Princess Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Infobox Two Sicilies Royalty|princess|consort
name = Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies
title =Grand Duchess of Tuscany
full name = Maria Antonia Giuseppa Anna


caption =
reign =8 June 1833 - 21 July 1859
spouse =Leopold II
issue =Archduchess Maria Isabella
Ferdinand IV
Archduchess Maria Theresa
Archduchess Maria Christina
Archduke Karl Salvator
Archduchess Maria Anna
Archduke Rainer
Archduchess Maria Louisa
Archduke Louis Salvator
Archduke John Salvator
royal house =House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
royal anthem =
father =Francis I of the Two Sicilies
mother =Maria Isabella of Spain
date of birth =birth date|1814|12|19|df=y
place of birth = Palermo
date of death =death date and age|1898|11|7|1814|12|19|df=y
place of death =Gmunden
place of burial =|

Princess Marie Antoinette of Bourbon-Two Sicilies ("Maria Antonia Giuseppa Anna", December 19, 1814 – November 7, 1898) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany from 1833 to 1859.

Biography

The Princess was born in Palermo on December 19, 1814, daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Isabella of Spain, she was baptised "Maria Antonia" in honor of Marie Antoinette, deceased sister of her grandmother Maria Carolina of Austria. When she was born, the Neapolitan court have already moved to Sicily because Napoleonic troops have invaded the Continental part of the Reign. After few months the Royal Family could return to Naples thanks to the Congress of Vienna.

In 1833, when she was eighteen, Marie Antoinette married Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, of seventeen years older. They are first cousins because Francis I, Marie Antoinette's father, and Luisa of the Two Sicilies, Leopold's mother, were both children of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Marie Caroline of Austria. Marie Antoinette and Leopold had ten children:
*Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria. Married her maternal uncle Prince Francis, Count of Trapani, youngest son of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabella of Spain.
*Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (10 June, 1835 – 17 January, 1908).
*Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (29 June, 1836 - 5 August, 1838).
*Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (5 February, 1838 - 1 September, 1849).
*Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria (30 April, 1839 - 18 January, 1892). He married Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, second daughter of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria.
*Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (9 June, 1840 - 13 August, 1841).
*Archduke Rainer of Austria (1 May, 1842 - 14 August, 1844).
*Archduchess Maria Louisa of Austria (31 October, 1845 - 27 August, 1917). Married Karl, Prince of Isenburg. Her husband was a grandson of Karl, last sovereign Prince of Isenburg.
*Archduke Louis Salvator of Austria (4 August, 1847 - 12 October, 1915).
*Archduke John Salvator of Austria (25 November, 1852 - reported lost at sea in 1890). There was speculation of his survival under an alias (Johann Orth).

In her honour were baptised in Florence the "Piazza Maria Antonia" (today "Indipendence Square"), the railway line "Maria Antonia" and the homonym station, now called Firenze Santa Maria Novella.

The Revolution

On April 1859, before the Franco-Piedmont war against Austria, Leopold II proclaimed neutrality, but the Grand Ducal government was already near the end: people used vulgar insults towards the Grand Duchess and the troops gave signs of insubordination.

On April 27, at four o'clock, in front of the enraged mob on Florence streets and of troops rebellion, Leopold II left Palazzo Pitti by chariot, getting out through Boboli door, heading toward Bologna. He had just refused to abdicate in favour of his son Ferdinand.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Princess Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
2= 2. Francis I of the Two Sicilies
3= 3. Maria Isabella of Spain
4= 4. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
5= 5. Maria Carolina of Austria
6= 6. Charles IV of Spain
7= 7. Maria Luisa of Parma
8= 8. Charles III of Spain
9= 9. Maria Amalia of Saxony
10= 10. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
11= 11. Maria Theresa of Austria
12= 12. Charles III of Spain (= 8)
13= 13. Maria Amalia of Saxony (= 9)
14= 14. Philip, Duke of Parma
15= 15. Princess Louise-Élisabeth of France
16= 16. Philip V of Spain
17= 17. Elisabeth of Parma
18= 18. Augustus III of Poland
19= 19. Maria Josepha of Austria
20= 20. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
21= 21. Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans
22= 22. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
23= 23. Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
24= 24. Philip V of Spain (= 16)
25= 25. Elisabeth of Parma (= 17)
26= 26. Augustus III of Poland (= 18)
27= 27. Maria Josepha of Austria (= 19)
28= 28. Philip V of Spain (= 16)
29= 29. Elisabeth of Parma (= 17)
30= 30. Louis XV of France
31= 31. Maria Leszczyńska