Maria Leopoldina of Austria

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Maria Leopoldina of Austria
Empress consort of Brazil Queen consort of Portugal
Tenure	1 December 1822 - 11 December 1826
Spouse	Peter I of Brazil
Issue
Maria II of Portugal Peter II of Brazil Princess Francisca of Brazil Januária Maria, Princess Imperial of Brazil
Full name
Maria Leopoldina Josefa Carolina
House	House of Habsburg-Lorraine House of Braganza
Father	Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies
Born	January 22, 1797 Vienna
Died	December 11, 1826 (aged 29) Paço de São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro
Burial	1954 Museu Paulista, São Paulo

Maria Leopoldina of Austria (Portuguese: Maria Leopoldina da Áustria; German: Erzherzogin Maria Leopoldine von Österreich) (22 January 1797 – 11 December 1826) was Empress consort of Brazil, and, for two months, simultaneously Queen consort of Portugal.

She was born in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, and his second wife, Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies. Among her many siblings were Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria and Archduchess Marie Louise, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.

[edit] Marriage to Pedro I

In 1817 she sailed to Brazil to marry the future crown prince of Portugal, Dom Pedro of Alcântara. The Portuguese royal family had been living there in exile for ten years, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. Leopoldine was highly cultured, fluent in six languages, and very interested in the natural sciences. In the years that followed she brought several researchers and biologists to her new homeland, starting with Johann Baptist von Spix, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, and Johann Natterer, who accompanied her in 1817.

When his father, King João VI, returned to Lisbon in 1821, Dom Pedro chose to remain in Brazil with Leopoldina and their children. In 1822, Dom Pedro headed Brazil's declaration of independence from Portugal, and was crowned as the country's Emperor.

[edit] Empress of Brazil

Maria Leopoldina acting as Empress Regent meets with the Council of Ministers in 1822

Maria Leopoldina became Brazil's first Empress consort. She also played an important role on the Declaration of Independence process. On September 2, 1822, a new decree with demands from Lisbon arrived in Rio de Janeiro, while Prince Pedro was in São Paulo. Leopoldina, advised by José Bonifácio, and using her power as Princess Regent, met on September 2, 1822 with the Council of Ministers. She decided to send her husband the news along with a letter advising him to declare Brazil's independence and warned him, "The fruit is ready, it's time to harvest." Prince Pedro declared the country's independence upon receiving the letter, on September 7, 1822.

When his father died, on 10 March 1826, Pedro inherited the Portuguese throne as King Pedro IV, while remaining Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. Maria Leopoldina thus became both Empress consort of Brazil and Queen consort of Portugal. However, two months later, Pedro was forced to give up the Portuguese throne to his seven-year-old daughter Maria.

[edit] Children

Maria Leopoldina and Pedro had seven children before she died in 1826 following a miscarriage:

• Maria II, Queen of Portugal (1819-1853), following Pedro's devotion to Our Lady of Glória
• Miguel, Prince of Brazil (1820).
• João Carlos, Prince of Brazil (1821-1822).
• Januária (1822-1901), named after the city of Rio de Janeiro, married Prince Louis, Count of Aquila (1824-1897), son of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies.
• Paula Mariana (1823-1833).
• Francisca Carolina (1824-1898) married François d'Orleans, prince of Joinville (1818-1900), son of Louis-Philippe King of the French.
• Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (1825-1891), married Princess Teresa of the Two Sicilies (1822-1889), the youngest daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies.
• Miscarriage (11 December 1826).

[edit] Titles and styles

• Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Imperial & Archduchess Leopoldine of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia
• Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Princess of Brazil
• Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Duchess of Braganza
• Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Princess of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (1817-1822)
• Her Imperial and Royal Majesty The Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal (1826)
• Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of Brazil (1822-1826)

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maria Leopoldina of Austria

• Article by Princess Michael of Kent about Leopoldine Retrieved 26 January 2006