Maria Ludovica von Spanien

Maria Ludovica of Spain, also known as María Luisa de Borbón, was born on November 24, 1745, in Portici near Naples, and died on May 15, 1792, in Vienna. She was a daughter of the future Spanish King Charles III and his wife, Maria Amalia of Saxony. By birth, she was an Infanta of Spain. As the wife of Leopold II, she also became Archduchess of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and finally Empress of the Holy Roman Empire and Queen of Bohemia, Croatia, and Hungary. Maria Ludovica initially grew up in the royal residences of Naples, Capodimonte, and Portici. At the time, her parents ruled Naples and Sicily and had a royal summer palace built at Portici. Of the family’s seven daughters, only Maria Ludovica and her sister María Josefa, who was one year older, reached adulthood. Among her six brothers were Charles, who later became King of Spain as Charles IV, and Ferdinand, the future King of Sicily. The princess’s childhood was considered happy, and she spoke Italian with a Neapolitan accent. While she was still a girl, a marriage was arranged with Archduke Karl Joseph, the second son of Maria Theresa. He died, however, in January 1761, before the union could take place. The family’s life had already changed fundamentally in 1759, when Maria Ludovica’s father succeeded his deceased half-brother as King of Spain. The family then moved from Naples to Spain. They set out on October 6, 1759, and after arriving in Barcelona continued on to Madrid. Because Maria Ludovica and some of her brothers contracted measles during the journey, they did not reach the capital until December. She spent the following years in several distinguished residences around Madrid. As part of Maria Theresa’s marriage policy, Maria Ludovica was married to Archduke Peter Leopold, the third son of Emperor Francis Stephen and Maria Theresa. Peter Leopold was also heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. King Charles III transferred to the future couple possessions of the House of Medici to which he claimed rights through his mother. On February 16, 1764, Maria Ludovica and Peter Leopold were married by proxy in Madrid. At her father’s request, she had previously renounced her claims to the Spanish throne. She remained in Spain until June 1765 and then traveled to Innsbruck, where the personal wedding ceremony was to take place. Her fiancé traveled south from Innsbruck to meet her, and the couple saw each other for the first time on August 1. Maria Ludovica was described as a blonde, friendly, and modest woman. Peter Leopold was ill at the time, and his intestinal infection cast a shadow over the wedding. The ceremony took place on August 5, 1765, in St. James’s Parish Church in Innsbruck. An opera composed especially for the occasion was a failure, and a fireworks display had to be canceled because of bad weather. A few days later, Emperor Francis Stephen died, making Peter Leopold Grand Duke of Tuscany. The young couple moved to Florence and took up residence in the Palazzo Pitti. From there, they ruled Tuscany until 1790. Leopold and Maria Ludovica introduced several reforms inspired by the Enlightenment. Their rule was nevertheless troubled by a dispute with Leopold’s brother, Emperor Joseph II. Joseph claimed the so-called Tuscan reserve fund as part of their father’s inheritance and eventually received it. Relations between the brothers improved only gradually after Maria Ludovica gave birth to two sons. Because of her many children, Joseph II increasingly came to respect his sister-in-law, since the succession of the Habsburg dynasty had thereby been secured. Four major Habsburg lines that continued to exist until the end of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918 descended from Maria Ludovica and Leopold. Maria Ludovica was loyal to her husband and supported him in his daily life. She apparently endured his extramarital relationships with composure. Among his best-known favorites were the Englishwoman Anna Cowper and the Roman dancer Livia Raimondi. Leopold had a son with Livia, Luigi von Grün, and gave her a small palace in Florence. Maria Ludovica is even said to have maintained a friendly relationship with Livia and done needlework with her. During a famine in Florence in 1765, Maria Ludovica gained public esteem by providing the needy with food and medical assistance. She was never formally crowned Grand Duchess. She accompanied her husband on various journeys and to family occasions, but largely withdrew from aristocratic society. Her main attention was devoted to raising her children. Together with Leopold, she allowed them an unusual degree of freedom and took them on excursions into the surrounding countryside and to the coast. In her private life, she maintained contact with only a small circle of friends. After Joseph II died childless in February 1790, Peter Leopold inherited the Habsburg lands in Central Europe. He was soon elected Roman-German Emperor as Leopold II and moved his residence to Vienna. There Maria Ludovica assumed the duties of an imperial consort. At the coronation celebrations in Prague in 1791, Mozart’s opera La clemenza di Tito was performed. Maria Ludovica is often said to have sharply criticized the opera, but this alleged remark was recorded only at a late date and is therefore not securely attested. Leopold II died on March 1, 1792, and Maria Ludovica followed him on May 15 of the same year. Their eldest son, Francis, was crowned the last Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire later that year. Maria Ludovica was buried beside her husband in the Capuchin Crypt. Her heart and intestines were placed in separate urns and buried in Vienna’s Augustinian Church and the Ducal Crypt, respectively. The couple had sixteen children, including Francis, the future emperor; Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany; the military commander Archduke Charles of Austria-Teschen; and Rudolf, the future cardinal and Archbishop of Olomouc. Because both parents died relatively young, several of their children were left minors.