The Archduchesses Maria Elisabeth and Maria Karolina were born on 13 August, in 1743 and 1752 respectively. They were the fifth and tenth daughters of Maria Theresa and Francis Stephan.
Due to the considerable age gap, the two sisters neither played together nor shared tutors or lesson programmes. Apart from their common birthday, they had little in common. Maria Elisabeth was widely regarded as a beauty — vain, pleasure-loving, and intellectually indifferent—whereas Maria Karolina displayed political acumen and a keen interest in affairs of state.
After smallpox destroyed her looks and her chances of a brilliant marriage, Maria Elisabeth spent the rest of her life in embittered idleness, without any serious duty or purpose. Maria Karolina, by contrast, married King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily and bore him 18 children. In place of her inept husband, she became the true political power behind the throne, earning even Napoleon’s grudging respect.
Yet there was one more thing the sisters shared beyond their birthday: they were the last two of Maria Theresa’s children to depart this world — in 1808 and 1814, respectively.
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