Marie Henriette of Austria
 | This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (November 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (November 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| Marie Henriette of Austria | |||||
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| Queen consort of the Belgians | |||||
| Reign | 10 December 1865 – 19 September 1902 | ||||
| Born | 23 August 1836 Buda Castle, Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire | ||||
| Died | 19 September 1902 (aged 66) Hôtel du Midi[1], Spa, Belgium | ||||
| Spouse | Leopold II of Belgium (m. 1853) | ||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House | Habsburg | ||||
| Father | Archduke Joseph of Austria, Palatine of Hungary | ||||
| Mother | Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
Marie Henriette of Austria (Marie Henriette Anne; 23 August 1836 – 19 September 1902) was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Leopold II.
Marie Henriette was one of five children from the marriage of Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary, and Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg. Marie Henriette was a cousin of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, and granddaughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, through her father.
Contents
Marriage and issue[edit]
One day before her 17th birthday, 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. Pauline 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 discontented. In 1895 she retreated to Spa; 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 in 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.
Issue[edit]
- Princess Louise 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
Titles, styles, honours and arms[edit]
Titles and styles[edit]
- 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[edit]
National[edit]
Austria: Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross[2]- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold I
Foreign[edit]
Second Mexican Empire: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Charles
Kingdom of France: Dame of the Order of Saint-Michaël.[3]
Kingdom of Prussia: Dame of the Order of Louise.[4]
Kingdom of Portugal: Dame of the Royal Order of Saint Isabel.[5]
Kingdom of Spain: Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa
Holy See: Golden Rose by pope Leo XIII 1893.
United Kingdom: Dame of the Royal Family Decoration of Victoria and Albert, 1st Class
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Arms[edit]
Alliance Coat of Arms of King Leopold II
and Queen Marie Henriette of Belgium
Royal Monogram of Queen Marie-Henriette
of Belgium
Gallery[edit]
Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria, 1850s
Marie Henriette of Belgium, late 1850s
The Queen consort of the Belgians by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, crica 1865
Marie Henriette of Austria, Queen of the Belgians, circa 1867
Portrait of Queen Marie Henriette (1870)
Twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of King Leopold II and Queen Marie-Henriette, Royal Palace (Brussels), 22 August 1878.
Marie Henriette and Leopold II of Belgium, 1870s
Queen Marie Henriette in middle age, 1875
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Ancestry[edit]
| Ancestors of Marie Henriette of Austria |
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References[edit]
External links[edit]
Media related to Marie Henriette of Austria at Wikimedia Commons
Marie Henriette of Austria Born: 23 August 1836 Died: 19 September 1902
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| Belgian royalty | ||
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| Vacant Title last held by Princess Louise d'Orléans of France
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Queen consort of the Belgians 1865–1902 |
Vacant Title next held by Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria
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- 1836 births
- 1902 deaths
- House of Habsburg
- Austrian princesses
- House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Belgium)
- Belgian queens consort
- Belgian princesses
- Duchesses of Brabant
- Leopold II of Belgium
- Dames of the Order of the Starry Cross
- Recipients of the Golden Rose
- Dames of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa
- Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
- Burials at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken
- 19th-century Belgian women
- 19th-century Belgian people
- 20th-century Belgian women
- 20th-century Belgian people
- 19th-century Austrian women
- 19th-century Austrian people
