Maria Sophie of Bavaria
| Maria Sophie in Bavaria | |
|---|---|
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|
| Queen consort of the Two Sicilies | |
| Tenure | 22 May 1859 – 20 March 1861 |
| Born |
4 October 1841 Possenhofen Castle, Possenhofen, Kingdom of Bavaria |
| Died | 19 January 1925 (aged 83) Munich, Bavaria, Weimar Republic |
| Burial | Basilica di Santa Chiara |
| Spouse | Francis II |
| Issue | Princess Maria Cristina Pia |
| House | Wittelsbach |
| Father | Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria |
| Mother | Princess Ludovika of Bavaria |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Maria Sophie in Bavaria, (4 October 1841, Possenhofen Castle – 19 January 1925, Munich) was the last Queen consort of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. She was one of the ten children of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. She was born as Duchess Maria Sophia in Bavaria. She was the younger sister of the better-known Elisabeth of Bavaria ("Sisi") who married Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.
In the winter of 1857, at the age of 16, Marie's hand was sought by Francis II, Crown Prince of Naples, Duke of Calabria, and the eldest son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, King of Naples. The marriage was political, since Ferdinand wished to ally himself with the Emperor of Austria, Franz Josef I, a powerful fellow absolutist. At that time the kingdom was already threatened by revolutionary forces. At that time Marie had not experienced menarche, and underwent treatments to induce menses (Hamann 80). She also had to learn Italian. She was married by proxy. In January 1859 she traveled to Vienna to spend time with her sister before they went to Trieste to formally enter her new kingdom, and say farewell to her family on the Neapolitan royal yacht Fulminante. She set sail for Bari and 3 February 1859 was married there. (Hamann 82).
On 3 February 1859 Maria Sophie was married by proxy to the Duke of Calabria, the eldest son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, King of Naples. Within the year, with the death of the king, her husband ascended to the throne as Francis II of the Two Sicilies, and Maria Sophie became queen of a realm that was shortly to be overwhelmed by the forces of Giuseppe Garibaldi and Piedmontese army.
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