| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Marie-Louise |
For more information on Marie-Louise, visit Britannica.com.
| German Literature Companion: Marie Louise |
Marie Louise, originally Maria Louise (Vienna, 1791-1847, Vienna), Empress of the French, was the eldest daughter of the Emperor Franz II. In 1810, possibly through the agency of Metternich, she was married to Napoleon, who had recently divorced the Empress Josephine. A proxy wedding took place in the Augustinerkirche in Vienna in March, followed in April by civil and religious ceremonies in Paris. In 1811 she bore a son, the King of Rome and later Duke of Reichstadt. In 1813 and 1814 she was regent of France during Napoleon's absence at war (see Napoleonic Wars). On Napoleon's fall she fled to Austria and refused to rejoin her husband on Elba. The Congress of Vienna (see Wiener Kongress) granted her the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, where she reigned from 1816 until her death. On Napoleon's death she married morganatically Count Neipperg, with whom she had lived for some years, and, after his death in 1834, Count Bombelles. In the early years of her reign she proved an enlightened ruler and introduced many social and judicial reforms.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Marie Louise |
Bibliography
See biographies by J. A. Mahan (1931) and P. Turnbull (1971).
| Dictionary: Marie Louise, |
| Wikipedia: Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma |
| Marie Louise | |
|---|---|
| Empress of the French Duchess of Parma |
|
 |
|
| Marie-Louise, Empress of the French | |
| Reign Empress |
11 April 1814 – 17 December 1847 11 March 1810 – 6 April 1814 |
| Spouse | Napoleon I of France Adam Albert von Neipperg Charles-René, Count of Bombelles |
| Issue | |
| Napoleon II of France Albertine Wilhelm Albrecht Mathilde |
|
| Imperial House | House of Bonaparte House of Habsburg |
| Father | Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies |
| Born | 12 December 1791 Vienna, Austria, HRE |
| Died | 17 December 1847 (aged 56) Parma, Italy |
Marie Louise of Austria (German: Marie Louise von Österreich 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847), born Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria (German: Erzherzogin Marie Louise von Österreich), became upon marriage Empress of the French (French: impératrice Marie Louise des Français), and in 1817 became Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla (Italian: Maria Luisa, Duchessa di Parma, Piacenza e Guastalla).
She was the second wife of Napoléon Bonaparte and thus Empress of the French. She was also a double grandniece of Marie Antoinette. She was the mother of Napoleon II, King of Rome.
Contents |
Marie Louise (who was given the Latin baptismal name of Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Francisca Theresa Josepha Lucia) was born in Vienna, the daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (Francis I of Austria) and of his second wife, Maria Theresa of the Two Sicilies. Marie Louise was also a double great-granddaughter of Maria Theresa of Austria, thus a double grandniece of Marie Antoinette, as she was a paternal granddaughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (Maria Theresa's son, Marie Antoinette's brother) and a maternal granddaughter of Marie Caroline of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily (Maria Theresa's daughter, Marie Antoinette's sister).
To make her more marriageable, her parents had her tutored in many languages. In addition to her native German, she became fluent in English, French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish [1].
On 11 March 1810, the 18-year-old archduchess married French Emperor Napoléon I by proxy, with a subsequent ceremony taking place in the chapel of the Louvre on 1 April 1810. The bride's father intended the marriage to strengthen links between the Austrian Empire and the First French Empire. Napoleon sought the validation and legitimation of his Empire by marrying a member of the House of Habsburg, one of the oldest ruling families of Europe. He also hoped to cement his position by fathering a legitimate heir. Napoleon had previously tried to marry Grand Duchess Anna of the House of Romanov, younger sister of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, but his proposal had been refused.
When Marie Louise moved to France, she brought with her a number of Austrian recipes. She developed a recipe for roquefort-stuffed chopped beef that later became quite popular in restaurants.
On 20 March 1811, Marie Louise (as she was known in France) gave birth to a son, Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, styled King of Rome and later Duke of Reichstadt. Marie Louise acted as Regent of France from April to December 1812 during the Russian campaign and again from April 1813 to January 1814 during her husband's absence in the German campaign. After Napoléon was forced to abdicate his throne in April 1814, he was exiled to the island of Elba. Marie Louise returned to Austria, never to see her husband again.
Napoléon claimed at one point to prefer Marie Louise to his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais; while he had loved Joséphine, he claimed, he had not respected her, whereas with Marie Louise, there was "Never a lie, never a debt" — presumably a reference to Josephine's rumoured extramarital affairs and reputation as a spendthrift [2].
After Napoleon's abdication in April 1814, Marie Louise and her son fled Paris to Blois, and then to Vienna. The Treaty of Fontainebleau of 11 April 1814 allowed her to retain her imperial rank and style (Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Marie Louise) and made her the ruler of the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, with her son as heir. However, in 1815, the Congress of Vienna revised this arrangement and made her Duchess of Parma for her life only, with the details of who would become Duke of Parma after her death unspecified. In 1817, a treaty was signed which would leave the duchies to a member of the House of Bourbon. In 1844 it was determined that the duchy of Guastalla would be inherited by the Duke of Modena.
In 1821, four months after Napoleon's death, Marie Louise married morganatically her lover, Count Adam Albert von Neipperg (1775-1829). The couple had three children, the first two of whom were born before Marie Louise and Neipperg were married:
On 17 February 1834 Marie Louise married, again morganatically, her grand chamberlain, Charles-René, Count of Bombelles (1785-1856).[3]
By most accounts, Marie Louise was an able and intelligent ruler of Parma, introducing various reforms and working hard to benefit her new subjects. She died in 1847 at Parma.
Marie Louise held the following styles from birth to death:
Marie Louise also held, by marriage, the title Countess of Neipperg (1821-1834) and later Countess of Bombelles (1834-1847). She retained her imperial rank due to the 1814 Treaty of Paris as well as her titles Princess Imperial and Archduchess of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia.
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma |
|
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Cadet branch of the House of Lorraine
Born: 12 December 1791 Died: 17 December 1847 |
||
| French royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joséphine de Beauharnais |
Empress consort of the French 11 March 1810–22 June 1815 |
Succeeded by Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France as Queen of France and Navarre |
| Regnal titles | ||
| Part of the First French Empire | Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla 1814–1847 |
Succeeded by Charles II |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
 | Teatro Regio di Parma |
| Marie Louise |
| Museo Glauco Lombardi |
 | Are Mary Louise Parker and Sarah Jessica Parker related? Read answer... |
| Are mary louise parker and molly parker sisters? Read answer... |
| Where can you find mary louise parker naked? Read answer... |
 | Who is Mary- Louise Parker's father? |
| Are Andrea Parker and Mary Louise Parker related? |
| Where does the word Marie-Louise for a picture frame come from? |
Copyrights:
 |
 | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| German Literature Companion. The Oxford Companion to German Literature. Copyright © 1976, 1986, 1997, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
 |
| Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma". Read more |
Mentioned in
