Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma

Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria (who was given the Latin baptismal name of Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Francisca Theresa Josepha Lucia) was born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna on 12 December 1791 to Archduke Francis of Austria and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily.[1] She was named after her grandmother, Marie Louise, Holy Roman Empress. Her father became Holy Roman Emperor a year later as Francis II. Marie Louise was a great-granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa through both her parents, as they were double first cousins. She was also a maternal granddaughter of Queen Maria Carolina of Naples,[1] Marie Antoinette's favorite sister.

Marie Louise's formative years were during a period of conflict between France and her family. She was brought up to detest France and French ideas.[2] Her upbringing was supervised by her French imperial governess Victoire de Folliot de Crenneville.[3] Marie Louise was influenced by her grandmother Maria Carolina, who despised the French Revolution which ultimately caused the death of her sister, Marie Antoinette.[2] Maria Carolina's Kingdom of Naples had also come into direct conflict with French forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte.[2] The War of the Third Coalition brought Austria to the brink of ruin, which increased Marie Louise's resentment towards Napoleon.[4] The Imperial family was forced to flee Vienna in 1805. Marie Louise took refuge in Hungary and later Galicia[4] before returning to Vienna in 1806.[5] Her father relinquished the title of Holy Roman Emperor but remained Emperor of Austria.

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.[6]

In 1807, when Marie Louise was 15, her mother died after suffering a miscarriage.[5] Less than a year later, Emperor Francis married his first cousin Maria Ludovika Beatrix of Austria-Este, who was four years older than Marie Louise.[5] Nonetheless, Maria Ludovika Beatrix took on a maternal role towards her stepdaughter.[7] She was also bitter towards the French, who had deprived her father of the Duchy of Modena.[8]

Another war broke out between France and Austria in 1809, which resulted in defeat for the Austrians again. The Imperial family had to flee Vienna again before the city surrendered on 12 May.[9] Their journey was hampered by bad weather, and they arrived in Buda "wet through, and nearly worn out with fatigue".[9]

After escaping an assassination attempt in Vienna, while negotiating the Treaty of Schönbrunn on 12 October 1809, Emperor Napoleon decided that he needed an heir to cement his relatively young Empire.[10] He also sought the validation and legitimization of his Empire by marrying a member of one of the leading royal families of Europe. He began proceedings to divorce Joséphine de Beauharnais, who did not bear him a son, and began searching for a new empress. His wish to marry Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia, the youngest sister of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, caused alarm in Austria, who were afraid of being sandwiched between two great powers allied with each other.[11] At the persuasion of Prince Metternich, a marriage between Napoleon and Marie Louise was suggested by Emperor Francis to the Count of Narbonne[12][13] but no official overture was made by the Austrians.[14] Though officials in Paris and Austria were beginning to accept the possibility of the union, Marie Louise was kept uninformed of developments.[15]

Frustrated by the Russians delaying the marriage negotiations, Napoleon rescinded his proposal in late January 1810 and began negotiations to marry Marie Louise with the Austrian ambassador, the Prince of Schwarzenberg.[16] Schwarzenberg signed the marriage contract on 7 February.[17] Marie Louise was informed of the marriage by Metternich.[18] When asked for consent, she replied: "I wish only what my duty commands me to wish."[18]

Georges Rouget, Marriage of Napoleon and Marie-Louise (1811)

Marie Louise was married by proxy to Napoleon on 11 March 1810 at the Augustinian Church, Vienna.[19] Napoleon was represented by Archduke Charles, the bride's uncle.[20] According to the French ambassador, the marriage "was celebrated with a magnificence that it would be hard to surpass, by the side of which even the brilliant festivities that have preceded it are not to be mentioned".[21] She became Empress of the French and Queen of Italy.

Marie Louise departed Vienna on 13 March,[22] probably expecting never to return.[23] Upon arriving in France she was placed in the custody of Napoleon's sister, who had her put through a symbolic old ritual. Tradition dictated that a royal bride coming to France must keep nothing of her homeland, especially her clothes. Accordingly, Marie Louise was stripped of her dress, corset, stockings, and chemise, leaving her completely naked. Napoleon's sister then made the nude teenager take a bath. She was then redressed in French bridal clothes. Marie Antoinette had been put through a similar ritual when she arrived in France in 1770. She met Napoleon for the first time on 27 March in Compiègne,[24] remarking to him: "You are much better-looking than your portrait."[24]

Drawing for the temple of Hymen, final firework display at the Celebration of the Marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise at the Residence of Princess Pauline Borghèse, the Palais De Neuilly

The civil wedding was held at the Saint Joseph's Church on 1 April 1810.[25] The next day, Napoleon and Marie Louise made the journey to Paris in the coronation coach.[26] The Imperial Guard cavalry led the procession, followed by the herald-at-arms and then the carriages.[26] The Marshals of France rode on each side, near the doors of the carriages.[26] The procession arrived at the Tuileries Palace,[27] and the Imperial couple made their way to the Salon Carré chapel (in the Louvre) for the religious wedding ceremony.[27] The ceremony was conducted by Cardinal Joseph Fesch, Grand Almoner of France and Napoleon's uncle.[28] A Bridal March was composed for the occasion by Ferdinando Paer,[29] and a cantata by Johann Nepomuk Hummel.

Elaborate celebrations continued to be held in May and June 1810. These included a ball, a masque, a sea-battle on the Seine, and a display of fireworks created by Claude-Fortuné Ruggieri, for 4,000 people.[30][31]

By this marriage, Napoleon became the great-nephew-in-law of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.

In the summer of 1814, Emperor Francis sent Count Adam Albert von Neipperg to accompany Marie Louise to the spa town of Aix-les-Bains to prevent her from joining Napoleon on Elba.[77][78] Neipperg was a confidant of Metternich and an enemy of Napoleon.[77][79] Marie Louise fell in love with Neipperg.[79] They became lovers.[78][79] He became her chamberlain, and her advocate at the Congress of Vienna.[79] News of the relationship was not received well by the French and the Austrian public.[80]

When Napoleon escaped in March 1815 and reinstated his rule, the Allies once again declared war. Marie Louise was asked by her stepmother to join in the processions to pray for the success of the Austrian armies but rejected the insulting invitation.[79] She passed a message to Napoleon's private secretary, Claude-François de Méneval, who was about to return to France: "I hope he will understand the misery of my position ... I shall never assent to a divorce, but I flatter myself that he will not oppose an amicable separation, and that he will not bear any ill feeling towards me ... This separation has become imperative; it will in no way affect the feelings of esteem and gratitude that I preserve."[79] Napoleon was defeated for the last time at the Battle of Waterloo and was exiled to Saint Helena from October 1815. Napoleon made no further attempt to contact her personally.

The Congress of Vienna recognised Marie Louise as ruler of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, but prevented her from bringing her son to Italy.[81] It also made her Duchess of Parma for her life only, as the Allies did not want a descendant of Napoleon to have a hereditary claim over Parma.[69] After her death, the duchy was to revert to the Bourbons.

Portrait in 1839

Daguerreotype of Marie Louise, 1847

Marie Louise departed for Parma on 7 March 1816, accompanied by Neipperg.[82] She entered the duchy on 18 April. She wrote to her father: "People welcomed me with such enthusiasm that I had tears in my eyes."[83] She largely left the running of day-to-day affairs to Neipperg, who received instructions from Metternich.[83] In December 1816, Marie Louise removed the incumbent Grand Chamberlain (prime minister) and installed Neipperg.[77]

She and Neipperg had four children:[78][79]

• Albertine, Countess of Montenuovo (1817–1867), married Luigi Sanvitale, Count of Fontanellato
• William Albert, Count of Montenuovo, later created Prince of Montenuovo (1819–1895), married Countess Juliana Batthyány von Németújvár
• Mathilde, Countess of Montenuovo (1822–c.1823)

Napoleon died on 5 May 1821. On 8 August, Marie Louise married Neipperg morganatically.[78][79] Neipperg died of heart problems on 22 February 1829,[84] devastating Marie Louise.[84] She was banned by Austria from mourning in public.[84] To replace Neipperg, Austria appointed Josef von Werklein as Grand Chamberlain.

Marie Louise's son by Napoleon, then known as "Franz", was given the title Duke of Reichstadt in 1818.[85] Franz lived at the Austrian court, where he was shown great affection by his grandfather, but was constantly undermined by Austrian ministers and nationalists, who did their best to sideline him to become an irrelevance. There were fears that he might be smuggled over to France to regain the throne, as he could be easily disguised as a girl. Franz grew resentful at his Austrian relatives and his mother for their lack of support, and began identifying as Napoleon II and surrounding himself with French courtiers.[86] The relationship with his mother broke down when he became aware that his mother had borne two illegitimate children[87] to Neipperg prior to their marriage; this occurred to such an extent that he once remarked "If Josephine had been my mother, my father would not have been buried at Saint Helena, and I should not be at Vienna. My mother is kind but weak; she was not the wife my father deserved; Josephine was."[87] However, before anything could become of Napoleon II, he died at the age of 21 in Vienna in 1832, after suffering from tuberculosis.

1831 saw the outbreak of the Carbonari-led uprisings in Italy. In Parma, protesters gathered in the streets to denounce Grand Chamberlain Werklein.[88] Marie Louise did not know what to do and wanted to leave the city, but was prevented from doing so by the protesters, who saw her as someone who would listen to their demands.[88] She managed to leave Parma between 14 and 15 February, and the rebels formed a provisional government, led by Count Filippo Luigi Linati.[89] At Piacenza, she wrote to her father, asking him to replace Werklein.[88] Francis sent in Austrian troops, which crushed the rebellion.[90] To avoid further turmoil, Marie Louise granted amnesty to the dissidents on 29 September.[91]

To replace Werklein, in 1833, Metternich sent Charles-René de Bombelles, a French émigré nobleman who had served in the Austrian army against Napoleon. Bombelles was an excellent Grand Chamberlain, who thoroughly reformed the finances of the duchy. A middle-aged widower, he also developed a close personal relationship with Marie Louise. Six months after his arrival, on 17 February 1834, she married him, again morganatically.[92]

Marie Louise fell ill on 9 December 1847. Her condition worsened for the next few days. On 17 December, she passed out after vomiting and never woke up again. She died in the evening.[93] The cause of death was determined to be pleurisy.[93]

Her body was transferred back to Vienna and buried at the Imperial Crypt.[94]

Marital arms of Empress Marie Louise

Monogram of Marie Louise

Arms as Duchess of Parma

Her arms as Duchess of Parma are used as the logo of the perfume company Acqua di Parma. This is in homage to the role she played in helping to develop the perfume and glass industry of Parma.[95]

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  Crown of Empress Marie Louise, set in silver, the 950 diamonds weigh 700 carats, the 79 original emeralds have been replaced with Persian turquoise cabochons
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  A French Empire mantel clock representing Mars and Venus, an allegory of the wedding of Napoleon I and the Archduchess Marie Louise, c.1810
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  Decree with which Marie Louise Italianized her name as Maria Luigia
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  Ten soldi coin of Parma, 1815, bearing the head of Marie Louise on the obverse and her "ML" monogram on the reverse
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  Sarcophagus of Marie Louise in the Imperial Crypt, Vienna

• Napoleon Diamond Necklace

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• de Saint-Amand, Imbert (2010). The Happy Days of the Empress Marie Louise. Miami: HardPress Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4076-4955-9.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma.

• Marie Louise at Die Welt der Habsburger (in German)