Maria Clementina of Austria (24 April 1777 – 15 November 1801) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

archduchess Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

and the tenth child and third daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and

Maria Luisa of Spain Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain (Spanish: ''María Luisa'', German: ''Maria Ludovika''; 24 November 1745 – 15 May 1792) was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the spouse of Leopold II, ...

. In 1797 she married her first cousin Prince Francis, Duke of Calabria, heir to the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. She was modest, well educated and kind, becoming popular in her adoptive country.Acton, ''The Bourbons of Naples'', p. 463 Afflicted with frail health, she died of tuberculosis, age twenty four. Her only surviving child was Princess Caroline, Duchess of Berry.

Early life

Maria Clementina Francesca d'Asburgo, arciduchessa d'Austria

Archduchess Maria Clementina was born at the

Villa del Poggio Imperiale Villa del Poggio Imperiale (English: Villa of the Imperial Hill) is a predominantly neoclassical former grand ducal villa in Arcetri, just to the south of Florence in Tuscany, Central Italy. Beginning as a villa of the Baroncelli of Florence, ...

, then located in the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...

, which had been ruled by her father Leopold I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

) since 1765. She was named after

Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony (German: ''Clemens Wenzeslaus August Hubertus Franz Xaver von Sachsen'') (28 September 1739 – 27 July 1812) was a Saxon prince from the House of Wettin and the Archbishop- Elector of Trier from 1768 until 18 ...

, her mother's uncle and brother of

Maria Amalia of Saxony es, María Amalia Cristina Francisca Javiera Flora Walburga , spouse = Charles III of Spain , issue = , issue-link = #Issue , house = Wettin , father = Augustus III of Poland , mother = Maria Josepha of ...

, Maria Clementina's maternal grandmother. Her father was a son of

Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

and her mother a daughter of

Charles III of Spain it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_d ...

and

. Maria Clementina was her parents' tenth child among sixteen children. She was raised in the

where her father ruled and the family lived until 1790 when, at the death of Maria Clementina's paternal uncle,

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

, her father became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the family moved to the court of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In the same year, 1790, she was engaged to Francis, Hereditary Prince of Naples, eldest surviving son of

Ferdinand IV of Naples Ferdinand I (12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand I ...

and his consort,

Maria Carolina of Austria Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia (13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As '' de facto'' ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw th ...

. Prince Francis was the

Heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to both the Neapolitan and Sicilian thrones. They were double first cousins as they shared all their grandparents in common. Their union was the last of three between the Austrian and Neapolitan royal families, the previous two being between Archduke Francis, her oldest brother and

Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily (6 June 1772 – 13 April 1807) was the first Empress of Austria and last Holy Roman Empress as the spouse of Francis II. She was born a Princess of Naples as the eldest daughter of King Ferdinand I of the Two ...

in 1790 after Archduke Ferdinand and Luisa of Naples and Sicily. The

marriage by proxy A proxy wedding or proxy marriage is a wedding in which one or both of the individuals being united are not physically present, usually being represented instead by other persons. If both partners are absent a double proxy wedding occurs. Marriage ...

took place on 19 September 1790. It was a turbulent period with the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

afflicting the Italian peninsula and the actual wedding did not occur for several years. In the meantime, both of Maria Clementina's parents died in 1792, in a short period of time, and her brother Francis became the new Emperor. A truce with France finally allowed Maria Clementina to travel to Naples in 1797. A frigate picked her up in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, and her new family awaited her at

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

where the wedding took place on 26 June 1797. It was a simple event since it was war time.

Hereditary Princess

Maria Clementina was considered to be rather pretty, though unfortunately marked by

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, but was regal in her bearing. "My son loves her passionately and she reciprocates," wrote the Queen of Naples, her mother-in-law, adding that: "It is a pleasure to see them harmonize so well... I am delighted with the Princess, gentle, fresh sensible and accommodating."Vovk, ''In Destiny's Hands'', p. 327 However, Maria Clementina was homesick and her character was sullen and reserved. Some weeks later Queen Maria Carolina added about the couple: "Her husband is her husband two or three times in twenty four hours, a matter which interests her. In spite of this, there is a sadness, a boredom, an invincible disgust. I think it must be due to her health or it is unnatural, she has no taste for anything at all. It is not that she regrets her life in Vienna.... I will do everything for her happiness, although I am sowing amid brambles and on thorny soil. But she is my son's wife. Thanks to my training the young man is very much in love with her as a woman... but this may not last with so much disgust, boredom and no charm of feature, which he is fortunately too nice to notice... I shall try to win her confidence, but I am not sure of succeeding. All her wants are anticipated; nothing is lacking; she is discontented and everybody notices it." Maria Clementina was dignified and kind. Better educated and more intelligent than her placid husband, she dominated him. The couple got along well. "Her husband adores her in every sense of the word. He says she loves him, and assuredly shows and demands many proofs of love" wrote the Queen of Naples. The couple's marital passion astonished the Queen who: "asked heaven to calm their over-excited senses by sending them children".Acton, ''The Bourbons of Naples'', p. 304 Like her husband, Maria Clementina cared little for court life. She preferred family games, moonlit walks on the terrace, and conversation. They had two children. She died in Naples the year after she gave birth to a son. She is thought to have died from

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, leaving behind her daughter and her devastated husband. She was buried in

Basilica of Santa Chiara The Basilica of Saint Clare (''Basilica di Santa Chiara'' in Italian) is a church in Assisi, central Italy. It is dedicated to and contains the remains of Saint Clare of Assisi, a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi and founder of the Order of ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, with her son. After her death, her husband married Infanta Maria Isabel of Spain, again his first cousin, the youngest surviving daughter of

Charles IV of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles III of Spain , mother =Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place = ...

(brother of Maria Clementina's mother) and Maria Luisa of Parma. Her only daughter, Maria Carolina, married

Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the third child and younger son of Charles X, King of France, (whom he predeceased) by his wife Maria Theresa of Savoy. In June 1832, two years after the overt ...

in April 1816. He was the son of

Charles X of France Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

and

Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

. The couple were the parents of the French pretender Henri d'Artois, ''comte de Chambord'' and the

Duchess of Parma Duchess consort of Parma House of Farnese, 1545–1731 House of Bourbon-Anjou, 1731–1735 :None House of Habsburg, 1735–1748 House of Bourbon-Parma, 1748–1802 House of Habsburg-Lorraine, 1814–1847 House of Bourbon-Parma ...

making Maria Clementina an ancestress of the present

Duke of Calabria Duke of Calabria was the traditional title of the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Naples after the accession of Robert of Naples. It was also adopted by the heads of certain Houses that had once claimed the Kingdom of Naples in lieu of the royal ...

and his rival the Duke of Castro.

Issue

Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily french: Marie Caroline Ferdinande Louise , house = Bourbon-Two Sicilies , father = Francis I of the Two Sicilies , mother = Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria , religion = Roman Catholicism , signature = Italian signature of Maria Carolina ...

(5 November 1798 – 17 April 1870) married Prince Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry and had issue. #Prince Ferdinando, Duke of Noto (27 August 1800 – 1 July 1801) died in infancy.

Ancestry

Notes

References

*Acton, Harold. ''The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825)''. Prion books limited, London, 1989 (first published in 1957).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Clementina Of Austria, Archduchess 1777 births 1801 deaths 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Nobility from Florence Austrian princesses House of Habsburg-Lorraine House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Neapolitan princesses Sicilian princesses Burials at the Basilica of Santa Chiara Italian Roman Catholics Hereditary Princesses of Naples Daughters of emperors Children of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings