Amalia^
- Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia#
- Maria Leopoldine, Electress of Bavaria#
- Maria Ludovika, Empress of Austria#
- Marie Louise, Empress of the French
- Maria Leopoldina, Empress of Brazil
- Clementina, Princess of Salerno
- Marie Caroline, Crown Princess of Saxony
- Maria Anna
- Maria Luisa^
- Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia^
- Maria Theresa, Queen of the Two Sicilies
- Maria Caroline
- Hermine
- Elisabeth Franziska
- Marie Henriette, Queen of the Belgians
- Adelaide, Queen of Sardinia
- Maria Theresa, Countess of Chambord#
- Maria Beatrix, Countess of Montizón#
- Maria Anna
- Princess Auguste Ferdinande of Bavaria^
- Maria Isabella, Countess of Trapani^
- Maria Luisa, Princess of Isenburg-Büdingen^
- Mathilda
- Maria Christina, Queen of Spain
- Maria Dorothea, Duchess of Orléans
- Margaretha Klementine, Princess of Thurn and Taxis
- Maria Theresa, Queen of Bavaria#
- Sophie
- Princess Gisela of Bavaria
- Marie Valerie
- Margarete Sophie, Duchess of Württemberg
- Maria Annunciata
- Princess Elisabeth of Liechtenstein
- Maria Antonietta^
- Luise, Crown Princess of Saxony^
- Maria Theresa^
- Princess Karoline Marie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha^
- Princess Maria Christina of Salm-Salm
- Princess Maria Anna of Bourbon Parma
- Maria Henrietta, Princess of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst
- Princess Isabella of Bavaria
- Eleonora
- Renata, Princess Radziwill
- Mechthildis, Princess Czartoryski
- Elisabeth Marie, Princess of Windisch-Graetz
- Helena, Duchess of Württemberg^
- Rosa, Duchess of Württemberg^
- Dolores^
- Maria Inmaculata^
- Margarita, Marchioness Taliani di Marchio^
- Princess Maria Antonia^
- Assunta^
- Elisabeth, Countess of Waldburg-Zeil^
- Hedwig, Countess of Stolberg-Stolberg^
- Margaret, Princess of Monteleone
- Ilona, Duchess of Mecklenburg
- Adelheid
- Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg
- Princess Elisabeth of Liechtenstein
- * also an infanta of Spain
- ** also an infanta of Spain and Portugal
- ^ also a princess of Tuscany
- # also a princess of Modena