Maria Clementina of Austria (24 April 1777 – 15 November 1801) was an Austrian archduchess and the tenth child and third daughter of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Maria Luisa of Spain. She was the mother of the famous duchesse de Berry.
Infancy
Archduchess Maria Clementina was born at the Villa del Poggio Imperiale, Poggio Imperiale then located in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany which was then ruled by her father Leopold I (later Holy Roman Emperor) since 1765. She was named after Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, her mothers uncle and brother of Maria Amalia of Saxony, Maria Clementina's maternal grandmother.
Marriage
She was married by proxy to Prince Francis, Duke of Calabria, her first cousin, on 19 September 1790. On 26 June 1797 in Foggia, Maria Clementina married the Duke of Calabria, eldest surviving son of Ferdinand IV of Naples and, Maria Carolina of Austria. Prince Francis was the Heir apparent to both the Neapolitan and Sicilian throne's. This marriage was the last of three between the Austrian and Neapolitan royal families, the previous two being between Archduke Francis, her oldest brother and Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily in 1790 after Archduke Ferdinand and Luisa of Naples and Sicily. They were double first cousins as they shared all their grandparents in common. They had two children. She died in Naples after giving birth to a son the previous year which undermined her health. She is thought to have died from lung disease or tuberculosis. She was buried in Basilica of Santa Chiara, Naples with her son.
After her death, her husband married Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain, again his first cousin, the youngest surviving daughter of Charles IV of Spain (brother of Maria Clementina's mother) and Maria Luisa of Parma.
Her only daughter Carolina, married Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry in April 1816. He was the son of Charles X of France and Maria Teresa of Savoy. They were the parents of the French pretender Henri d'Artois, Count of Chambord and the Duchess of Parma making Maria Clementina an ancestress of the present Duke of Calabria and his rival the Duke of Castro.
Issue
- Princess Carolina of Naples and Sicily (5 November 1798 – 17 April 1870) married Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry and had issue;
- Prince Ferdinando Francesco d'Assisi of Naples and Sicily (27 August 1800 – 1 July 1801) died in infancy.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 24 April 1777 – 26 June 1797 Her Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria, Princess of Tuscany
- 26 June 1797 – 15 November 1801 Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Calabria
References
- ↑ Acton, The Bourbons of Naples, p. 302
Other websites
Media related to Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria at Wikimedia Commons
