Maria Karolina von Habsburg

Marie-Caroline Ernestine Antoinette Jeanne Joséphine of Habsburg-Lorraine, known in German as Maria-Karolina Ernestina Antonia Johanna Josepha, was born in Vienna on January 12, 1740. She was an Archduchess of Austria, a princess of Bohemia and Hungary, and a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Her parents were Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine and Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. Marie-Caroline was the couple’s third daughter and also the third granddaughter of Emperor Charles VI. Her birth came at a time of intense political tension. The emperor had only two surviving daughters, and he and many of his subjects eagerly awaited a male heir who could inherit the Habsburg possessions and the imperial title. The birth of another girl was therefore regarded as a disappointment. Charles VI died in October 1740. Maria Theresa, who was then pregnant with her fourth child, consequently became ruler of the hereditary lands of the House of Habsburg. Under the prevailing rules, however, the imperial crown could be held only by a man elected by the empire’s eligible princes. Maria Theresa therefore sought to have her husband elected emperor. To her European relatives and rivals, the young ruler appeared politically vulnerable. Several princes saw an opportunity to weaken the Habsburg lands or divide them among themselves. As early as December 1740, Frederick II of Prussia unexpectedly invaded Silesia, a wealthy province, despite having previously enjoyed Maria Theresa’s trust. Marie-Caroline’s short life thus unfolded under the shadow of a major dynastic and military conflict. On January 25, 1741, the young archduchess died in Vienna at the age of one year and thirteen days. The probable cause of death was poisoning by verdigris, possibly resulting from an inadequately cleaned silver drinking vessel. Her death was an additional private tragedy for Maria Theresa. The queen was pregnant again, surrounded by enemies, and had lost her eldest daughter only a few months earlier, on June 7, 1740. Marie-Caroline’s remains were buried in the Capuchin Crypt, the imperial burial site in Vienna. In March of the same year, Maria Theresa gave birth to the long-awaited son. For the young ruler, his arrival represented a first success in a hostile political environment. On the advice of his devout mother, the prince was given the name Joseph, after the foster father of Jesus Christ. The name of the deceased archduchess was later given to two younger sisters. Another Marie-Caroline was born in 1748 and died on the day of her birth. The second, born in 1752, lived until 1814 and became Queen of Naples and Sicily. She took a determined stand against the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire. In this context, it is emphasized that both her sister Marie Antoinette and her granddaughter Marie-Louise fell victim to the political upheavals of their time.