Archduchess Marie Carolina Ferdinanda of Austria (8 April 1801 – 22 May 1832) was

Crown Princess A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown princ ...

of Saxony as the wife of Frederick Augustus, Crown Prince of Saxony.

Life

Marie Caroline was a daughter of

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and I (; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor as Francis II from 1792 to 1806, and the first Emperor of Austria as Francis I from 1804 to 1835. He was also King of Hungary, List of rulers of Croatia, Croa ...

, later Francis I of Austria after the

dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire occurred on 6 August 1806, when the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, abdicated his title and released all Imperial estate, Imperial s ...

, and Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies, and named after an elder sister who had died in infancy. Marie Caroline's parents were

double first cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, c ...

s as they shared all four grandparents (Francis' paternal grandparents were his wife's maternal grandparents and vice versa). She was educated strictly, standing out in drawing, as proven by several sketches and crayons preserved in Austria.

Crown Princess of Saxony

On 7 October 1819 she married Prince Frederick Augustus of Saxony, son of

Maximilian, Prince of Saxony Prince Maximilian of Saxony (Maximilian Maria Joseph Anton Johann Baptist Johann Evangelista Ignaz Augustin Xavier Aloys Johann Nepomuk Januar Hermenegild Agnellis Paschalis; 13 April 1759 – 3 January 1838) was a German prince and a member of the ...

, and

Princess Caroline of Parma Princess Carolina of Parma (Caroline Maria Teresa Giuseppa; 22 November 1770 – 1 March 1804) was a Princess of Parma by birth, and Princess of Saxony by marriage to Prince Maximilian of Saxony. Carolina was the eldest child of Ferdinand, D ...

, in

Dresden, Germany Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. The marriage was childless and unhappy. Marie Caroline was sweet and pleasant, but she experienced epilepsy and her attacks were so frequent that she was barely able to fulfill her duties as Crown Princess; they also seriously affected her marital relationship. Frederick Augustus was unfaithful on several occasions. From one of these affairs he had an illegitimate son, the musician

Theodor Uhlig Theodor Uhlig (15 February 1822 – 3 January 1853) was a German violin-player, composer and music critic. He was the illegitimate son of Frederick Augustus II of Saxony. Uhlig and Wagner Born in Wurzen, Saxony, and orphaned at a young age, Uhli ...

(1822–1853). Maria Carolina died from an epileptic attack on 22 May 1832 at

Pillnitz Castle Pillnitz Palace () is a restored Baroque architecture, Baroque castle at the eastern end of the city of Dresden in the German state of Saxony. It is located on the right bank of the River Elbe in the former village of Pillnitz. It was the summer ...

near Dresden.Kroll, Frank-Lothar. "Die Herrscher Sachsens: Markgrafen, Kurfürsten, Könige. 1089–1918". München, 2007, p. 241

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Caroline Of Austria, Archduchess Austrian princesses House of Habsburg-Lorraine Saxon princesses House of Wettin 1801 births 1832 deaths Burials at Dresden Cathedral Nobility from Vienna Neurological disease deaths in Germany Royalty and nobility with epilepsy Austrian royalty and nobility with disabilities Deaths from epilepsy Austrian Roman Catholics Crown princesses of Saxony ⚭Archduchess Marie Caroline of Austria Daughters of emperors Children of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings Daughters of dukes Daughters of counts