Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867)

For other people named Maria Theresa of Austria, see Maria Theresa of Austria (disambiguation).

Maria Theresa of Austria
File:Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867), Queen of the Two Sicilies.jpg
Queen consort of the Two Sicilies
Consort	27 January 1837 – 22 May 1859
Born	(1816-07-31)31 July 1816 Vienna, Austrian Empire
Died	Albano Laziale, Italy
Burial	Basilica of Santa Chiara, Naples
Spouse	Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Issue	Prince Louis, Count of Trani Prince Albert Maria, Count of Castrogiovanni Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta Maria Annunciata, Archduchess Charles Louis of Austria Maria Immaculata, Archduchess Karl Salvator of Austria Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti Prince Giuseppe, Count of Lucera Maria Pia, Duchess of Parma Prince Vincenzo, Count of Melazzo Prince Pasquale, Count of Bari Princess Maria Immacolata, Countess of Bardi Prince Januarius, Count of Caltagirone
Full name Maria Theresia Isabella
House	House of Bourbon House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Mother	Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg
Religion	Roman Catholic

Maria Theresa of Austria (Maria Theresia Isabella; 31 July 1816 – 8 August 1867) was the second wife of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. She was the eldest daughter of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg.

Her paternal grandparents were Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Frederick William of Nassau-Weilburg (1768–1816) and his wife Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg.

Queen

On 27 January 1837, Maria Theresa married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. The bride was almost twenty-one years old and the groom twenty-seven.

Queen Maria Theresa is described as badly dressed and did not answer to the ideal of a regal person: she disliked her public role and life at court and preferred to confine herself to her private rooms dedicated to needlework and her children. She had a good relationship to both her spouse and her stepson Francis: her stepson respected her and she used to demonstratively call him her son. Maria Theresa was interested in politics: she is known to have acted as the king's advisor and to have influenced him to be strict, and when she could not be present at the reception of officials and wished to hear the conversation, she listened to the talk behind the door. She nursed Ferdinand on his death bed.

Queen Dowager

At the death of her spouse, she intended to continue her political activity by being the advisor to her stepson Francis, the new monarch. Francis was willing, and her authoritarian policy has been considered to contribute to the public discontent which lead to the abolishment of the Kingdom of Naples. Francis' spouse Maria Sophie of Bavaria, however, disputed her influence and Francis had a difficult position in the conflict between his wife and stepmother, without being able to satisfy either. Maria Sophia informed Francis about a plot created by Maria Theresa with the attempt to put the biological son of Maria Theresa on the throne, but Francis chose to believe Maria Theresa when she swore her innocence. It was not until the revolts against the monarchy had already begun that Francis decided to listen to the advice of his wife rather than his stepmother. Maria Theresa was among the first to leave Naples during the revolt: first to Gaeta with her children and advisors, and then to Rome. She resided in the same palace that Francis and Maria Sophia would use when they arrived. She died from cholera, nursed by her stepson Francis, who mourned her greatly.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Lodovico, Count of Trani	1 August 1838	8 June 1886	Married Mathilde Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria, sister of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Their only daughter, Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, married Prince Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
Alberto, Count of Castrogiovanni	17 September 1839	12 July 1844	Died in childhood.
Alfonso, Count of Caserta	28 March 1841	26 May 1934	Married his first cousin Princess Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and has issue. The current lines of Bourbon-Two Sicilies descend from him.
Maria Annunciata of the Two Sicilies	24 March 1843	4 May 1871	Married Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria.
Maria Immaculata of the Two Sicilies	14 April 1844	18 February 1899	Married Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany.
Gaetano, Count of Girgenti	12 January 1846	26 November 1871	In 1868, he married Isabel, Infanta of Spain (eldest daughter of Queen Isabella II of Spain) and was created Infante of Spain.
Giuseppe, Count of Lucera	4 March 1848	28 September 1851	Died in childhood.
Maria Pia of the Two Sicilies	21 August 1849	29 September 1882	Married Roberto I Duke of Parma and Piacenza.
Vincenzo, Count of Melazzo	26 April 1851	13 October 1854	Died in childhood.
Pasquale, Count of Bari	15 September 1852	21 December 1904	Married morganatically to Blanche Marconnay.
Maria Louisa of the Two Sicilies	21 January 1855	23 February 1874	Married Prince Henry of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi.
Gennaro, Count of Caltagirone	28 February 1857	13 August 1867	Died in childhood.

Ancestry

Family of Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867)

16. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine               8. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor                       17. Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans               4. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor                             18. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor               9. Maria Theresa of Austria                       19. Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel               2. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen                                   20. Philip V of Spain               10. Charles III of Spain                       21. Elisabeth of Parma               5. Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain                             22. Augustus III of Poland               11. Maria Amalia of Saxony                       23. Maria Josepha of Austria               1. Maria Theresa of Austria                                         24. Charles Augustus, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg               12. Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg                       25. Princess Auguste Friederike of Nassau-Idstein               6. Frederick William, Duke of Nassau                             26. William IV, Prince of Orange               13. Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau                       27. Anne, Princess Royal               3. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg                                   28. Wilhelm Ludwig, Landgrave of Kirchberg               14. Georg, Landgrave of Kirchberg, Count of Sayn-Hachenburg                       29. Countess Luise of Dhaun               7. Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg                             30. Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz               15. Countess Elisabeth Augusta Reuss of Greiz                       31. Konradine Eleonore, Princess Reuss of Köstritz

External links

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