Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony
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Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (Maria Josepha Luise Philippine Elisabeth Pia Angelika Margarete von Wettin), (31 May 1867 - 28 May 1944), was the mother of Emperor Karl I of Austria; she was never Empress herself.
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[edit] Early life
She was the daughter of future King George of Saxony (1832 - 1904) and Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal (1843-1884). Her maternal grandparents were Queen Maria II of Portugal and her King consort Ferdinand II.
She was a younger sister of the last king of Saxony, Frederick Augustus III. Her maternal fist cousins included (among others) Carlos I of Portugal, Infante Afonso, Duke of Porto, Prince Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Ferdinand I of Romania.
[edit] Marriage
At 19 (October 2, 1886), she married Archduke Otto Franz of Austria, "der Schöne" (the handsome), younger brother of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand who died at Sarajevo. A pious woman, only her strength of religion enabled her to bear the burdens of marriage to the notoriously womanizing "gorgeous Archduke." His frequent absences from his family helped her goal of keeping her children away from his bad influence. When he died, her ability to avoid extravagant displays of grief was much admired.
During World War I she nursed the wounded in the Augarten Palace of Vienna, which had been converted into a hospital.
In 1919 she left Austria with her son Emperor Karl I of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma and went into exile with them.
She died at Schloß Wildenwart, Upper Bavaria, and is buried in the New Vault of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, beside her husband.
[edit] Children
With Archduke Otto Franz she had issue:
- Archduke Karl Franz of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria.
- Archduke Maximilian Eugen of Austria (1895-1952), who married Princess Franziska von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst and had issue.
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