Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867)
| Queen Maria Theresa | |||||
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| Dowager Queen Consort of the Two Sicilies Archduchess of Austria |
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| Queen Consort of the Two Sicilies | |||||
| Tenure | 27 January 1837 – 22 May 1859 | ||||
| Born |
31 July 1816 Vienna, Empire of Austria |
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| Died | 8 August 1867 (aged 51) Albano Laziale, Kingdom of Italy |
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| Burial | Basilica of Saint Chiara | ||||
| Spouse | Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies | ||||
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| House | Habsburg | ||||
| Father | Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen | ||||
| Mother | Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
| Full name | |
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| German: Maria Theresia Isabella |
Maria Theresa of Austria (Maria Theresia Isabella; 31 July 1816 – 8 August 1867) was the second wife of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. She was the eldest daughter of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg.
Her paternal grandparents were Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Frederick William of Nassau-Weilburg (1768–1816) and his wife Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg.
Maria Theresa was Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Royal and Imperial Ladies Chapter of the Castle of Prague (1834-1835).
On 27 January 1837, Maria Theresa married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. The bride was almost twenty-one years old and the groom twenty-seven.
Queen Maria Theresa is described as badly dressed and did not answer to the ideal of a regal person: she disliked her public role and life at court and preferred to confine herself to her private rooms dedicated to needlework and her children. She had a good relationship to both her spouse and her stepson Francis: her stepson respected her and she used to demonstratively call him her son. Maria Theresa was interested in politics: she is known to have acted as the king's advisor and to have influenced him to be strict, and when she could not be present at the reception of officials and wished to hear the conversation, she listened to the talk behind the door. She nursed Ferdinand on his death bed.
At the death of her spouse, she intended to continue her political activity by being the advisor to her stepson Francis, the new monarch. Francis was willing, and her authoritarian policy has been considered to contribute to the public discontent which led to the abolishment of the Kingdom of Naples. Francis' spouse Maria Sophie of Bavaria, however, disputed her influence and Francis had a difficult position in the conflict between his wife and stepmother, without being able to satisfy either. Maria Sophia informed Francis about a plot created by Maria Theresa with the attempt to put the biological son of Maria Theresa on the throne, but Francis chose to believe Maria Theresa when she swore her innocence. It was not until the revolts against the monarchy had already begun that Francis decided to listen to the advice of his wife rather than his stepmother. Maria Theresa was among the first to leave Naples during the revolt: first to Gaeta with her children and advisors, and then to Rome. She resided in the same palace that Francis and Maria Sophia would use when they arrived. She died from cholera, nursed by her stepson Francis, who mourned her greatly.
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