Principessa
Maria Beatrice of Sardinia
(1792–1840)
Other names: Maria Beatrice Vittoria Giuseppina
Biographical
Maria Beatrice first met her future husband, and uncle, Francesco (IV)
of Austria-Este, when she was eighteen years of age in 1810, during his
visit to Sardinia when he stayed with his sister, Queen Maria Therese,
and the rest of the royal family. He was fourteen years older, and still
bitter over the anti-Este family Metternich denying him the hand in marriage
of Maria Louisa, Archduchess of Austria, who married Napoleon instead.
Although he desired to marry Maria Beatrice, she was said to be unwilling,
but his mother, Duchess Maria Beatrice d'Este, strongly favoured the union
which would have broken down all opposition, including that of Maria Beatrice's
parents. The only obstacle was obtaining papal dispensation from the Pope,
who was, at the time, a prisoner of Napoleon. The dispensation finally
arrived in May 1812, and the wedding took place in June that year with
great pomp. Maria Beatrice was said to have been finally happy to marry
her uncle. She was described as charming, pious, and accomplished, and
husband and wife were initially devoted to each other. They shared the
same tastes, including riding. Maria Beatrice was an accomplished horsewoman,
and it was a familiar sight to see her galloping her Sardinian courser
in Modena, around the neighbouring country. But some five years after
their marriage, she regarded her husband as nothing more than a kind uncle.
In 1813 letters came to Francesco (he was till in Sardinia) from his brothers
in Vienna: his country was in danger and needed his presence and his services.
Maria Beatrice was very attached to her parents, but she also had a strong
sense of duty, and saw at once that Francesco must return to his troubled
country. She bravely resolved to share with him the long, dangerous journey
through seas and countries distracted by a doubtful and desperate war.
The king and queen, whom they consulted, were of the same mind, and praised
the courage and resolution that outweighed affection and sorrow. In July,
Maria Beatrice parted from her mother and embarked with her husband on
board the English man-of-war, Tremendous. An illustrious suite
attended her. Their voyage was long and perilous. Initially intending
to land at Malta, but the plague was raging there, so they journeyed to
the island of Zante instead, where they were entertained by Queen Caroline
of Naples. They bided their time there pleasantly, hospitably entertained
by English and Greek natives, prolonged because their next destinations
of Fiume and Trieste were still in French hands. The couple finally left
for Trieste from Lissa in October and was received there with much celebration.
They remained there and then at Vienna for some time, until finally, they
made their state entry into Modena in July 1814, and Francesco ascended
the throne in succession to his grandfather, Ercole III d'Este. After
Napoleon's escape from Elba in 1815, Modena was once again occupied. Maria
Beatrice left for Mantua in March that year as her husband defended his
country. She then went to Genoa to stay with her father, who was providing
refuge to Pope Pius VII after he had fled the advancing forces of Murat,
and they were joined briefly by her husband, Francesco. In May, Maria
Beatrice returned to Modena to find the people rejoicing as the country
was now freed, and her husband finally settled in the capital. In 1820
Maria Beatrice finally gave birth to an heir, Francesco (V). After her
father's abdication in 1821, Maria Beatrice's parents settled at Modena,
much to her joy. After Charles X of France was banished following the
revolution of 1830, Francesco IV of Modena refused to recognise the new
regime. His enemies now accused him of employing the services of the Carbonari
and other secret societies, admitting to his friendship their leaders,
Ciro Menotti and Enrico Mislei, to further his ambition to become king
of United Italy. The success of the revolution of July had given alarming
impetus. Discovery was made of a conspiracy against the state of Modena
under Ciro Menotti, whom Francis had honoured with his friendship and
confidence. Thirty of the chief conspirators were arrested and imprisoned,
and a few of them executed, including Menotti himself who became a martyr.
The attempted revolution was suppressed, and overall, Francesco showed
himself to be more lenient than his safety and the states demanded, but
his wife insisted that her voice should be heard. Maria Beatrice notably
published her sentiments in the Voce delta Verità where
she expressed that her husband's leniency would give his enemies the impression
of a spirit weakened by troubles. As one who on every opportunity made
known her horror of sects and subversive principles, she was not afraid
to proclaim her hatred of the enemies of religion, monarchy, and social
order. A subsequent plot against the ducal family was prevented by pure
accident. As was the custom of the family to attend the Benedictine church
of St Peter on St Benedict's Day, the event slipped the duchess's mind,
and instead, she took her children to open a spring festival. She perhaps
saved her life, or at least, her liberty, and that of her family, because
the conspirators had planned to seize the duke and duchess on their way
to the Benedictine church. In early 1840 Maria Beatrice fell seriously
ill, and in September, she received the last sacraments, refusing to the
last to forgive her political enemies.
The Jacobite
claim to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Wales had passed to Maria
Beatrice at the death of her father in 1824, and she was styled 'Mary
II,' but she never pursued the claim.
Because she married her uncle, a marriage considered illegal in England,
the Jacobite claim of her offspring was questioned, though it was generally
accepted.
Place of birth: Turin
Place of marriage: Cagliari
Place of death: Cattajo
Place of burial: Modena
Daughter of King Vittorio Amedeo I of Sardinia and Maria Therese
of Austria-Este (Habsburg). She married her uncle, Duke Francesco IV of
Modena (Habsburg) in 1812, and had issue.
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