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Maria Christina of Austria

Maria Christina
Queen Regent of Spain
Queenspainmc.jpg
Queen consort of Spain
Tenure 29 November 1879 – 25 November 1885
Born (1858-07-21)21 July 1858
Brno, Moravia, Austria
Died 6 February 1929(1929-02-06) (aged 70)
Palacio Real, Madrid, Spain
Burial El Escorial
Spouse Alfonso XII of Spain
Issue
Full name
German: Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria
House Habsburg-Lorraine
Father Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria
Mother Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
Religion Roman Catholicism
Full name
German: Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria

Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria, also known as Maria Christina Henrietta Désirée Félicité Rénière (21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was Queen of Spain as the second wife of King Alfonso XII. She was regent during the minority of their son, Alfonso XIII, and the vacancy of the throne between her husband's death and her son's birth.

Known to her family as Christa, she was born at Židlochovice Castle (Groß Seelowitz), near Brno, in Moravia, a daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria.

Her paternal grandparents were Archduke Charles of Austria and Princess Henriette Alexandrine of Nassau-Weilburg.

Various sources attributed good traits to Maria Christina before her marriage. One states she was "tall, fair, sensible, and well educated". She was Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Royal and Imperial Ladies Chapter of the Castle of Prague (1875-1879).

Maria Christina married King Alfonso XII of Spain on 29 November 1879 at the Basilica of in Madrid, and became the mother of his only three legitimate children:

His previous wife was Mercedes of Orléans, who had died half a year after their marriage, leaving no issue. She lived a discreet life as queen.

When the King died, Maria Christina was pregnant, so the throne was vacant, depending on whether Maria Christina's unborn child was a male or a female; a male would make that child king, while a female would place her elder daughter, Infanta María Mercedes, on the throne. During this period, Maria Christina ruled as regent until her child, a son, was born, who was Alfonso XIII of Spain from birth. Maria Christina continued as regent until Alfonso XIII attained his majority in 1902; she is the "Her Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain" named as concluding in the Treaty of Paris (1898) with the United States of America, ending the Spanish–American War.


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