Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1773–1832)

Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, later Queen of Sardinia-Piedmont

Maria Theresa of Austria-Este; unknown miniature painting around 1775

Maria Theresia Josepha Johanna of Austria-Este (born November 1, 1773 in Milan , † March 29, 1832 in Turin ) was Queen of Sardinia-Piedmont from 1802 to 1821 .

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 whom she was named), and his wife Maria Beatrix d'Este , heiress of the Duchy of Modena .

At the age of 14, Maria Theresa was chosen to be the wife of the 28-year-old Prince Viktor Emanuel, who later became King Viktor Emanuel I of Sardinia-Piedmont. When choosing a bride, she had to meet a number of criteria: Information about the princess's beauty, skin color, height, health, teeth, expression, character, education, manners, religion and lifestyle was collected. It was also important to know whether she had already survived smallpox or at least had been vaccinated against it. Eventually she was given preference over a French noblewoman. The wedding took place on June 29, 1788 in Milan per procuram and actually on April 25, 1789 in Novara , whereupon Maria Theresa made her solemn entry into Turin the next day.

progeny

Maria Theresa gave birth to seven children to her husband:

• Maria Beatrice (1792–1840) ∞ Francis IV Duke of Modena
• Maria Adelaide (October 1, 1794 - March 9, 1802), Princess of Sardinia,
• Karl Emanuel (born November 3, 1796 - † August 9, 1799), Count of Vercelli,
• Daughter (December 20, 1800 - January 10, 1801)
• Maria Theresia (1803–1879) ∞ Duke Charles II. Ludwig of Parma and Lucca
• Maria Anna (1803–1884), twin sister of the previous, ∞ Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria;
• Maria Christina (1812–1836) ∞ Ferdinand II. King of Sicily

However, the only son died of smallpox at the age of two. Since Viktor Emanuel's brother and successor, Karl Felix , also remained without a son, the male line died out. The second youngest daughter married the epileptic and moronic Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I , whom she cared for.

Queen of Sardinia-Piedmont

When Napoleon's troops invaded Piedmont in 1798 , the royal family had to withdraw first to Tuscany and then to Sardinia . There Maria Theresa became queen on June 4, 1802 after her brother-in-law Karl Emanuel IV abdicated in favor of her husband. The Redoute Marie-Thérèse is named after her.

Because of the loss of Piedmont, the royal family stayed in Sardinia until the fall of Napoleon and did not return to the royal seat of Turin until 1814. Maria Theresa was greeted enthusiastically at first, but soon aroused the discontent of her subjects, as she wanted to reverse all measures initiated under the previous French rule. She also treated Napoleon's former servants with contempt. This behavior perhaps contributed to the outbreak of the 1821 revolution in Piedmont. Insurgents then proclaimed a new constitution based on the model of the Spanish constitution. During these troubles the queen was also on the innermost council. She agreed to act as regent if necessary. But on March 13, 1821, the king laid down the crown in favor of his younger brother Karl Felix and hurriedly left for Nice , where Maria Theresa followed him. Later she lived with her husband in the castle of Moncalieri near Turin.

Widowhood and death

Victor Emanuel died on January 10, 1824 at the age of 65. His widow retired to Genoa , where she acquired the Doria-Tursi palace . She tried to persuade the king, her brother-in-law Karl Felix, to draw up a will that would have made Duke Francis IV of Modena, the husband of her eldest daughter Maria Beatrice, heir to the throne of Sardinia-Piedmont. But Karl Felix steadfastly refused and left Karl-Albert , Prince of Carignan, as his successor. Due to the resulting tensions, the queen widow stayed away from the court for a long time and did not return to Turin until 1831, when her daughter Maria Anna married the Hungarian king and future emperor Ferdinand I.

The next year Maria Theresa died quite unexpectedly and was buried at the side of her husband in the Basilica di Superga in Turin.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Habsburg, Maria Theresia von Este . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 7th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1861, p. 82 ( digitized version ).
• Brigitte Hamann : The Habsburgs. A biographical lexicon . Verlag Carl Ueberreuter, Vienna 1988, p. 345 f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Genealogy of the House of Savoy ( Memento from March 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

predecessor	Office	Successor
Clothilde of France	Queen of Sardinia-Piedmont 1802–1821	Maria Christina of Sicily