Princess Maria Annunciata Isabella Filomena Sabasia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Maria Annunziata Isabella Filomena Sabasia, Principessa di Borbone delle Due Sicilie''; 24 March 1843 – 4 May 1871) was a political figure from the

House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, Spanish Bourbons that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate ma ...

. In 1862 she married Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, however, their marriage was short-lived due to her death from tuberculosis in 1871. She is known for being the mother of

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

, whose assassination in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

precipitated the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Childhood (1843-1861)

Maria Annunciata Isabella Filomena Sabasia, known as Maria Annunciata to the public and “Ciolla” to her family, was born on 24 March 1843 at the

Royal Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( it, Reggia di Caserta ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Europ ...

to King

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II ( it, Ferdinando Carlo; scn, Ferdinannu Carlu; nap, Ferdinando Carlo; 12 January 1810 – 22 May 1859) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death in 1859. Family Ferdinand was born in Palermo to King Francis I of the T ...

and his wife, Archduchess

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

. She was the fourth of their twelve children, and the eldest daughter. She also had a half-brother,

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

, from his father's first marriage. Throughout her childhood and adulthood, Maria was known to be "calm, modest and reserved", while her mother enjoyed social life.

The death of Ferdinand

In 1859, Ferdinand, Maria’s father, died, and his older brother Francis claimed the throne of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

. His reign ended in 1860 during the

Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Ma ...

lead by

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

, who overthrew the monarchy, and the people voted to join the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, under King

Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas , house = Savoy , father = Charles Albert of Sardinia , mother = Maria Theresa of Austria , religion = Roman Catholicism , image_size = 252px , succession1 ...

. Upon the invasion, Maria Theresa moved the family towards Geatea. The family stayed in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

after many weeks of traveling. There the family lived with

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

at the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzian ...

. Then the family left for the

Farnese Palace Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French emb ...

Marriage (1862-1870)

During the family’s stay in Rome, Maria was wedded to Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria. 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 16 October 1862 in Rome, and the wedding itself took place on 21 October 1862 in Venice. It was reported that the couple fell in love instantly upon seeing each other for the first time, though there is nothing to back this claim up. The marriage itself appeared to be a happy one. Maria_Anunciata_de_Bourbon-Duas_Sicílias

Maria_Anunciata_de_Bourbon-Duas_Sicílias

One day after the wedding, however, Maria suffered from a seizure during mass. This in return caused many to worry over the Princess’s health, and the fact the seizure had taken place in front of members of the reigning

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. Later on it was revealed Maria was afflicted with

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 ...

. Maria suppressed her illness and attended balls, theater and opera.

Children

Despite Maria’s poor health, she gave birth to four children:

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

in 1863, Otto Franz in 1865, Ferdinand Karl in 1868 and Margarete Sophie in 1870.

Death and burial

After the birth of Margarete Sophie in 1870, Maria became very ill; it was evident that she wouldn't survive, much to the public's dismay. As her illness progressed, Maria spent her final days in agony, succumbing to tuberculosis on 4 May 1871 at the age of 28. Her burial took place in the

Imperial Crypt The Imperial Crypt (german: Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neu ...

at the Capuchin Church in

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

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 ...

. Her husband, Archduke Karl Ludwig remarried two years after her death in 1873 to

Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Löwenstein Castle, Kleinheubach, Kingdom of Bavaria , death_date = , death_place = Vienna, Austria, Nazi Germany , burial_place = Imperial Crypt , house = Braganza , spouse = , issue = , father = Migue ...

. They named their first child,

Archduchess Maria Annunciata of Austria Archduchess Maria Annunciata of Austria (31 July 1876 – 8 April 1961) was a daughter of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his third wife, Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal. She was Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Royal and Imperial Ladi ...

, after her. Capuchin_Church_2

Childhood (1843-1861)

The death of Ferdinand

Marriage (1862-1870)

Children

Death and burial

Children

Ancestry

References

External links