Marie Henriette of Austria

Marie Henriette of Austria
Queen of the Belgians
Tenure	10 December 1865 – 19 September 1902
Spouse	Leopold II of Belgium
Issue
Louise Marie, Princess of Kohary Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant Stéphanie, Crown Princess of Austria Clémentine, Princess Napoléon
House	House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Archduke Joseph of Austria, Palatine of Hungary
Mother	Maria Dorothea of Württemberg
Born	23 August 1836(1836-08-23) Buda Castle, Budapest
Died	19 September 1902(1902-09-19) (aged 66) Hôtel du Midi, Spa, Belgium

Marie Henriette of Austria (Marie Henriette Anne; 23 August 1836 – 19 September 1902) was the queen consort of King Leopold II of Belgium.

Family

Marie Henriette was one of five children from the marriage of Joseph, archduke of Austria and palatine of Hungary, and Maria Dorothea of Württemberg. Marie Henriette's was the most important union. Her siblings were:

• Franziska Marie Elisabeth, archduchess of Austria (31 July 1820, Buda – 23 August 1820 Buda)
• Alexander, archduke of Austria (6 June 1825, Buda – 12 November 1837, Buda)
• Elisabeth Franziska, archduchess of Austria (17 January 1831, Ofen, Hungary – 14 February 1903, Vienna, Austria). Elisabeth Franziska first married Ferdinand Karl Viktor, archduke of Austria-Este (1821–1849), and later Karl Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Teschen (1818–1874).
• Joseph Karl, archduke of Austria (2 March 1833, Preßburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia) – 13 June 1905, Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia)

Marie Henriette also had two half-siblings from her father's second marriage to Princess Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym:

• Hermine Amalie Marie, archduchess of Austria (14 September 1817, Buda – 13 February 1842, Vienna)
• Stephen, archduke of Austria and palatine of Hungary (14 September 1817, Buda – 19 February 1867, Menton)

Marriage and issue

When she was 16, she married 18-year-old Prince Leopold of Belgium, the heir to the throne, on 22 August 1853. Leopold was the second-surviving son of Leopold I of Belgium and his French wife, Louise of Orléans; Marie Henriette was the sister-in-law of Charlotte of Belgium, future Empress of Mexico and a cousin by marriage to Victoria of the United Kingdom and Maria II of Portugal.

The marriage was arranged to strengthen the status of the Belgian Monarchy: as the former Protestant monarch of a newly established monarchy, the Belgian King wished his son to marry a member from a Roman Catholic and prestigious dynasty, and the name Habsburg was one of her more important qualities.

Henriette was a vivid and energetic person interested in riding. Madame de Metternich wrote that theirs was a marriage "between a stable-boy and a nun, and by nun I mean the Duke of Brabant". Henriette is said to have had a terrible temperament. The marriage became unhappy and the couple lived more or less separate lives. She became Queen in 1865. After the death of their son in 1869, the couple separated completely after having made a last attempt to have another son, which, however, resulted in their daughter Clementine. She gave her daughters a very strict upbringing. Her main interest was in her Hungarian horses. She lived most of her life unhappy and discontent. In 1895 she retreated to Spa to live out the remainder of her days; her youngest daughter Clementine replaced her as First Lady at the Court in Brussels for the remainder of her husband's life.

Marie Henriette died at the 'Hôtel du Midi in Spa; she had bought the house 1895 after separating with her husband. She was buried in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels. Her husband later married (though illegally under Belgian law) his mistress Caroline Delacroix.

She was the 607th Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa. Marie Henriette also held the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert.

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  Marie Henriette while Queen

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  Marie Henriette by Louis Gaillat

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  The Duke of Brabant

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  The Crown Princess of Austria

Issue

• Princess Louise Marie of Belgium (1858–1924) married to Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Prince Léopold, Duke of Brabant (1859–1869); died young;
• Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (1864–1945) married to Prince Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, son of Franz Joseph I of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria;
• Princess Clémentine of Belgium (1872–1955) married to Prince Victor, Prince Napoléon

Ancestry

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 23 August 1836 – 22 August 1853 Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria
• 22 August 1853 – 17 December 1865 Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Duchess of Brabant
• 17 December 1865 – 19 September 1902 Her Majesty The Queen of the Belgians

Honours

• Dame of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert

External links

• Imperial House of Austria
• Royal House of Belgium

Marie Henriette of Austria House of Habsburg-Lorraine Cadet branch of the House of Lorraine Born: 23 August 1836 Died: 19 September 1902
Belgian royalty
Vacant Title last held by Louise of Orléans	Queen consort of the Belgians 1865–1902	Vacant Title next held by Elisabeth in Bavaria

Persondata
Name	Marie Henriette Of Austria
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 August 1836
Place of birth	Buda Castle, Budapest
Date of death	19 September 1902
Place of death	Hôtel du Midi, Spa, Belgium