Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1738–1789)

Archduchess Maria Anna
Father Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother Maria Theresa of Austria
Born 6 October 1738(1738-10-06)
Vienna, Austria
Died 19 November 1789(1789-11-19) (aged 51)
Klagenfurt, Austria

Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha Antonia of Austria (6 October 1738 – 19 November 1789) was the second but eldest surviving daughter of Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Contents

Life

Maria Anna was born on 6 October 1738 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, the center of the vastly powerful Austro-Hungarian empire. She was heiress presumptive between 1740 and 1741, until her younger brother Joseph (later to be the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph II) was born. She was known as "Marianna".

Maria Anna was intelligent but physically disabled. Unable to find a royal husband, she was made the abbess of the Imperial and Royal Convent for Noble Ladies in Prague with the promise of 80,000 florins per year. Later, she gave up the Prague position and became an abbess in Klagenfurt with a smaller provision. Close to her younger sister Maria Elisabeth, the two lived together in the same convents till their deaths. While her sister, Marie Antoinette, was traveling on her way to Versailles she stayed at the abbey for one night.

Despite being disabled, it is not true that Maria Anna's existence was denied by the Imperial Family. She often played important roles in major events of state, including acting as sponsor at the christening of her youngest sister, Marie Antoinette.[1] Maria Anna died on 19 November 1789.

Gallery

Ancestry

Titles and Styles

References

  1. ^ A. Fraser, Marie Antoinette: The Journey, p. 6
German royalty
Preceded by
Archduchess Maria Theresa
later became Archduchess Maria Theresa I		 Heir to the Austrian throne
20 October 1740 – 13 March 1741
as heiress presumptive		 Succeeded by
Archduke Joseph
later became Archduke Joseph II