Maria Klementine von Österreich

Maria Klementine, whose full name was Franziska Josefa Maria Klementine, was born on March 1, 1798, in Vienna and died on September 3, 1881, in Chantilly, France. She was an Austrian archduchess of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and became Duchess of Salerno through her marriage. Her life was shaped by dynastic alliances, family losses, and the political upheavals of the 19th century. Maria Klementine was the sixth of twelve children born to Archduke Franz Joseph Karl of Austria and his second wife, Maria Theresa Caroline of Naples and Sicily. A few months after the birth of his daughter, in 1792, her father became Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Franz I, King of Austria. Her mother was a daughter of Ferdinand IV, later King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, and the Habsburg Archduchess Maria Caroline. Only seven of Maria Klementine’s siblings reached adulthood. Several died in childhood, while others suffered from severe physical or mental disabilities. This family situation was associated with the consanguineous marriages customary within the House of Habsburg. Her siblings included Maria Ludovika, who married Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810 and became French empress as Marie Louise, and Ferdinand, who later ruled as Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, and Ferdinand V, King of Hungary. Her sister Maria Leopoldine married the Portuguese prince Pedro in 1817; he later became Emperor of Brazil and, as Pedro IV, also King of Portugal. Her brother Franz Karl became the father of the future Emperor Franz Joseph. Maria Klementine and Maria Leopoldine were regarded within the family as especially intelligent, inquisitive, and intellectually lively. Both also possessed exceptional artistic talents. In this respect, they stood out clearly from several of their siblings, whose lives were marked by illness, disability, or an early death. On July 28, 1816, Maria Klementine married her maternal uncle at Schönbrunn Palace: Prince Leopold Johann Joseph of Naples and Sicily, Duke of Salerno. He was the youngest surviving son of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Archduchess Maria Caroline of Austria, as well as the younger brother of Maria Klementine’s mother. The marriage was a dynastic alliance promoted by the Austrian chancellor Metternich. Through it, Maria Klementine became Duchess of Salerno. The couple had four children. Three died shortly after birth, including their only son, Luigi, who was born in 1824 and died the same year. Only their daughter, Maria Karoline Auguste, reached adulthood. On November 25, 1844, she married Henri Eugène Philippe Louis d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale and a general from the House of Orléans. He was the son of the French king Louis Philippe and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. Thus, the close ties between Europe’s ruling families continued into the next generation. Maria Klementine’s marriage was nevertheless personally difficult. Her husband was unfaithful and maintained relationships with several women from the bourgeoisie, including the dancer Fanny Elssler. Maria Klementine endured this humiliating situation with great self-control. After her husband’s death in 1851, she moved to France to join her daughter’s family. She lived at the Château de Chantilly, the residence of her son-in-law Henri d’Orléans. Her final decades were also overshadowed by serious losses. In 1866, her elder grandson Louis Philippe Marie Léopold d’Orléans, who held the title Duke of Condé, died. Three years later, Maria Klementine lost her only daughter, Maria Karoline Auguste. She thereafter continued to live at the Château de Chantilly, in the Maison de Nonette pavilion, alongside her widowed son-in-law and her only orphaned grandson. While in Chantilly, she also lived through the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, in whose fighting Henri d’Orléans took part as a general. Her younger grandson, François Louis d’Orléans, Duke of Guise, died in 1872. Neither grandson left any descendants. Maria Klementine was therefore largely alone during the final years of her life. She died on September 3, 1881, at the age of 83, at the Château de Chantilly. Her son-in-law had her buried in the Royal Chapel of Saint-Louis at Dreux, the burial place of the Orléans family.