Maria Amalia of Saxony
Maria Amalia of Saxony | |||||
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Sicily | |||||
Tenure | 19 June 1738 – 10 August 1759 | ||||
Born | Dresden Castle, Dresden, Saxony | 24 November 1724||||
Died | 27 September 1760 Buen Retiro Palace, Madrid, Spain | (aged 35)||||
Burial | |||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue Detail |
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House | Wettin | ||||
Father | Augustus III of Poland | ||||
Mother | Maria Josepha of Austria | ||||
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Maria Amalia (Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga; 24 November 1724 – 27 September 1760) was
Biography
Early years
She was born at
Queen of Naples and Sicily
In 1738 Maria Amalia became engaged to Charles, King of Naples and Sicily, the future
On 4 July 1738 Maria Amalia arrived at Naples and to what was described as a euphoric welcome. The couple met for the first time on 19 June 1738 at Portella, a village on the kingdom's frontier near Fondi.[1] At court, festivities lasted till 3 July when Charles created the Royal order of San Gennaro – the most prestigious chivalric order in the kingdom. He later had the Order of Charles III created in Spain on 19 September 1771.
Despite being an arranged marriage, the couple became very close: it was noted and reported to her mother-in-law in Spain, that Charles seemed happy and pleased when he first met her. Maria Amalia was described as a beauty and as a skillful rider, and she accompanied Charles on his hunts. As Queen, she exerted great influence upon politics despite her frequent illnesses, and she actively participated in state affairs. She ended the careers of several politicians she disliked, such as J.M. de Benavides y Aragón, conte di Santisteban; Y.Y. de Montealegre, marchese di Salas; and G. Fogliani Sforza d'Aragona, marchese di Pellegrino. Her displeasure led directly to the latter being deposed as prime minister.[2] Maria Amalia did not need to keep her influence secret: after the birth of her first son in 1747, she was given a seat in the council of state.[3] She worked against the Spanish influence on Naples and in 1742 convinced Charles, against the will of Spain, to declare Naples neutral during the War of the Austrian Succession, during which Britain threatened to bomb Naples.[4] In 1744, however she was forced to agree to declare war. She then favored Great Britain before France and Austria.[5] Maria Amalia was talked about because of her favorites, which were to have influence over her policy when she was very ill, such as princess Anna Francesca Pinelli and duchess Zenobia Revertera. In 1754, she supported the career of Bernardo Tanucci as Foreign Minister.[6]
Maria Amalia was very cultivated and played an important role in the construction of
Queen of Spain
At the end of 1758, Charles' half brother
That same year Charles and Maria Amalia left Naples for
Maria Amalia once again did much to improve the royal residences having them redecorated. She, along with her husband, helped with the founding of the luxury porcelain factory under the name Real Fábrica del Buen Retiro.[citation needed] Maria Amalia deemed Spain to be ill managed and undeveloped, and she partially blamed her mother-in-law, Queen Dowager Elizabeth Farnese, who was thereby obliged to leave the Spanish court.[citation needed] She did not like it in Spain, and complained about the food, the language, which she refused to learn; the climate, the Spaniards, whom she thought to be passive and the Spanish courtiers, whom she regarded as ignorant and uneducated.[7] She described the Spanish court as depressed and hysterical.[8] She planned great reforms to the Spanish system, but did not have time to finish them.[9] In September 1760, a year after arriving in Madrid, Maria Amalia suddenly died at the Buen Retiro Palace outside the capital. She was buried at the Royal Crypt in El Escorial. She was joined by her devoted husband in 1788.
In 1761, Charles commissioned Giovanni Battista Tiepolo to paint frescoes for the Royal Palace in Madrid. In the Queen's Antechamber, Tiepolo and his assistants painted the Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy. The frescos were painted from 1762–1766. Queen Maria Amalia appears surrounded by several of the gods of Greek mythology, including Apollo.[10]
Issue
By Infante Carlos of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza; King of Naples and Sicily; King of Spain (Real Alcázar de Madrid, Madrid, Kingdom of Spain, 20 January 1716 – Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Kingdom of Spain, 14 December 1788)
- Princess Maria Isabel (Portici, 6 September 1740 – Naples, 2 November 1742) died in childhood.
- Princess Maria Josefa (Portici, 20 January 1742 – Naples, 1 April 1742) died in childhood.
- Princess María Isabel Ana (Capodimonte, 30 April 1743 – Capodimonte, 5 March 1749) died in childhood.
- Princess María Josefa (Gaeta, 6 July 1744 – Madrid, 8 December 1801).
- The Hofburg, 15 May 1792) married Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperorand had issue.
- Prince Felipe, Duke of Calabria(Portici, 13 June 1747 – Portici, 19 September 1777).
- Charles IV of Spain (Portici, 11 November 1748 – Palazzo Barberini, 19 January 1819) married Maria Luisa of Parma and had issue.
- Princess Maria Teresa (Royal Palace of Naples, 2 December 1749 – Portici, 2 May 1750) died in childhood.
- Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (Naples, 12 January 1751 – Naples, 4 January 1825) married Maria Carolina of Austria and had issue
- Infanta Maria Ana Vitória of Portugal
- Princess Maria Ana (Portici, 3 July 1754 – Capodimonte, 11 May 1755) died in childhood.
- Infanta María Amalia of Spain
- Prince Francisco Javier (Caserta, 15 February 1757 – Aranjuez, 10 April 1771) died in childhood.
Arms
Ancestry
Ancestors of Maria Amalia of Saxony Sophie Louise of Württemberg | |||||||||||||||
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1. Maria Amalia of Saxony | |||||||||||||||
12. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor | |||||||||||||||
6. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor | |||||||||||||||
13. Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg | |||||||||||||||
3. Maria Josepha of Austria | |||||||||||||||
14. John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick | |||||||||||||||
7. Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick | |||||||||||||||
15. Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate | |||||||||||||||
References
- ^ Harold Acton, I Borboni di Napoli (1734–1825), Florence, Giunti, 1997.
- ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- ^ "Google Image Result". Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 100.
- Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 70 (2007)
- María de los Ángeles Pérez Samper: María Amalia de Sajonia, in: Diccionario biográfico español, Madrid 2009–2013, Online-Version