Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony

Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony (Maria Josepha Amalia Beatrix Xaveria Vincentia Aloysia Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Anna Apollonia Johanna Nepomucena Walburga Theresia Ambrosia; 6 December 1803 – 18 May 1829) was Queen of Spain as the third wife of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. She was the youngest daughter of Prince Maximilian of Saxony (1759–1838) and his first wife, Princess Carolina of Parma (1770–1804), daughter of Duke Ferdinand of Parma. She was a member of the house of Wettin.

For other people with the same name, see Maria Josepha of Saxony.
Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony
Queen consort of Spain
Tenure20 October 1819 – 18 May 1829
Born(1803-12-06)6 December 1803
Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Died18 May 1829(1829-05-18) (aged 25)
Royal Palace of Aranjuez, Aranjuez, Spain
Burial
Royal Crypt, El Escorial, Spain
Spouse
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(m. 1819)​
Names
Maria Josepha Amalia Beatrix Xaveria Vincentia Aloysia Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Anna Apollonia Johanna Nepomucena Walburga Theresia Ambrosia
HouseWettin
FatherMaximilian, Crown Prince of Saxony
MotherCaroline of Parma
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Coat of arms of Queen Maria Josepha of Spain

Childhood

Princess Maria Josepha Amalia was born in Dresden, Germany, to Princess Carolina of Parma and Maximilian, Crown Prince of Saxony. Maria lost her mother when she was only a few months old; due to this, her father sent her to a convent near the Elbe river, where she was brought up by nuns. As a result, Maria had a strict religious upbringing and was a fervent Catholic all her life.[1][2]

Since King Ferdinand VII of Spain was widowed and looking for a wife, Maria’s father, Crown Prince Maximilian, suggested that his youngest daughter Maria could marry him. The marriage was soon negotiated by the Marquis de Cerrlvo.[3] The king was reportedly enthralled by her, and decided to marry her.[3]

Queen of Spain

King Ferdinand and Princess Maria married on 20 October 1819, in Madrid. Although the new queen was young, naive and inexperienced, the king fell in love with her because of her kind demeanour.[2][3]

After his two childless marriages, there was great pressure for the Bourbon dynasty in Spain to ensure that King Ferdinand VII had an heir. Nevertheless, the marriage remained childless and Maria Josepha Amalia withdrew from public life, with long stays in the Palace of Aranjuez, in La Granja de San Ildefonso and the Royal Palace of Riofrio. It took a personal letter sent by Pope Pius VII in order to convince the queen that sexual relations between spouses were not contrary to the morality of Catholicism.

Portrait of María Amalia of Saxony, by Vicente López Portaña. Maria is seen wearing the band and cross of the Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa. The style of the portrait and the mature appearance of the queen have led some authors to affirm that it must have been painted around 1828, one year before the death of the sovereign, and when she was 23 years old.

She died as a result of fevers on 18 May 1829 in Aranjuez, leaving her husband heartbroken, and was buried in El Escorial. Her husband remarried for the fourth time to Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies who eventually gave birth to the future Queen Isabella II of Spain.

Ancestry

Media related to Maria Josepha of Saxony, Queen of Spain at Wikimedia Commons

  1. "Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony - The lost Queen of Spain". History of Royal Women. 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  2. Curzon, Catherine. "A Lady of Many Names: Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony". Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  3. Memoirs of Ferdinand VII, King of the Spains. Hurst, Robinson, and Company. 1824.
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