Maria Clementine of Austria (1798–1881)

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Archduchess Maria Clementine of Habsburg-Lothringen, later Princess or Duchess of Salerno, by Louis Letronne , after 1816

Archduchess Maria Klementine Franziska Josepha of Austria (born March 1, 1798 in Vienna ; † September 3, 1881 at Château Chantilly in Chantilly ) was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lothringen and, by marriage, Princess of Bourbon-Sicily and Princess of Salerno .

Life

Archduchess Maria Klementine was the fifth daughter of Emperor Franz II (1768–1835) and his second wife, Princess Maria Theresa of Naples-Sicily (1772–1807), daughter of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria . Her paternal grandparents were Archduke Peter Leopold of Austria-Tuscany (later Emperor Leopold II) and the Infanta Maria Ludovica of Spain .

Due to the close relationship of their parents, their twelve children were the actual victims of dynastic inbreeding . Five of them did not survive the first few years. Her brother, Ferdinand, later Emperor Ferdinand I , was born with a head of water , was an epileptic and depended on helpful servants and advisers throughout his life. Her sister, Maria Anna, was completely insane and, looked after by a nurse, vegetated in a locked room until her death. The other siblings, including Marie-Louise , the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte , and Franz Karl , father of the future Emperor Franz Joseph I , were of a simple disposition. Her older sister and later Empress of Brazil , Maria Leopoldine , made an exception . Like Archduchess Maria Klementine, she was also blessed with a high level of intelligence, a thirst for knowledge, mental agility and above-average artistic talents.

Maria Klementine, Princess of Salerno, August Grahl

At the instigation of the Austrian State Chancellor Prince Metternich , Archduchess Maria Klementine married her uncle, Prince Leopold of Naples-Sicily , the Prince of Salerno (1790-1851), the sixth son of King Ferdinand I of both Sicilies, on July 28, 1816 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna from the house of Bourbon Sicily and his wife Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria . The mutual relationship resulted in four children, of whom only one daughter reached adulthood:

Princess Maria Klementine accepted Leopold's infidelity with composure, as did the liaison with the dancer Fanny Elßler , daughter of a valet of the composer Joseph Haydn .

After the death of her husband in 1851 she was admitted to the castle of her son-in-law in France, where she continued to reside after the death of her daughter Maria Karolina († 1869).

Princess Maria Klementine died on September 3, 1881 at Chantilly Castle of complications from pneumonia and was buried in the grave chapel of the family members of the House of Orléans (from which her son-in-law was descended), the Chapelle royale Saint-Louis in Dreux .

literature

personal data
SURNAME Maria Klementine of Austria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Maria Clementine of Habsburg-Lothringen; Maria Clementine of Salerno; Maria Klementine Franziska Josepha of Habsburg-Lothringen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Member of the House of Habsburg and by marriage Princess of Salerno
DATE OF BIRTH March 1, 1798
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 1881
Place of death Chantilly