Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1718–1744)
| Archduchess Maria Anna | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Johann Gottfried Auerbach
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| Born |
18 September 1718 Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 16 December 1744 (aged 26) Brussels, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) |
| Burial | Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria |
| Spouse | Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine |
| House |
House of Habsburg House of Lorraine |
| Father | Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick |
Archduchess Maria Anna Eleanor Wilhelmina Josepha of Austria (18 September 1718 in Vienna – 16 December 1744 in Brussels) was an Archduchess of Austria and a Princess of Lorraine, the younger sister of Empress Maria Theresa, and a Governor of the Austrian Netherlands.
Maria Anna was born at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna. Her birth was not well received by her father. She and her sister Maria Theresa were the only children of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel to survive into adulthood. The two sisters were raised in the Kaiserhof in Vienna. During her youth she met her future brother in law, Francis Stephen of Lorraine and his younger brother Charles Alexander of Lorraine. The two princes were staying in Austria having a good education; their mother Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans was in France.
In 1725, negotiations with the Queen of Spain, Elisabeth Farnese had Maria Anna as a possible wife of Philip, Duke of Parma, who was just five. This match was supposed to smooth over relations with Spain. An alliance of Spain and Austria was signed on 30 April 1725 and thus guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction of the Habsburgs [allowing Maria Theresa right of her father's lands being his eldest daughter], which was first declared in 1713. Based on the terms of the treaty, the Austrian Empire relinquished all claims to the Spanish throne. It also agreed that Spain would invade Gibraltar with the help of the Austrians. Despite this, the Anglo-Spanish War stopped the ambitions of Elisabeth of Parma and with the signing of the Treaty of Seville (9 November 1729) saw the abandonment of the Austro-Spanish marriage plans.
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