Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (Maria Josepha Gabriella Johanna Antonia Anna; 19 March 1751 – 15 October 1767) was the duodenary daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa. She died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

at the age of 16 and was buried in the

Imperial Crypt The Imperial Crypt (german: Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neu ...

in Vienna, Austria.

Biography

Childhood

Maria Josepha of Austria 1762 by Liotard

Maria Josepha was born on 19 March 1751 at the

Hofburg Palace The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...

in Vienna, Austria, as the ninth daughter of

Emperor Francis I Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Holy ...

and

Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

. By birth, she was entitled to the position of Archduchess of Austria, as her other siblings were. Maria Josepha was the favourite of her brother Archduke Joseph. After the death of her sister-in-law

Princess Isabella of Parma Isabella of Bourbon-Parma (, ; 31 December 1741 – 27 November 1763) was a princess of Parma and infanta of Spain from the House of Bourbon-Parma as the daughter of Philip, Duke of Parma. She became an archduchess of Austria and princess of Bo ...

, Maria Josepha was the most important female at court after her mother, niece and sister. She lost that position during May 1767 when her elder brother, Archduke Joseph, married his second cousin Maria Josepha of Bavaria. Empress Maria Theresa wanted her fourth eldest surviving daughter, Archduchess Maria Amalia, to marry King Ferdinand of Naples and Sicily for political reasons; however, after Ferdinand's father

Charles III of Spain it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_da ...

objected to the five-year age difference, Maria Josepha, as the next eldest daughter, was left as the next candidate for Ferdinand's hand in marriage. She and Ferdinand were the same age, and Maria Josepha was considered "delightfully pretty, pliant by nature”.

Death

Maria Josepha had been terrified of dying of

ever since the death of her elder sister Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela in 1762. Her fears were realised when she died of smallpox on the very day she was to have left Vienna for her journey across the Alps to marry Ferdinand. Popular belief holds that she contracted smallpox because her mother, Maria Theresa, insisted that she go and pray at the improperly sealed tomb of her sister-in-law, Empress Maria Josepha, whom had recently died of the disease—because they shared the same name. However, the rash appeared two days after Maria Josepha visited the vault, and there is an incubation period of about one week after initial infection before symptoms of a rash appear. Therefore, the archduchess must have been infected before visiting the vault. On 15 October 1767, at the age of 16, Maria Josepha died due to the disease. She is buried in vault number 46 at the Imperial Crypt Vaults of the

in Vienna. After her death, her younger sister, Archduchess Maria Carolina, was given as a bride to the king of Naples in her place.Fraser, p. 29.

Ancestry

References

YouTube , “Maria Theresa’s Daughters, Part 2” - Lindsay Holiday

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Josepha Of Austria, Archduchess 1751 births 1767 deaths 18th-century Austrian people 18th-century Austrian women House of Habsburg-Lorraine Deaths from smallpox Infectious disease deaths in Austria Burials at the Imperial Crypt Austrian princesses Knights of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Daughters of emperors Children of Maria Theresa Royalty and nobility who died as children Daughters of kings