| Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick | |
|---|---|
| Holy Roman Empress; German Queen; Queen consort of the Romans, Hungary, Bohemia, Sardinia, Naples, and Sicily; Archduchess consort of Austria | |
| Tenure | 1711–1740 |
| Consort to | Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Issue | |
| Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria |
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| House | House of Habsburg House of Welf |
| Father | Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Mother | Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen |
| Born | 28 August 1691 Brunswick, Germany |
| Died | 21 December 1750 Vienna, Austria |
| Burial | Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria |
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Braunschweig, 28 August 1691 – 21 December 1750, Vienna, Austria) was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI.[1] She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress Maria Theresa. She is also the maternal grandmother of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, though she died five years before her granddaughter's birth in 1755. She was also the longest serving Holy Roman Empress.[2]
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Elisabeth Christine was the eldest daughter of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his wife Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen.
At age 13 Elisabeth Christine became engaged to the future Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor through negotiations between her ambitious grandfather, Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Charles' sister-in-law, Empress Wilhelmina Amalia, whose father was John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and thus belonged to another branch of the Guelph dynasty.
However, the Protestant bride opposed the marriage at first, since it involved her switching to Catholicism, but finally she gave in and on 1 May 1707, was converted in Bamberg, Germany.
At the time of the wedding, Charles was fighting for his rights to the Spanish throne against the French-born King Philip V of Spain, so he was living in Barcelona. Elisabeth Christine arrived in Spain on July 1708 and married Charles on 1 August 1708 in the church of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona. When her husband left for Vienna to take possession of the imperial crown in 1711, he left Elisabeth Christine behind in Barcelona appointing her as General Governor of Catalonia during his absence. She wisely ruled Catalonia alone until 1713, when she had to leave Barcelona and join her husband in Vienna. Later, they had two children who survived infancy, Empress Maria Theresa and Archduchess Maria Anna. Elisabeth Christine died in Vienna.
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Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg | ||||||||||||
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Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel |
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Dorothea of Anhalt-Zerbst | ||||||||||||
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Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
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Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Norburg | ||||||||||||
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Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderborg-Norburg |
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Eleonore of Anhalt-Zerbst | ||||||||||||
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Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel |
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Joachim Ernst, Prince Oettingen-Oettingen | ||||||||||||
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Albert Ernest I, Prince of Oettingen |
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Anna Dorothea of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Gleichen | ||||||||||||
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Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen |
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Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg | ||||||||||||
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Christine Friederike of Württemberg |
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Anna Katharina, Wild- and Rheingraefin of Salm-Kyrburg | ||||||||||||
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Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Born: 28 August 1691 Died: 21 December 1750 |
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| Italian royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anne Marie d'Orléans |
Queen consort of Sicily 1720–1734 |
Succeeded by Maria Amalia of Saxony |
| Preceded by Maria Luisa of Savoy |
Queen consort of Naples 1713–1735 |
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| Queen consort of Sardinia 1713–1720 |
Succeeded by Anne Marie d'Orléans |
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| German royalty | ||
| Preceded by Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick |
Holy Roman Empress and German Queen 1711–1740 |
Succeeded by Maria Amalia of Austria |
| Queen consort of Bohemia 1711–1740 |
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| Queen consort of Hungary 1711–1740 |
Succeeded by Maria Luisa of Spain |
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| Archduchess consort of Austria 1743–1765 |
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| Preceded by Henrietta Maria of Modena |
Duchess consort of Parma and Guastalla | |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by Maria Anna of Neuburg |
— TITULAR — Queen consort of Spain 1708–1714 Reason for succession failure: Crown passes to Philip V |
Title merged with Spanish monarchy |
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