Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, a distant Habsburg descendant on both her father’s and mother’s sides, was born on 31 May 1867. Her marriage prospects began under less than ideal circumstances. Two prominent Habsburgs — Crown Prince Rudolf and Archduke Franz Ferdinand — had previously rejected her elder sister as a potential bride, an insult […]
Empress Claudia Felicitas, the second wife of Leopold I, was born on 30 May 1653. Her name may not be widely recognised today. Although she descended from the powerful Medici clan through her mother and grandmother, Claudia Felicitas was, in fact, a born Habsburg — the last representative of the Tyrolean branch of the family. […]
Archduchess Sophie of Bavaria passed away on 28 May 1872. Born a Bavarian princess, she married Archduke Francis Charles, the second son of Emperor Francis II. As Ferdinand, the hydrocephalic and epileptic heir apparent was unable to produce an heir, Sophie’s first-born son, Francis Joseph, was next in line to the throne from the moment […]
Today marks another ‘wedding of the century’. On 26 May 1521, Archduke Ferdinand — later Emperor Ferdinand I — married Anne of Bohemia. This union had been arranged years earlier by Ferdinand’s grandfather, Emperor Maximilian I, who was also the guardian of the orphaned Anne and her brother Louis. Through this marriage, the Habsburgs acquired […]
Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda passed away on 22 May 1832. She was one of the many children of Emperor Francis II and Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. Known for her mild and kind nature, she was, like many Habsburg archduchesses, a gifted artist — but she also suffered from epilepsy. She married Frederick Augustus of […]
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, daughter of Leopold II, was born on 21 May 1864. Deeply affected by her parents’ notoriously unhappy marriage, she grew up lonely and neglected, receiving only a superficial education and enduring a strict upbringing that included physical punishment. When 16-year-old Stéphanie married Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, the union of two […]
Archduke Karl Ludwig died on 19 May 1896. His name likely doesn’t ring a bell – and for good reason: he was merely a younger son of a younger son of Emperor Francis II/I. Even learning that he was the brother of Emperor Francis Joseph and Maximilian I of Mexico may not help much. For […]
Archduchess Maria Antonia and Louis, the Dauphin of France, were married at Versailles on 16 May 1770. It’s probably no exaggeration to say that every single day of their marriage has been scrutinised and dragged into the spotlight. The discordant mismatch of this couple has fascinated historians and biographers for centuries. Vain and restless Maria […]
Archduchess Maria, the daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna of Bohemia, and the sister of the future Emperor Maximilian II, was born on 15 May 1531. She was said to have been small for her age and in fragile health. Together with her siblings, she received a strict Catholic upbringing and was educated in […]
Archduchess Maria Christina, the fourth daughter of Maria Theresa, was born on 13 May 1742, exactly on her mother’s 25th birthday. From an early age, Maria Christina showed a talent for drawing, and many of her works are still on display at Schönbrunn Palace. She also loved carriage rides and often drove the horses herself […]
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