Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony (Maria Josepha Amalia Beatrix Xaveria Vincentia Aloysia Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Anna Apollonia Johanna Nepomucena Walburga Theresia Ambrosia; 6 December 1803 – 18 May 1829) was

Queen of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

as the third wife of King

Ferdinand VII of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

. She was the youngest daughter of

Prince Maximilian of Saxony A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

(1759–1838) and his first wife,

Princess Carolina of Parma en, Caroline Mary Theresa Josepha of Bourbon-Parmagerman: Karoline Marie Theresia Josefa von Bourbon-Parmafrench: Caroline Marie Thérèse Josèphe de Bourbon-Parme , birth_date = , birth_place = Ducal Palace of Colorno, Parma , death_date ...

(1770–1804), daughter of Duke Ferdinand of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

. She was a member of the house of Wettin.

Childhood

Princess Maria Josepha Amalia was born in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, Germany, to

and

Maximilian, Crown Prince of Saxony , image = El príncipe Maximiliano de Sajonia (Palacio Real de Madrid).jpg , caption = Portrait by Vicente López Portaña (1825) , spouse = , issue = , house = Wettin , father = Frederick Christi ...

. Maria lost her mother when she was only a few months old; due to this, her father sent her to a convent near the

Elbe river The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

, where she was brought up by nuns. As a result, Maria had a strict religious upbringing and was a fervent

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

all her life. Since King Ferdinand VII of Spain was widowed and looking for a wife, Maria's father, Crown Prince Maximilian, suggested that his youngest daughter Maria could marry him. The marriage was soon negotiated by the Marquis de Cerrlvo. The king was reportedly enthralled by her, and decided to marry her.

Queen of Spain

King Ferdinand and Princess Maria married on 20 October 1819, in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Henceforth, Maria was known as the queen consort of Spain. Although the new queen was young, naive and inexperienced, the king fell in love with her because of her kind demeanour. After the king's two childless marriages, there was great pressure for the Bourbon dynasty in Spain to ensure that King Ferdinand VII had an heir. On the wedding night, Maria was terrified since she had been educated in a very religious environment, thus never being told anything about sexuality. After Ferdinand entered her chambers completely naked, she ran out of the room screaming in fear, which angered her husband. Maria returned to her chambers moments later, after some convincing from her sister-in-law

Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal Infanta Maria Francisca of Braganza (; en, Mary Frances); full name: ''Maria Francisca de Assis da Maternidade Xavier de Paula e de Alcântara Antónia Joaquina Gonzaga Carlota Mónica Senhorinha Sotera e Caia de Bourbon e Bragança''; 22 April ...

, but she was so deeply terrified she urinated and defecated on herself just before intercourse, further angering Ferdinand and preventing the marriage from being consummated. After the failed wedding night, Maria refused to sleep with the king for a long time. It took a personal letter sent by

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

in order to convince the queen that sexual relations between spouses were not contrary to the morality of Catholicism. She finally agreed to share the bed with her husband and consummate the marriage, on the condition that they both pray before carrying out the sexual act, which he accepted without objection. Nevertheless, the marriage remained childless and Maria Josepha Amalia withdrew from public life, with long stays in the Palace of

Aranjuez Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...

, in

La Granja de San Ildefonso San Ildefonso (), La Granja (), or La Granja de San Ildefonso, is a town and municipality in the Province of Segovia, in the Castile and León autonomous region of central Spain. It is located in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama mounta ...

and the

Royal Palace of Riofrio Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

La_reina_María_Josefa_Amalia_de_Sajonia_(Museo_del_Prado)

She died as a result of fevers on 18 May 1829 in

, leaving her husband heartbroken, and was buried in

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

. Her husband remarried for the fourth time to

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies ( it, Maria Cristina Ferdinanda di Borbone, Principessa delle Due Sicilie, es, link=no, María Cristina de Borbón, Princesa de las Dos Sicilias; 27 April 1806 – 22 August 1878) was Queen of Spain from 1829 ...

who eventually gave birth to the future

Queen Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

Ancestry

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Josepha Amalia Of Saxony 1803 births 1829 deaths Nobility from Dresden German Roman Catholics House of Wettin Regents of Spain Spanish royal consorts Saxon princesses Burials in the Pantheon of Infantes at El Escorial 19th-century Spanish women 19th-century Spanish people 19th-century German women 19th-century German people Albertine branch