Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria (1 April 1825 – 26 April 1864) was the only daughter of

Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II, , English: ''Leopold John Joseph Francis Ferdinand Charles''. (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1824 to 1859. He married twice; first to Maria Anna of Saxony, and after her death in 1832, to Mari ...

, and his first wife, Maria Anna of Saxony, to survive to adulthood. She married Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, who later became the Prince Regent of Bavaria after her death.

Family

Auguste was one of three children born to

, by his first wife, Maria Anna of Saxony. She was an older half-sister to

Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (; 10 June 1835 – 17 January 1908) was the last Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1859 to 1860. Biography Born at Florence, he was the son of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Princess Maria Antonia of th ...

, among others. She was a member of the direct lineage of both

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

and

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

Early life

After a strict Catholic upbringing, she developed an interest in the arts and sciences early in life. Contemporaries described her as tall, beautiful and self-conscious.

Marriage and children

On 15 April 1844, she married Prince Luitpold in Florence. Luitpold's father King

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

initially opposed Luitpold's marriage plans, since Auguste was already showing symptoms of

pulmonary tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

before the marriage (the disease of which she finally died aged only 39). Through this marriage her descendants, the royal house of Bavaria, could also claim descent from the most senior branch, extinct in the male line since 1777, of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

; the last male member of the elder branch being

Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian III Joseph (28 March 1727 – 30 December 1777), also known by his epithet "the much beloved" was a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Bavaria from 1745 to 1777. He was the last of the Bavarian branch of the House o ...

, whose death sparked the

War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria ...

. The war ended with the ascent to the throne in Munich of

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria Charles Theodore (; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) was a German nobleman of the Palatinate-Sulzbach, Sulzbach branch of the House of Wittelsbach. He became Count Palatine of Sulzbach at the age of six following the death of his father J ...

, who was the head of the cadet branch of Wittelsbach-Zweibrücken, which remains until today the only extant branch. Auguste Ferdinande was descended from Duchess Maria Antonia Walpurgis of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony, who was the eldest sister of the aforementioned

, and daughter of

Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII (6 August 1697 – 20 January 1745) was elector of Bavaria from 26 February 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 to his death. He was also King of Bohemia (as Charles Albert) from 1741 to 1743. Charles was a member of th ...

. They had four children (with whom she always spoke Italian), including

Ludwig III of Bavaria Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfred; 7 January 1845 – 18 October 1921) was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially, he served in the Bavarian Army, Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold ...

, and she was a great support for Luitpold in all his political activities. During the

1848 Revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, she spoke against

Lola Montez Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez (), was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludw ...

and sought to isolate opponents of the monarchy. Her children with Luitpold were: * Ludwig III (1845–1921), King of Bavaria, married Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este (1849–1919) *

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

(1846–1930), married

Archduchess Gisela of Austria Archduchess Gisela Louise Marie of Austria (12 July 1856 – 27 July 1932) was the second daughter and eldest surviving child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She became a Princess of Bavaria through her marria ...

(1856–1932) *

Therese Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese *Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg *Therese of Br ...

(1850–1925) *

Arnulf Arnulf is a masculine German given name. It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf". The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...

(1852–1907), married Princess Therese of Liechtenstein (1850–1938) On her death, she was buried in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche. Luitpold never remarried, with his sister Adelgunde and daughter Therese taking over care of his household.

Ancestry

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auguste Ferdinande Of Austria, Archduchess 1825 births 1864 deaths House of Habsburg-Lorraine House of Wittelsbach 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis People of the Revolutions of 1848 Austrian princesses Bavarian princesses Tuscan nobility Burials at the Theatine Church, Munich Italian Roman Catholics Daughters of dukes Gallery of Beauties Tuberculosis deaths in Germany Mothers of Bavarian monarchs