2 November – A good day for archduchesses to be born

2 November has an unusually high concentration of archduchesses born on this day. Moving backwards in time, they were as follows:
Maria Antonia, the youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, was born on 2 November 1755. Known in history as Marie Antoinette, the tragic Queen of France, her personality and life have been the subject of numerous biographies and, consequently, have entered general knowledge – not to say, become a cultural entity in their own right. For more about her, see the Family Calendar entries for 16 May and 16 October.
Six generations earlier, Anna, daughter of Emperor Maximilian II, was born on 2 November 1549. Through her marriage to Philip II, she became Queen of Spain. Her life is outlined in the Family Calendar entry for 26 October.
Anna’s aunt Eleonora, daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I, was born on 2 November 1534. She became Duchess of Mantua by marriage and thus the grandmother of Empress Anna of Tyrol. Eleonora is briefly mentioned in the Family Calendar entry for 24 January.