Archduchess Marie Amalie of Austria

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Maria Amalia of Austria, duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla

Maria Amalia of Austria (Feb 26, 1746, Vienna - Jun 18, 1804, Prague). Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Hungary by birth; Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla by marriage.

1 Archduchess of Austria
2 Duchess of Parma
3 Children and relatives
4 Ancestry
5 External links

[edit] Archduchess of Austria

She was the eighth child of Maria Theresa of Austria and Emperor Francis Stephen. Raised in the Habsburg Viennese court, Maria Amalia was in her youth a very popular socialite and considered quite beautiful, but she grew up in the shadow of her more illustrious siblings. Her mother doted on her brother, the future Emperor Joseph II, and her older daughters. Maria Theresa constantly compared Maria Amalia to her sisters, which resulted in a strained relationship between mother and daughter for the rest of their lives.

When she was 22 years old, Maria Amalia wanted to marry the young and handsome Prince Charles of Zweibrücken, who frequented the Court of Vienna and was well known to the imperial family; however Maria Theresa and her minister Kauntiz both considered that union as not being good enough for an archduchess. Charles left Vienna permanently embittered against Maria Theresa and Austria. Against her will, Maria Amalia was engaged and later married to Ferdinand, Duke of Parma (1751 - 1802), a grandson to Louis XV of France by his favorite daughter Princess Louise-Élisabeth. He was also a grandson to Philip V of Spain. The marriage was also supported by the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, whose first beloved wife had been Ferdinand's attractive sister, Isabella Maria of Parma. Her husband was six years younger than Maria Amalia and also had mental deficiency problems.

The Archduchess's marriage to the Duke of Parma was part of a complicated series of contracts that married off Maria Theresa's other daughters to the King of Naples and the Dauphin of France.

[edit] Duchess of Parma

She left Austria on July 1, 1769, accompanied by her brother, Joseph II, and married Ferdinand on July 19, at the Chateau de Colorno. Once in Parma, Maria Amalia started to interfere in the politics of the country, initially with the complete support and advice of her mother, Maria Theresa. The Empress believed that her daughter needed to be active in Parmesan politics, but only as a support to Ferdinand. The Duchess took her mother's directives to an extreme, and the Court of Parma became a ridiculous exaggeration of Vienna.

The court of Parma also received financial support and political aid from France and Spain. Within a short while, Maria Amalia completely overshadowed her 18-year-old husband and began a scandalous way of life which included lovers that she openly lived with. The duchess' adulterous behaviour shocked the European courts, each of which slowly severed relationships with Parma. Maria Amalia dismissed Du Tillot, a minister who opposed her adultery, and replaced him by a Spanish appointee, Jose del Llano, who was highly recommended by Charles III of Spain. However, the new minister had absolutely no influence over the duchess, who continued her immoral lifestyle despite del Llano's repeated entreaties. Finally, frustrated with her growing indiscipline and wary of being associated with her, Charles III washed his hands of Parma. Maria Theresa, who then attempted to force Amalia into giving up her immoral way of life, was also told off in no uncertain terms. It was also reported that in order to placate the French court, Maria Theresa reportedly stopped communicating with her daughter and also forbidden Amalia's siblings to write to her. Despite this, her mother wrote in a letter to her minister that she still loved her daughter. Amalia would remain estranged from her mother, except for a brief reconciliation in 1773 when her son was born, despite the latter's repeated efforts at reconciliation for the rest of the Empress' life. Maria Amalia was also said to be eccentric. She reportedly allowed some beggars to live at the palace and even played with them. When her sister Archduchess Marie Christine visited Parma in 1775, she reported to their mother that Amalia lost much of her beauty and glamor and also dressed eccentrically. She, however, praised her sister's offspring as beautiful children, particularly the eldest daughter as the most beautiful child one can imagine. Maria Amalia also had bouts of bad temper and her husband reportedly shielded their children from it. Despite her domestic situation and eccentricities, her subjects generally regarded her well for she was said to have a good heart and was courageous.

Maria Amalia was in touch with her sisters, Queen Marie Antoinette of France and Queen Mary Caroline of Naples and Sicily for most of their married lives. The three sisters exchanged letters, portraits and gifts. In fact, one of Marie Antoinette's last letters during her imprisonment was written to her sister Maria Amalia and had to be sent secretly. Amalia also named her eldest child Caroline in honor of her sister (partially disregarding her mother's wishes that all eldest granddaughters be named after her since the child also had the names Maria Theresa but not as the first name as opposed to her maternal cousins like Marie-Therese-Charlotte of France) and a younger daughter was likewise named after Marie Antoinette. After Marie Antoinette and her husband were executed, Maria Amalia formed a deep hatred for France and the revolutionists.

When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Italy Maria Amalia and her family left for Austria and she died in Prague, in 1804.