Maria Josepha von Sachsen

Marie-Josephine Louise Philippine Elisabeth Pia Angelika Margarete of Saxony was born on 31 May 1867 in Dresden. She was the fourth daughter of the future King George I of Saxony and his wife, Maria Anna of Portugal, and a member of the House of Wettin. Through her family, she was also closely connected to the Saxon royal house: her childless uncle, King Albert I of Saxony, could in principle have made her his heir. She later became best known as the mother of Austria’s last emperor, Charles I. On 2 October 1886, Marie-Josephine married Archduke Otto of Austria, a nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph I. At the time, Otto stood fourth in the Habsburg line of succession and was known as “the handsome archduke” because of his attractive appearance. His dissolute lifestyle and disregard for social and moral conventions stood in sharp contrast to the serious and religious nature of his young wife. The marriage was intended to encourage him to reform, but Otto did not fundamentally change his behavior. Marie-Josephine endured the difficult relationship with great piety and devoted herself chiefly to her responsibilities as a wife and mother. A temporary relationship with the actor Otto Tressler gave rise to rumors; she ended the association once she was widowed. The political consequences of Otto’s lifestyle were considerable. Several deaths in the House of Habsburg-Lorraine brought him closer to the throne. The crown prince died in 1889, and Otto’s father died in 1896, making Otto heir to the throne after his elder brother, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Emperor Franz Joseph feared that the only 35-year-old Otto, regarded as cynical and dissolute, might one day ascend the throne. When Franz Ferdinand wished to enter a marriage that was not considered equal in rank, the emperor eventually permitted it under special conditions. Franz Ferdinand’s wife received neither the rank of archduchess nor that of empress and queen; their children were also excluded from the line of succession. This exceptional status later had tragic consequences. During Franz Ferdinand and his wife’s official visit to Sarajevo in 1914, the couple did not receive the same security arrangements as other members of the imperial family because of their restricted status. Both were murdered by a pro-Serbian assassin. The attack set in motion the events that led to the First World War. The war brought about the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918 and ultimately the end of Habsburg rule. Otto himself never reached the throne: he died prematurely in 1906, at the age of 41, as a result of his dissolute life. Marie-Josephine and Otto had two sons. The elder, Charles Francis Joseph, was born in 1887 and married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma in 1911. After Franz Joseph’s death, he ascended the Austrian imperial throne in 1916 as Charles I and also became King of Hungary. Their younger son, Maximilian, was born in 1895 and married Princess Franziska of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst in 1917. They had two sons. Because Marie-Josephine found little happiness in her marriage, she concentrated on raising her children. In particular, she tried to shield the two boys from their father’s harmful influence. The affairs of her family of origin likewise reflected the crises affecting Europe’s monarchies. In 1902, her brother, King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, divorced his wife after she left him for another man. The divorce was regarded throughout Europe as a major scandal. After Otto’s death, Marie-Josephine assumed an even more important role in the lives of her sons. The marriage of her eldest son Charles to Zita was not only dynastically significant but also a love match. In 1914, following Franz Ferdinand’s assassination, Charles unexpectedly became heir to the throne. The elderly Emperor Franz Joseph valued the young archduke, who was devout and gentle. During the First World War, the Augarten Palace in Vienna was converted into a military hospital, where Marie-Josephine cared for the wounded. When Charles became emperor in 1916, he was supported by both his mother and his wife. Charles tried unsuccessfully to bring the war to an end. The defeat of the Central Powers led to the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918. Marie-Josephine accompanied Charles, Zita, and their family into exile in Switzerland. At the pope’s request, Charles later made two attempts to regain the Hungarian crown, but both failed. He was exiled to Madeira and died there in 1922 at the age of 35. Marie-Josephine initially lived in Switzerland and settled in Germany from 1921 onward. She was also the grandmother of Archduke Otto of Habsburg-Lorraine, who later became head of the House of Habsburg. Marie-Josephine died on 28 May 1944 in Erlangen, just a few days before her 77th birthday. She was buried in the Capuchin Crypt in Vienna, the traditional burial place of the Habsburgs. She was also a recipient of the Saxon Order of Sidonia.