Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
| Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick | |
|---|---|
Portrait of by Rosalba Carriera
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Holy Roman Empress German Queen |
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| Tenure | 12 October 1711 – 20 October 1740 |
| Born |
28 August 1691 Brunswick, Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Died | 21 December 1750 (aged 59) Vienna, Austria |
| Burial | Imperial Crypt, Vienna |
| Spouse | Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Issue | |
| House | Welf |
| Father | Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Mother | Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen |
| Religion |
Roman Catholicism prev. Lutheranism |
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (28 August 1691 – 21 December 1750) was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI. She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress Maria Theresa. She is also the maternal grandmother of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, though she died five years before her granddaughter's birth in 1755. She was also the longest serving Holy Roman Empress.
Elisabeth Christine was the eldest daughter of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his wife Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen.
At age 13 Elisabeth Christine became engaged to the future Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, through negotiations between her ambitious grandfather, Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Charles' sister-in-law, Empress Wilhelmina Amalia, whose father was John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and thus belonged to another branch of the Guelph dynasty. However, the Lutheran Protestant bride opposed the marriage at first, since it involved her switching to Roman Catholicism, but finally she gave in. She was tutored in Catholicism by her mother-in-law, who introduced her to the Marian cult and made a pilgrimage with her to Mariazell in 1706. On 1 May 1707, she was converted in Bamberg, Germany. She was forced to swear the Tridentine Creed rather than a modified version she had hoped. Prior to the wedding, she was forced to undergo a medical examination to prove her fertility by a doctor and the Jesuit confessor of Charles.
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