Marie Henriette of Austria

Marie Henriette of Austria (Marie Henriette Anne; 23 August 1836 – 19 September 1902) was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Leopold II.

For the wife of Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, see Archduchess Maria Henrietta of Austria.

Marie Henriette of Austria
Queen consort of the Belgians
Reign10 December 1865 – 19 September 1902
Born(1836-08-23)23 August 1836
Buda Castle, Buda, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire
Died19 September 1902(1902-09-19) (aged 66)
Hôtel du Midi,[1] Spa, Belgium
Spouse
Issue
Full name
Marie Henriette Anne
HouseHabsburg-Lorraine
FatherArchduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary
MotherDuchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Marie Henriette was one of five children from the marriage of Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary, and Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg. Marie Henriette was a cousin of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, and granddaughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, through her father. She was also first cousin to the future Queen Mary of the United Kingdom through her mother.

Marriage and issue

One day before her 17th birthday, she married 18-year-old Prince Leopold of Belgium, the heir to the throne, on 22 August 1853. Leopold was the second-surviving son of Leopold I of Belgium and his French wife, Louise of Orléans; Marie Henriette was the sister-in-law of Charlotte of Belgium, future Empress of Mexico and a cousin by marriage to Victoria of the United Kingdom and Maria II of Portugal.

The marriage was arranged to strengthen the status of the Belgian Monarchy. As the former Protestant monarch of a newly established monarchy, the Belgian king wished his son to marry a member from a Roman Catholic and prestigious dynasty, and the name Habsburg was one of her more important qualities. Henriette was a vivid and energetic person interested in riding. Pauline de Metternich wrote that theirs was a marriage "between a stable-boy and a nun, and by nun I mean the Duke of Brabant". Henriette is said to have had a terrible temperament. The marriage became unhappy, and the couple lived more or less separate lives. She became queen in 1865. After the death of their son in 1869, the couple separated completely after having made a last attempt to have another son, which, however, resulted in their daughter Clementine. She gave her daughters a very strict upbringing. Her main interest was in her Hungarian horses. She lived most of her life unhappy and discontented. In 1895 she retreated to Spa; her youngest daughter Clementine replaced her as first lady at the Court in Brussels for the remainder of her husband's life.

Marie Henriette died at the Hôtel du Midi in Spa; she had bought the house in 1895 after separating with her husband. She was buried in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels. Her husband later married (though illegally under Belgian law) his mistress Caroline Delacroix.

Issue

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles
  • 23 August 1836 – 22 August 1853: Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria
  • 22 August 1853 – 17 December 1865: Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Duchess of Brabant
  • 17 December 1865 – 19 September 1902: Her Majesty The Queen of the Belgians

Honours

She received the following awards:[2]

Arms
  • Alliance Coat of Arms of King Leopold II
    and Queen Marie Henriette of Belgium
  • Royal Monogram of Queen Marie-Henriette
    of Belgium

Ancestry

References
  1. sparealites.com
  2. Almanach royal officiel: 1877. 1877. p. 13.
  3. LA ORDEN IMPERIAL DE SAN CARLOS
  4. Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1874). "Chapter III: Prussia, Germany, Belgium". The Diary of H.M. The Shah of Persia during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873: A verbatim translation. Translated by James Redhouse. London: John Murray. p. 135.
  5. Almanach royal officiel: 1875
  6. Bragança, Jose Vicente de (2014). "Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Príncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota" [Portuguese Honours awarded to Princes of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]. Pro Phalaris (in Portuguese). 9–10: 10. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  7. "Real orden de Damas Nobles de la Reina Maria Luisa". Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish). 1900. p. 184. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  8. Joseph Whitaker (1897). An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord ... J. Whitaker. p. 110.
Marie Henriette of Austria
Born: 23 August 1836 Died: 19 September 1902
Belgian royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Princess Louise d'Orléans of France		 Queen consort of the Belgians
1865–1902		 Vacant
Title next held by
Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria
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