Maria Antonietta of Spain
Encyclopedia
Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain (María Antonia Fernanda; 17 November 1729 – 19 September 1785) was an Infanta of Spain and the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain
and Elisabeth Farnese. She was the wife of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
whom she married in 1750. She was the mother of the last three mainline Kings of Sardinia.
in Seville
and was the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain
and of second his wife Elisabeth Farnese. She was born in Seville during the signing of the Treaty of Seville
which ended the Anglo-Spanish War
. She spent her infancy in the city of her birth before moving to Madrid
in 1733. She was baptised with the names María Antonia along with Fernanda in honour of her half brother, then the heir to the throne. Variations in her name range from "Antonia Fernanda" and "Antonietta Ferdinanda". As a daughter of the King of Spain, she held the title of Infanta of Spain and style of Royal Highness.
In a double marriage plan she would marry Louis, Dauphin of France, and her brother, Infante Philip
, would marry the Dauphin's sister Louise Élisabeth of France. Her mother consented to the latter union but insisted on waiting for Maria Antonia Ferdinanda to reach a more mature age. The Infanta's hand was also sought by the Electoral Prince of Saxony
. The marriage between Infante Philip and Louise Élisabeth occurred in 1739 and eventually her older sister Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela married the Dauphin in 1745. However, upon the death of Maria Teresa Rafaela in 1746 Ferdinand VI tried to engage Maria Antonia Fernandina to the Dauphin but the idea was snubbed by Louis XV as "incest
". Instead he chose Maria Josepha of Saxony.
on 12 April 1750 she was married in person at Oulx
on 31 May 1750 to Victor Amadeus, "Duke of Savoy", the eldest son of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
and his late wife Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg. The marriage had been arranged by Maria Antonia Ferdinanda's half brother, Ferdinand VI and was used to strengthen relations between Madrid
and Turin
as the two courts had fought on opposing sides during the War of the Austrian Succession
. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
ended the war. As a wedding gift, the apartments of the new Duchess of Savoy at the Royal Palace of Turin
were remodelled by the architect Benedetto Alfieri. Maria Antonia Ferdinanda was given a dowry
of 3,500,000 Piedmontese Lires
as well as Spanish possessions in Milan
. In Italy she was known as Maria Antonietta Ferdinanda. Operas by Baldassare Galuppi were specially composed for her marriage to the Duke of Savoy.
The match was seen as unpopular, but the two remained close until her death. From marriage until her husband's accession she was styled as the Duchess of Savoy. The couple surrounded themselves with modern thinkers and various politicians. The first lady of the land, she brought a rigid etiquette
from her native Spain to the court of Savoy. She was very religious and was said to have a cold, shy personality. She was the mother of twelve children, three of whom died in infancy. Two of her children had progeny. Through her son Victor Emmanuel I and daughter Maria Teresa of Savoy, she is a double ancestress of Queen Anne of Romania
as well as the pretending Duke of Parma, Emperor of Austria
and reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg
.
in 1773, her husband succeeded him as Victor Amadeus III. She was the first queen of Sardinia in over thirty years since the death of Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine in 1741. Her oldest son Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont married Marie Clotilde of France, sister of Louis XVI in 1773. Marie Clotilde and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda would become very close. Queen Maria Antonia Ferdinanda died in September 1785 at the Castle of Moncalieri
. She was buried at the Royal Basilica of Superga
. Her husband outlived her by eleven years.
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
and Elisabeth Farnese. She was the wife of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III was King of Sardinia from 1773 until his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until declaring war on revolutionary France in 1792...
whom she married in 1750. She was the mother of the last three mainline Kings of Sardinia.
Infanta of Spain
She was born at the Royal Alcázar of SevilleAlcázar of Seville
thumb|right|250px|Baths of Lady María de PadillaThe Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, originally a Moorish fort....
in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
and was the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
and of second his wife Elisabeth Farnese. She was born in Seville during the signing of the Treaty of Seville
Treaty of Seville (1729)
The Treaty of Seville was signed on 9 November 1729 between Great Britain, France, and Spain, concluding the Anglo-Spanish War .Preliminary discussions had already taken place between Britain and Spain at the Convention of Pardo and the Congress of Soissons...
which ended the Anglo-Spanish War
Anglo-Spanish War (1727)
The Anglo-Spanish War of 1727–1729 was a limited war that took place between Great Britain and Spain during the Eighteenth Century, and consisted of a failed British attempt to blockade Porto Bello and a failed Spanish attempt to capture Gibraltar...
. She spent her infancy in the city of her birth before moving to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1733. She was baptised with the names María Antonia along with Fernanda in honour of her half brother, then the heir to the throne. Variations in her name range from "Antonia Fernanda" and "Antonietta Ferdinanda". As a daughter of the King of Spain, she held the title of Infanta of Spain and style of Royal Highness.
In a double marriage plan she would marry Louis, Dauphin of France, and her brother, Infante Philip
Philip, Duke of Parma
Philip of Spain was Duke of Parma from 1748 to 1765. He founded the House of Bourbon-Parma , a cadet line of the Spanish branch of the dynasty...
, would marry the Dauphin's sister Louise Élisabeth of France. Her mother consented to the latter union but insisted on waiting for Maria Antonia Ferdinanda to reach a more mature age. The Infanta's hand was also sought by the Electoral Prince of Saxony
Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony
Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony was the Prince-Elector of Saxony for less than three months in 1763...
. The marriage between Infante Philip and Louise Élisabeth occurred in 1739 and eventually her older sister Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela married the Dauphin in 1745. However, upon the death of Maria Teresa Rafaela in 1746 Ferdinand VI tried to engage Maria Antonia Fernandina to the Dauphin but the idea was snubbed by Louis XV as "incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
". Instead he chose Maria Josepha of Saxony.
Duchess of Savoy
Having married by proxy in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
on 12 April 1750 she was married in person at Oulx
Oulx
Oulx is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km west of Turin, in the Susa Valley on the border with France.-Names:...
on 31 May 1750 to Victor Amadeus, "Duke of Savoy", the eldest son of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel III was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death.-Biography:...
and his late wife Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg. The marriage had been arranged by Maria Antonia Ferdinanda's half brother, Ferdinand VI and was used to strengthen relations between Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
as the two courts had fought on opposing sides during the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
ended the war. As a wedding gift, the apartments of the new Duchess of Savoy at the Royal Palace of Turin
Royal Palace of Turin
Royal Palace of Turin or Palazzo Reale, is a palace in Turin, northern Italy. It was the royal palace of the House of Savoy. It was modernised greatly by the French born Madama Reale Christine Marie of France in the seventeenth century. The palace was worked on by Filippo Juvarra...
were remodelled by the architect Benedetto Alfieri. Maria Antonia Ferdinanda was given a dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
of 3,500,000 Piedmontese Lires
Piedmont scudo
The scudo was the currency of the Piedmont and the other mainland parts of the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia until 1816. It was subdivided into 6 lire , each of 20 soldi or 240 denari. The doppia was worth 2 scudi...
as well as Spanish possessions in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. In Italy she was known as Maria Antonietta Ferdinanda. Operas by Baldassare Galuppi were specially composed for her marriage to the Duke of Savoy.
The match was seen as unpopular, but the two remained close until her death. From marriage until her husband's accession she was styled as the Duchess of Savoy. The couple surrounded themselves with modern thinkers and various politicians. The first lady of the land, she brought a rigid etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
from her native Spain to the court of Savoy. She was very religious and was said to have a cold, shy personality. She was the mother of twelve children, three of whom died in infancy. Two of her children had progeny. Through her son Victor Emmanuel I and daughter Maria Teresa of Savoy, she is a double ancestress of Queen Anne of Romania
Queen Anne of Romania
Queen Anne of Romania , is the wife of the former King Michael I of Romania.She is a niece of Empress Zita of Austria and a great niece of Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia.-Early life:...
as well as the pretending Duke of Parma, Emperor of Austria
Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
and reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg OIH is the head of state of Luxembourg. He is the eldest son of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. His maternal grandparents were King Leopold III of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden...
.
Queen of Sardinia
At the death of her father-in-law Charles Emmanuel III of SardiniaCharles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel III was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death.-Biography:...
in 1773, her husband succeeded him as Victor Amadeus III. She was the first queen of Sardinia in over thirty years since the death of Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine in 1741. Her oldest son Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont married Marie Clotilde of France, sister of Louis XVI in 1773. Marie Clotilde and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda would become very close. Queen Maria Antonia Ferdinanda died in September 1785 at the Castle of Moncalieri
Castle of Moncalieri
The Castle of Moncalieri is a palace in Moncalieri , Piedmont, in northern Italy. It is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1997.-History:...
. She was buried at the Royal Basilica of Superga
Basilica of Superga
The Basilica of Superga is a church in the vicinity of Turin.It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga, to fulfill a vow the duke had made during the Battle of Turin...
. Her husband outlived her by eleven years.
Issue
- Charles Emmanuel IV of SardiniaCharles Emmanuel IV of SardiniaCharles Emmanuel IV was King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802. He abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I...
(24 May 1751 – 6 October 1819) married Princess Marie Clotilde of France in 1773, no issue. - Maria Elisabetta Carlotta of Savoy (16 July 1752 – 17 April 1755) died in infancy.
- Maria Giuseppina of Savoy (2 September 1753 – 13 November 1810) married Louis Xavier, Count of ProvenceLouis XVIII of FranceLouis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
in 1771, no issue. - Amedeus Alexander of Savoy (5 October 1754 – 29 April 1755) died in infancy.
- Maria Teresa of Savoy (31 January 1756 – 2 June 1805) married Charles, Count of ArtoisCharles X of FranceCharles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
in 1773, had issue. - Maria Anna of Savoy (17 December 1757 – 11 October 1824) married Prince Benedetto of Savoy in 1775, no issue.
- Victor Emmanuel I of SardiniaVictor Emmanuel I of SardiniaVictor Emmanuel I was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1802 to 1821, and Jacobite Pretender from 1819 until his death.-Biography:...
(24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) married Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este in 1789, had issue. - Maria Cristina Ferdinanda of Savoy (21 November 1760 – 19 May 1768) died in infancy.
- Maurizio of SavoyPrince Maurizio, Duke of MontferratMaurizio of Savoy was a prince of Savoy and styled the Duke of Montferrat.-Biography:...
(13 December 1762 – 1 September 1799) died unmarried of malaria. - Maria Carolina of SavoyPrincess Maria Carolina of SavoyMaria Carolina of Savoy was a Princess of Savoy from her birth. She was the youngest daughter of the future Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and married in 1781 to the Electoral Prince of Saxony...
(17 January 1764 – 28 December 1782) married Antony, Electoral Prince of Saxony in 1781, no issue. - Charles Felix of SardiniaCharles Felix of SardiniaCharles Felix was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.-Early life:...
(6 April 1765 – 27 April 1831) married Princess Maria Cristina of Naples and SicilyMaria Cristina of Naples and SicilyMaria Cristina of Naples and Sicily was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and later Queen of Sardinia as wife of Charles Felix of Sardinia.-Princess of Naples and Sicily:...
in 1807, no issue. - Giuseppe of SavoyPrince Giuseppe, Count of AstiGiuseppe of Savoy was a prince of Savoy. He was styled the Count of Moriana from birth but was later created the Count of Asti.-Biography:...
(5 October 1766 – 29 October 1802) died unmarried of malaria.
Ancestors
Titles and styles
- 17 November 1729 – 31 May 1750 Her Royal Highness The Infanta Doña Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain
- 31 May 1750 – 20 February 1773 Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Savoy
- 20 February 1773 – 19 September 1785 Her Majesty The Queen of Sardinia