Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen, passed away on 24 June 1798 at the age of fifty-six. She is a strong candidate for the title of the most privileged among the privileged.
Maria Christina was the fourth daughter of Maria Theresa, born exactly on her mother’s twenty-fifth birthday. This happy coincidence made her the Empress’s favourite daughter, showered with privileges denied to her sisters. For her part, Maria Christina was clever enough to maintain that maternal affection through constant flattery and numerous small attentions towards the Empress. Unsurprisingly, this caused lasting jealousy and rivalry within the family.
The greatest privilege Maria Theresa granted her favourite daughter was the right to marry a man of her own choosing — Albert of Saxony. This extraordinary concession completely soured Maria Christina’s relationship with several of her sisters, who were forced into politically motivated and often unhappy unions.
Unlike theirs, Maria Christina’s marriage proved harmonious and happy, although it remained childless. This could be regarded as the only bitter drop in an otherwise fortunate and successful life. The couple divided their time between Vienna and Brussels, where they governed the Austrian Netherlands on behalf of the dynasty.
Albert survived his wife by twenty-four years but never remarried. The cenotaph he commissioned in her memory, considered a masterpiece of Neoclassical sculpture, can still be seen in the Augustinian Church in Vienna. From an early age, Maria Christina showed a talent for drawing, and many of her works are still preserved at Schönbrunn Palace.
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