Maria Amalia of Saxony

Maria Amalia of Saxony
Maria Amalia wearing a Polish red jupeczka holding a portrait of her husband overlooking the crown of Naples, by an unknown artist
Queen consort of Spain
Tenure	10 August 1759 – 27 September 1760
Queen consort of Naples and Sicily
Tenure	19 June 1738 – 10 August 1759
Spouse	Charles III of Spain
Detail Issue
Infanta Maria Josefa Maria Luisa, Holy Roman Empress Felipe, Duke of Calabria Charles IV of Spain Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Infante Gabriel Infante Antonio Pascual
Full name
Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga
House	House of Bourbon House of Wettin
Father	Augustus III of Poland
Mother	Maria Josepha of Austria
Born	24 November 1724(1724-11-24) Dresden Castle, Dresden, Germany
Died	27 September 1760(1760-09-27) (aged 35) Buen Retiro Palace, Madrid, Spain
Burial	El Escorial, Spain
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Maria Amalia of Saxony (Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga; 24 November 1724 – 27 September 1760) was a German princess from the House of Wettin and was the wife of Charles III of Spain; she was the Queen consort of Naples and Sicily from 1738 till 1759 and then Queen consort of Spain from 1759 until her death in 1760. A popular consort, she oversaw the construction of the Caserta Palace outside Naples as well as various other projects in her husbands domains. Moving to Spain in 1759, she then set about the improvements to the Royal Palace of Madrid but died before its completion. The mother of some thirteen children, she and her husband enjoyed a loving relationship/. She died of tuberculosis.

Biography

She was born at Dresden Castle in Dresden, the daughter of Augustus III of Poland, Elector of Saxony and Maria Josepha of Austria, herself daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor. Her mother was the first cousin of Empress Maria Theresa. The infant was baptised with the names Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga, but known as Maria Amalia. One of 15 children, she was the sister of Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony, Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony wife of her cousin Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria; she was the older sister of Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony who was the mother of Louis XVI of France. Her youngest sister, Princess Kunigunde was a possible wife for the future Philippe Égalité.

Marriage

In 1737 Maria Amalia became engaged to the King of Naples and Sicily, the future Charles III of Spain. The marriage date was confirmed on 31 October 1737. In 1738, at the age of 14, Maria Amalia married Charles of Bourbon, then King of Naples and Sicily. Despite the fact that this was an arranged marriage, the couple was very close and had many children. Maria Amalia had a proxy ceremony at Dresden in May 1738 with her brother, Frederick Christian of Saxony representing Charles. This marriage was looked upon favourably by the Holy See and effectively meant the conclusion of the diplomatic disagreement Charles and the See had had.

The couple met for the first time on 19 June 1738 at Portella, a village on the frontier of the Kingdom near to Fondi.^[1] At court, festivities lasted till 3 July when Charles created the Insigne e reale ordine di San Gennaro – the most prestigious order of Chivalry in the Kingdom. He later had the Order of Charles III created in Spain on 19 September 1771.

Maria Amalia was a very cultivated woman; she played an important role in the construction of the Caserta Palace for which she saw her husband lay the foundation stone for on his 26th birthday, 20 January 1752 amid much festivity; she also had much influence in the construction of the Palace of Portici (Reggia di Portici), the Teatro di San Carlo – constructed in just 270 days – the Palace of Capodimonte (Reggia di Capodimonte); her husband also had the Royal Palace of Naples renovated. Her apartments at Portici were home to the famous porcelain from the Capodimonte Porcelain Manufactory which she who introduced the production of Porcelain in Naples in 1743. She was also a heavy tobacco smoker. Maria Amalia was also a patron of the composer Gian Francesco Fortunati who was a favourite at the Neapolitan court.

At the end of 1758, Charles' half brother Ferdinand VI was displaying the same symptoms of depression that their father used to suffer from. Ferdinand lost his devoted wife, Infanta Barbara of Portugal in August 1758 and would fall into deep morning for her. He named Charles his heir on 10 December 1758 before leaving Madrid to stay at Villaviciosa de Odón where he died on 10 August 1759.

At that point Charles was proclaimed the King of Spain under the name of Charles III of Spain; in respect of the third Treaty of Vienna, which stated should he become King of Spain he would not be able to join them to the Neapolitan and Sicilian territories. He was later given the title of Lord of the Two Sicilies.

That same year they left Naples for Madrid, leaving two of their children behind in Caserta. Her third-surviving son became Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, while his elder brother Carlos was groomed in Spain to inherit the Spanish crown; their oldest brother, Infante Felipe, Duke of Calabria was mentally retarded and was thus taken out of the line of succession to any throne; he died quietly and forgotten in Portici where he had been born in 1747.

The right of succession to Naples and Sicily was reserved for her second son Prince Ferdinand of Naples and Sicily; Prince Ferdinand would stay in Italy while his parents were in Spain. In favour of that, Charles would abdicate on 6 October 1759, decreeing the final separation between the Spanish and Neapolitan crowns. Charles and his wife arrived in Barcelona on 7 October 1759.

In Spain her husband did much to improve the Spanish economy and helped give the country more of an identiy. 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.

In September 1760, a year after arriving in Madrid, Maria Amalia died from tuberculosis 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.^[2]

Prince Ferdinand became King of Naples and Sicily, at only eight years old, under the name of Ferdinand IV of Naples and as Ferdinand III of Sicily; in order to consolidate the alliance with Austria, he was destined to marry an Archduchess of Austria. Charles left his son's education and care to a Regency Counsel which was composed of eight members. This counsel would govern the countries until the young king be 16 years old. The Archduchess came in the form of Maria Carolina of Austria. The two would have 18 children.

Her descendants include today's King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Archduke Otto of Austria, Prince Henri, Count of Paris along with The Prince Napoléon as well as the two pretenders to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro and the Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria.

Spanish Family of Maria Amalia in 1743

"The Family of Philip V of Spain 1743"; (L-R) Mariana Victoria, Princess of Brazil; Barbara, Princess of Asturias; Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias; King Philip V; Luis, Count of Chinchón; Elisabeth of Parma; Infante Philip; Princess Louise Élisabeth of France; Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela; Infanta Maria Antonietta; Maria Amalia, Queen of Naples and Sicily; Charles, King of Naples and Sicily. The two children in the foreground are Princess Maria Isabella Anne of Naples and Sicily and Infanta Isabella of Spain (daughter of the future Duke of Parma)

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)

1. Princess Maria Isabel (Portici, 6 September 1740 - Naples, 2 November 1742) died in childhood.
2. Princess Maria Josefa (Portici, 20 January 1742 - Naples, 1 April 1742) died in childhood.
3. Princess María Isabel Ana (Capodimonte, 30 April 1743 - Capodimonte, 5 March 1749) died in childhood.
4. Princess María Josefa (Gaeta, 6 July 1744 - Madrid, 8 December 1801) remained unmarried.
5. Princes Maria Luisa (Portici, 24 November 1745 - The Hofburg, 15 May 1792) married Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and had issue.
6. Prince Felipe, Duke of Calabria (Portici, 13 June 1747 - Portici, 19 September 1777) died unmarried.
7. Charles IV of Spain (Portici, 11 November 1748 - Palazzo Barberini, 19 January 1819 married Maria Luisa of Parma and had issue.
8. Princess Maria Teresa (Royal Palace of Naples, 2 December 1749 - Portici, 2 May 1750) died in childhood.
9. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (Naples, 12 January 1751 - Naples, 4 January 1825) married Maria Carolina of Austria and had issue
10. Prince Gabriel (Portici, 11 May 1752 - Casita del Infante, 23 November 1788) married Infanta Mariana Vitória of Portugal and had issue.
11. Princess Maria Ana (Portici, 3 July 1754 - Capodimonte, 11 May 1755) died in childhood.
12. Prince Antonio Pascual (Caserta, 31 December 1755 - 20 April 1817 married Infanta Maria Amalia of Spain and had no issue.
13. Prince Francisco (Caserta, 15 February 1757 - Aranjuez, 10 April 1771) died unmarried

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Styles of Maria Amalia, Queen of Spain as consort
Reference style	Her Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty
Alternative style	Ma'am

Titles and styles

• 24 November 1724 – 17 January 1734 Her Highness Duchess Maria Amalia of Saxony
• 17 January 1734 – 19 June 1738 Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, Duchess in Saxony
  • The change of style was due to her fathers accession as King of Poland thus making her a "princess" by rank but not by birth;
• 19 June 1738 – 10 August 1759 Her Majesty the Queen of Naples, Sicily and of Jerusalem, etc. Infanta of Spain, Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and of Castro, etc.^[3]
• 10 August 1759 – 27 September 1760 Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, the Queen of Naples, Sicily and of Jerusalem, etc. Infanta of Spain, Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and of Castro, etc.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Maria Amalia of Saxony

16. John George II, Elector of Saxony

8. John George III, Elector of Saxony

17. Magdalene Sibylle of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

4. Augustus II of Poland

18. Frederick III of Denmark

9. Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark

19. Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg

2. Augustus III of Poland

20. Erdmann August of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

10. Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

21. Sophie of Brandenburg-Ansbach

5. Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

22. Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg

11. Sofie Luise of Württemberg

23. Anna Katharina of Salm-Kyrburg

1. Maria Amalia of Saxony

24. Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor

12. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

25. Maria Anna of Spain

6. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor

26. Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine

13. Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate

27. Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

3. Maria Josepha of Austria

28. George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

14. John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

29. Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt

7. Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick

30. Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern

15. Benedicta-Henrietta of Simmern

31. Anna Gonzaga

References

1. ^ Harold Acton, I Borboni di Napoli (1734–1825) , Florence, Giunti, 1997.
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Liste des décrets sur le site du ministère de la Culture espagnole.

Maria Amalia of Saxony House of Wettin Born: 24 November 1724 Died: 27 September 1760
Italian royalty
Preceded by Vacant Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel	Queen Consort of Naples and Sicily May 1738 – 10 August 1759	Succeeded by Vacant Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria
Spanish royalty
Preceded by Vacant Infanta Barbara of Portugal	Queen Consort of Spain 10 August 1759 – 27 September 1760	Succeeded by Vacant Princess Maria Luisa of Parma

Persondata
Name	Maria Amalia Of Saxony
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	24 November 1724
Place of birth	Zwinger Palace, Dresden, Germany
Date of death	27 September 1760
Place of death	Buen Retiro Palace, Madrid, Spain