No to be confused with Marie Antoinette of Austria, Queen of France.
Maria Antonia of Austria (
January 18 1669 –
December 24 1692) was the eldest daughter and only surviving child of
Emperor Leopold I and
Margarita Teresa of Spain. She was a case of Habsburg inbreeding as her father was her mother's maternal uncle and paternal first cousin once removed. Since her childhood Maria Antonia was an intelligent and cultivated girl, sharing her parents' passion for music.
The last Spanish Habsburg,
Charles II, was childless. According to the laws of succession, Maria Antonia had the right to inherit the Spanish crown, because she was the only surviving child of
Empress Margaret Theresa,
Charles II's sister. Nevertheless, since she was born it was decided that she would marry her maternal uncle, the Spanish king, but this plan came to nothing due to several political circumstances.
Maria Antonia married
Maximilian II, Elector of Bavaria on July 15, 1685 in
Vienna,
Austria. Their marriage was very unhappy, but they had three children: the short-lived Leopold Ferdinand (b/d 1689) and Anton (b/d 1690), and
Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, Prince of Asturias (1692-1699) who, despite his youth, was of central importance to European politics at the end of the 17th century, when the European powers sought to determine who would rule Spain upon the extinction of the
House of Habsburg in that country. Joseph Ferdinand's death helped to trigger the
War of the Spanish Succession.
Maria Antonia did not live to see the problems created by her son's prospects, as she died when he was less than two months old.
Ancestry
Bibliography
- Friedrich Weissensteiner: Liebeshimmel und Ehehöllen - Heyne Taschenbuchverlag 1999 - ISBN 3-453-17853-X
Category: 1669 birthsCategory: 1692 deathsCategory: House of HabsburgCategory:Bohemian princessesCategory:Archduchesses of AustriaCategory:Hungarian princessesca:Maria Antònia d'Àustriacs:Marie Antonie Habsburskáde:Maria Antonia von Österreiches:María Antonia de Austriait:Maria Antonia d'Austriahu:Habsburg Mária Antónia főhercegnőnl:Maria Antonia van Oostenrijkja:マリア・アントニア・フォン・エスターライヒpl:Maria Antonina Habsburżankaru:Мария Антония Австрийскаяsv:Maria Antonia av Österrike
