Carlota | |||||
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Princess of Belgium | |||||
Empress consort of Mexico | |||||
Tenure | 10 April 1864 – 15 May 1867 | ||||
Coronation | 10 April 1864 | ||||
Born |
Laeken, Brussels, Belgium |
7 June 1840||||
Died | 19 January 1927 Meise, Belgium |
(aged 86)||||
Burial | Royal Crypt, Laken | ||||
Spouse | Maximilian I of Mexico | ||||
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House | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Belgium | ||||
Father | Leopold I of Belgium | ||||
Mother | Princess Louise de Orléans of France |
Full name | |
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French: Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine |
Styles of Carlota of Mexico |
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Reference style | Her Imperial Majesty |
Spoken style | Your Imperial Majesty |
Maria Charlotta Amelia Augusta Victoria Clementina Leopoldina of Belgium called Carlota of Mexico (7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927) was a Belgian princess who became Empress of Mexico as the wife of Maximilian I of Mexico.
The only daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians (1790–1865) by his second wife, Louise, Princess of Orléans (1812–1850), Charlotte was born at the Royal Palace of Laeken in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium. She was named after her father's first wife, Princess Charlotte of Wales, who had died in childbirth in 1817. Charlotte had three brothers: Louis-Philippe, who died in infancy, Leopold, who on the death of their father became Leopold II of Belgium and Philippe, Count of Flanders. She was also a first cousin to both Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, as well as Ferdinand II of Portugal. She belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Her favorite grandparent Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, Queen of France, was the consort of Louis-Philippe of France, and a niece of Marie Antoinette. Maria Amalia was Charlotte's close confidante, and on her wedding day in 1857, she wore a bracelet with a miniature portrait of her. They regularly corresponded, especially later while Charlotte was in Mexico.