Maria Louise of Austria (1791-1847) - Find a Grave Memorial

Austrian royalty, Empress of France. Born Archduchess Marie-Louise Leopoldina Franziska Therese Josepha Lucia von Habsburg, she was the eldest child of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (Emperor Francis I of Austria) and his wife, Maria Theresa of the two Sicilies. Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich brought Marie-Louise to the attention of Emperor Napoleon, who was dissolving his childless marriage to Empress Joséphine and looking for a young bride of royal blood. The match was arranged, and they were married in Paris on April 1, 1810. Napoleon's longed-for heir, Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph Bonaparte, was born on March 20, 1811. Empress Marie-Louise served as regent in France while Napoleon campaigned in Russia. After her husband's first abdication in 1814, she returned to Vienna with her son, and the Treaty of Paris granted to her the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla with full sovereignty. Despite her husband's repeated entreaties and threats to join him in exile in Elba, she distanced herself from him completely, and remained in Austria during his short-lived return to power in 1815, showing no interest in his triumph. Following Napoleon's death in 1821, Marie-Louise married Adam Adalbert, Count von Neipperg, by whom she already had two children, Albertine and Wilhelm. They had one more daughter, Mathilde, after their wedding. Together they ruled her three duchies very liberally. Von Neipperg died in 1829. Marie-Louise married a third time to Charles-Rene, count de Bombelles, in 1832. The duchess died in Parma at the age of 56.

Bio by: Kristen Conrad