Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma
1746 – 1804 · Generation XVII · Duchess of Parma · Habsburg-Lorraine
Maria Amalia (1746 – 1804). Duchess of Parma. Married Ferdinand in 1769. Daughter of Maria Theresa; consort of Ferdinand I of Parma. Her own choice, Prince Charles of Zweibrücken, was turned down by her mother and Chancellor Kaunitz, and she was sent instead to Parma to pull its policy away from France — she never forgave her mother for the match. Within two years she had ousted the French-backed minister Guillaume du Tillot, then dropped his Spanish successor for a cabinet of Parmesans loyal to herself. Her devout husband left government to her, and she ruled in all but name. The nobility despised her extravagance and her affairs with guardsmen; the poor valued her generosity. The execution of her sister Marie Antoinette plunged her into lasting mourning. French troops occupied Parma from 1796, and days after she was named head of a regency council for her dying husband in October 1802, France annexed the duchy and expelled her. She died of breast cancer at Prague Castle in 1804.
Place in the family
- Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma was a daughter of Maria Theresa.
- Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma was the fourth of 9 children of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa recorded in this archive.
One of 24 people of Habsburg-Lorraine (from 1736) in this archive. Maria Theresa’s marriage carried the inheritance into a new name, which its heirs still bear.
Line of descent: Rudolf I of Germany → Albert I of Germany → Albert II, Duke of Austria → Leopold III, Duke of Austria → Ernest, Duke of Austria → Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor → Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor → Philip I of Castile → Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor → Charles II, Archduke of Austria → Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor → Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor → Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor → Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor → Maria Theresa → Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma.
Parents
- Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (1708 – 1765)
- Maria Theresa (1717 – 1780)
Siblings
- Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1741 – 1790)
- Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (1742 – 1798)
- Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1743 – 1808)
- Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (1747 – 1792)
- Maria Carolina of Austria (1752 – 1814)
- Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este (1754 – 1806)
- Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793)
- Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria (1756 – 1801)
Partners
- Married Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma (1751 – 1802) in 1769
Life
- 1746 — Born
- 1769 — Married Ferdinand
- 1804 — Died