Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia
Maria Theresia Josepha Johanna of Austria -Este ( born November 1, 1773 in Milan, † March 29, 1832 in Turin ) was from 1802 to 1821 Queen of Sardinia - Piedmont.
Origin and Marriage
Maria Theresa was the daughter of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Karl Anton, Governor-General of Lombardy and son of Empress Maria Theresa (after which it was named), and his wife Maria Beatrice d' Este, heiress of the Duchy of Modena.
As a 15 - year-old Maria Theresa became the wife of the already 30 -year-old Prince Victor Emmanuel, the later King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia - Piedmont, determined. She had to meet a number of criteria for the choice of a bride: So information on beauty, color, size, health, teeth, expression, character, education, manners, religion and way of life of the princess had been collected. It was also important to provide information as to whether they had already survived smallpox or had been vaccinated at least against it. Finally, she was given the preference to a French nobleman. The wedding took place on 29 June 1788 in Milan by procuram and on April 25, 1789 in Novara actually occurred, then the next day Maria Theresa held her solemn entry into Turin.
Progeny
Maria Theresa gave birth to her husband seven children:
- Mary Beatrice (1792-1840) ∞ Franz IV Duke of Modena
- Maria Adelaide ( * October 1, 1794, † March 9, 1802 ), Princess of Sardinia,
- Charles Emmanuel (* November 3, 1796; † August 9, 1799 ), Count of Vercelli,
- Daughter ( * December 20, 1800; † January 10, 1801 )
- Maria Theresia (1803-1879) ∞ Duke Karl Ludwig II of Parma and Lucca
- Maria Anna (1803-1884), twin sister of the preceding, ∞ Ferdinand I Emperor of Austria;
- Maria Christina (1812-1836) ∞ Ferdinand II, King of Sicily
However, the only son died at the age of two, of smallpox. Since Victor Emmanuel's brother and successor, Charles Felix, had no son, the family died out in the male line. The second youngest daughter married the epileptic and feeble-minded Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I, she used the self-sacrificing.
Queen of Sardinia - Piedmont
As Napoleon's troops invaded in 1798 in Piedmont, the royal family initially had to Tuscany, then retreat to Sardinia. There, Maria Theresa was born on June 4, 1802 queen after her brother Charles Emmanuel IV had abdicated in favor of her husband. The Redoute Marie -Thérèse is named after her.
Because of the loss of the Piedmont, the royal family remained until the fall of Napoleon in Sardinia and went until 1814 in the residence city of Turin. Maria Theresa was initially greeted enthusiastically, but soon attracted the dissatisfaction of their subjects, as they wanted to make all led under the previous French rule measures reversed as possible. They also treated the former servant of Napoleon with contempt. This behavior was perhaps at the outbreak of the Revolution of 1821 in Piedmont. Insurgents then proclaimed a new constitution modeled after the Spanish Constitution. During these riots the queen belonged to the innermost advice. She agreed, if necessary, to act as regent. But the King already put on 13 March 1821, the crown in favor of his younger brother Charles Felix down and went hurriedly to Nice, where Maria Theresa followed him. Later she lived with her husband in the Castle of Moncalieri near Turin.
Widowhood and death
Victor Emmanuel died on January 10, 1824 at the age of 65 years. His widow retired to Genoa, where they bought the palace Doria Tursi. She sought the king, her brother Charles Felix, to move to the drafting of a will, which would have the Duke Francis IV of Modena, the husband of her eldest daughter Maria Beatrice, appointed heir to the throne of Sardinia - Piedmont. But Charles Felix steadfastly refused and left Charles -Albert, Prince of Carignan, as his successor. Due to the resulting tensions have arisen the Queen Dowager stayed away from the farm long and only came back to Turin in 1831, when her daughter Maria Anna married the King of Hungary, later to become Emperor Ferdinand I..
Next year Maria Theresa died quite unexpectedly and was buried alongside her husband in the Basilica di Superga in Turin.