Maria Anna of Austria
Portrait by Jean Ranc, 1729
Queen consort of Portugal
Tenure27 October 1708 – 31 July 1750
Born(1683-09-07)7 September 1683
Linz, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Died14 August 1754(1754-08-14) (aged 70)
Palace of Belém, Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial
Imperial Crypt, Vienna (heart)
Pantheon of the House of Braganza, Lisbon (body)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1708; died 1750)​
Issue
Names
Maria Anna Josepha Antonia Regina
HouseHabsburg
FatherLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
MotherEleonor Magdalene of Neuburg
SignatureMaria Anna of Austria's signature

Maria Anna of Austria (Maria Anna Josepha Antonia Regina; 7 September 1683 – 14 August 1754) was Queen of Portugal as the wife of King John V of Portugal. She served as the regent of Portugal from 1742 until 1750 during the illness of her husband. She was born an Archduchess of Austria as the daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg.

Life

Maria Anna's arrival to Lisbon on Gottfried Stein's painting

Early life

Born Maria Anna Josepha Antonia Regina, she was the eleventh child and seventh daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1640–1705) by his third wife, Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg (1655–1720). Two of her brothers, Joseph and Charles later became emperors. Through Charles, she was an aunt of Maria Theresa, the only woman to ever rule the Habsburg monarchy in her own right.

Life as queen consort

On 27 October 1708, Maria Anna married John V, King of Portugal (1689–1750) to seal the alliance between the two countries against France and Spain during the War of Spanish Succession. Maria Anna reformed the court and its customs to follow the traditions and customs of the traditional Queens of Portugal.[1] Her greatest influence on the court and Portuguese nobility as a whole was the increase of segregation between men and women, as well as between servants and masters. Like John, Maria Anna had an exuberant taste, best shown in her famous parties: she would invite the nobility from all over the country and hold a magnificent festival, often lasting several days.[2]

Regency

In 1742 Maria Anna became regent after her husband had suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. When John V died on 31 July 1750, their eldest son Joseph I of Portugal inherited the throne.

She died in the Belém Palace on 14 August 1754.[3] After her death, she was buried in Lisbon, but her heart was brought to Vienna and buried there in the Imperial Crypt.

Issue

Maria Anna had six children with her husband, John V, King of Portugal, four of whom survived infancy.

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Nizza da Silva, p. 33.
  2. ^ Nizza da Silva, p. 34.
  3. ^ Vale, Teresa; Gomes, Carlos (1994). SIPA (ed.). "Palácio Nacional de Belém" (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 100.
  5. ^ a b Eder, Karl (1961), "Ferdinand III.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 85–86; (full text online)
  6. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Anna von Spanien" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 7. p. 23 – via Wikisource.
  7. ^ a b Fuchs, Peter (2001), "Philipp Wilhelm", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 20, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 384; (full text online)
  8. ^ a b Louda, Jirí; MacLagan, Michael (1999). Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe (2nd ed.). London: Little, Brown and Company. table 84.

Bibliography

External links

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Maria Anna of Austria House of HabsburgBorn: 7 September 1683 Died: 14 August 1754 Portuguese royalty VacantTitle last held byMaria Sophiaof Neuburg Queen consort of Portugal 27 October 1708 – 31 July 1750 Succeeded byMariana Victoriaof Spain
Austrian archduchesses by descent
Royal consorts of Portugal
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