Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
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1810 portrait by Jean-Baptiste Isabey
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| Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla | |||||
| Reign | 11 April 1814 – 17 December 1847 | ||||
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Empress consort of the French Queen consort of Italy |
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| Tenure | 1 April 1810 – 6 April 1814 | ||||
| Born |
12 December 1791 Hofburg, Vienna, Austria |
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| Died | 17 December 1847 (aged 56) Parma, Duchy of Parma |
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| Burial | Imperial Crypt, Vienna | ||||
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| House | Habsburg-Lorraine | ||||
| Father | Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||
| Mother | Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
| Full name | |
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| German: Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Therese Josepha Lucia |
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Styles of Marie Louise, Empress of the French, Queen of Italy as consort |
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| Reference style | Her Imperial Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Imperial Majesty |
| Alternative style | Madam |
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Styles of Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma |
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| Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Madam |
Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Therese Josepha Lucia; Italian: Maria Luigia Leopoldina Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was an Austrian archduchess who reigned as Duchess of Parma from 1814 until her death. She was Napoleon's second wife and, as such, Empress of the French from 1810 to 1814.
As the eldest child of the Habsburg Emperor Francis II of Austria and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Marie Louise grew up during a period of continuous conflict between Austria and revolutionary France. A series of military defeats at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte had inflicted a heavy human toll on Austria and led Francis to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire. The end of the War of the Fifth Coalition resulted in the marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise in 1810, which ushered in a brief period of peace and friendship between Austria and the French Empire. Marie Louise dutifully agreed to the marriage despite being raised to despise France. She was an obedient wife and was adored by Napoleon, who had been eager to marry a member of one of Europe's leading royal houses to cement his relatively young Empire. With Napoleon, she bore a son, styled the King of Rome at birth, later Duke of Reichstadt, who briefly succeeded him as Napoleon II.
Napoleon's fortunes changed dramatically in 1812 after his failed invasion of Russia. The European powers, including Austria, resumed hostilities towards France in the War of the Sixth Coalition, which ended with the abdication of Napoleon and his exile to Elba. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau handed over the Duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla to Empress Marie Louise. She ruled the duchies until her death.
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