Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria
Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (Maria Josepha Gabriella Johanna Antonia Anna; 19 March 1751 – 15 October 1767) was the twelfth child and ninth daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Empress Maria Theresa. She was engaged to King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily, but the marriage never materialised due to Maria Josepha’s death due smallpox. She was buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria.
| Maria Josepha of Austria | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait by Anton Raphael Mengs, 1767 | |||||
| Born | 19 March 1751 Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Died | 15 October 1767 (aged 16) Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Burial | Imperial Crypt, Kaisergruft, Vienna | ||||
| |||||
| House | Habsburg-Lorraine | ||||
| Father | Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||
| Mother | Maria Theresa | ||||
Early life and betrothal
Childhood
Maria Josepha was born on 19 March 1751 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, as the ninth daughter of Emperor Francis I and Empress Maria Theresa. By birth, she was entitled to the position of Archduchess of Austria, as her other siblings were. Maria Josepha was the favourite of her brother, Archduke Joseph.[1]
Maria Josepha was very close to her sister Maria Johanna, whom was born only a year before her in February 1750. The two sisters were raised and educated together, and had the same tutors.[2] Maria Josepha and Maria Johanna "developed satisfactory, worked hard at their lessons and were involved in numerous festivities in which they participated enthusiastically."[3]
After the death of her sister-in-law Princess Isabella of Parma, Maria Josepha was the most important female at court after her mother, niece and sister. She lost that position during May 1767 when her elder brother, Archduke Joseph, married his second cousin Maria Josepha of Bavaria.
Betrothal
Empress Maria Theresa wanted her fourth eldest surviving daughter, Archduchess Maria Amalia, to marry King Ferdinand of Naples and Sicily for political reasons; however, after Ferdinand's father Charles III of Spain objected to the five-year age difference, Maria Josepha, as the next eldest daughter, was left as the next candidate for Ferdinand's hand in marriage.[1][4] She and Ferdinand were the same age, and Maria Josepha was considered "delightfully pretty, pliant by nature”.[1]
Death
Maria Josepha had been terrified of dying of smallpox ever since the death of her elder sister Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela in 1762.[5] Her fears were realised when she died of smallpox on the very day she was to have left Vienna for her journey across the Alps to marry Ferdinand.[6] Popular belief holds that she contracted smallpox because her mother, Maria Theresa, insisted that she go and pray at the improperly sealed tomb of her sister-in-law, Empress Maria Josepha, whom had recently died of the disease—because they shared the same name.[1] However, the rash appeared two days after Maria Josepha visited the vault, and there is an incubation period of about one week after initial infection before symptoms of a rash appear. Therefore, the archduchess must have been infected before visiting the vault.[7]
On 15 October 1767, at the age of 16, Maria Josepha died due to the disease. She is buried in vault number 46 at the Imperial Crypt Vaults of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. After her death, her younger sister, Archduchess Maria Carolina, was given as a bride to the king of Naples in her place.[8]
Ancestry
References
- Fraser 2001, p. 28.
- Iby 2009, pp. 29.
- Iby 2009, p. 57.
- "Almost Queens: Maria Josepha of Austria". The Creative Historian. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- Barger, Brittani (14 October 2017). "The tragic death of Maria Josepha of Austria". History of Royal Women. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- "Maria Theresa's children". Die Welt der Habsburger. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- Hopkins, Donald R. (2002). The greatest killer: smallpox in history, with a new introduction. University of Chicago Press. p. 64. ISBN 0-226-35168-8.
- Fraser 2001, p. 29.
- Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 1.