Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma

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Marie Louise (December 12, 1791–December 17, 1847) was the second wife of Napoléon Bonaparte and Empress of the French, and also sovereign Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla.

Biography

Marie Louise was born in Vienna, the daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and of his second wife, Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies.

On March 11, 1810, Marie Louise married Napoléon by proxy, with a subsequent ceremony taking place in the chapel of the Louvre on 1 April 1810. The bride's father intended the marriage to strengthen links between the Austrian Empire and the France of the First French Empire. Napoleon sought the validation and legitimation of his Empire by marrying a member of the House of Habsburg, one of the oldest ruling families of Europe. He also hoped to cement his position by fathering a legitimate heir: on March 20, 1811, Marie Louise gave birth to a son, Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, styled King of Rome and later Duke of Reichstadt. Marie Louise acted as regent from 1812 to 1813 during her husband's absence in the Russian campaign.

After Napoleon's abdication in April 1814, Marie Louise and her son fled Paris to Blois, and then to Vienna. The Treaty of Paris of April 30, 1814 allowed her to retain her imperial rank and style (Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Marie Louise) and made her the ruler of the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, with her son as heir. However, in 1815, the Congress of Vienna revised this arrangement and made her Duchess of Parma for her life only, with the details of who would become Duke of Parma after her death unspecified. In 1817 a treaty was signed which would leave the duchies to a member of the House of Bourbon. In 1844 it was determined that the duchy of Guastalla would be inherited by the Duke of Modena.

In 1821, four months after Napoleon's death, Marie Louise married morganatically her lover, Adam-Adalbert, Count of Neipperg (1775-1829). The couple had three children, the first two of whom were born before Marie Louise and Neipperg were married:

Albertine, Countess of Montenuovo (1817-1867), married Luigi Sanvitatle, Count of Fontanellato)
Wilhelm Albrecht, Count of Montenuovo, later created Prince of Montenuovo (1819-1895), married Countess Juliana Batthyány von Németújvár)
Mathilde, Countess of Montenuovo (born 1822)

In 1834 Marie-Louise married, morganatically, her grand chamberlain, Charles-René, Count of Bombelles (1785-1856).

Marie Louise died in 1847 at Parma.

Trivia

When Marie Louise moved to France, she brought with her a number of Austrian recipes. She developed a recipe for roquefort stuffed chopped beef that became quite popular later in restaurants.

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