|
María Isabella of Spain (6 July 1789 – 13 September 1848) was an Infanta of Spain and Queen of the Two Sicilies. She was the youngest daughter of King Carlos IV of Spain and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma. In 1802, age thirteen, she married her first cousin Francis, Crown Prince of Naples, who was a widower. The following years were marked by the Napoleonic Wars that affected the Italian Peninsula. In 1806, she had to flee Naples for Sicily with the rest of the Neapolitan royal family. She lived with her husband in Palermo until 1820. She was good nature and pliable and was well matched with her husband. Theirs was a happy marriage that produced thirteen children. María Isabella lacked political acumen and had no ambitions, but unlike her powerful mother in law, Maria Carolina of Austria, she was popular. In 1825 her husband ascended to the throne as King Francis I of the Two Sicilies. During his reign, she did not play any political role, but was well liked for her simple manners and generosity. She visited her native Spain in 1830 when her second daughter Maria Christina married King Ferdinand VII of Spain. Shortly after their return to Naples, her husband died in November 1830. As a Queen mother, she remained a popular figure. Her eldest son, Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, was deferential towards her, but her efforts to obtained a pardon for her second son, the Prince of Capua, were fruitless. In 1839, with Ferdinand II's approval, she contracted a morganatic marriage. She died on 13 September 1848 at age 59. ==Infanta of Spain== Born at the Royal Palace of Madrid, María Isabel de Borbón y Borbón-Parma was the eleventh child of King Carlos IV of Spain and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma, a granddaughter of Louis XV of France. Her paternal grandparents were Charles III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Her maternal grandparents were Philip, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Élisabeth of France. Her grandfathers were brothers, both sons of Philip V of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese. María Isabel's father had a great frame and immense physical strength, and a reputation for performing acts of kindness, but was considered by many to be intellectually sluggish and quite credulous.〔Rubio, '' Reinas de España'', p. 293〕 Even though he kept up the appearance of an absolute, powerful monarch, he never took more than a passive role in the direction of his own kingdom, instead leaving the affairs of government to his wife who put her trust in her favorite, the prime minister, Manuel Godoy. Queen Maria Luisa, thoroughly dominated the king. María Isabel's birth coincided with Godoy rise to power. As the unpopular Queen Maria Luisa was under the spell of Godoy, their enemies accused them of being lovers.〔Rubio, '' Reinas de España'', p. 307〕 Court rumors attributed María Isabel's paternity no to the king, but to the young Godoy, who became prime minister in 1792.〔Rubio, '' Reinas de España'', p. 307〕〔Rubio, '' Reinas de España'', p. 311〕 The Infanta's childhood coincided with the events of the French revolution and political turbulence in Spain.〔Rubio, '' Reinas de España'', p. 308〕 The youngest surviving daughter in a large family, María Isabel was spoilt by both of her parents and her education was rudimentary.〔Acton, ''The Bourbons of Naples'', p. 479〕 She and her family members were painted by Francisco Goya in his 1800–1801 portrait ''Charles IV of Spain and His Family''. In December 1800, Lucien Bonaparte arrived in Spain as the new French ambassador. Through him, Queen Maria Luisa offered María Isabel in marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte in April 1801.〔Rubio, '' Reinas de España'', p. 325〕 Then First Consul, Napoleon had been married to Joséphine de Beauharnais for two years, but it had been suggested that he should divorce her to marry a Princess of Royal blood.〔Rubio, '' Reinas de España'', p. 326〕 Napoleon had a low opinion of the Bourbon family and commented privately " If I would have to remarry, I wouldn't look in a house in ruins for my descendants"〔Rubio, '' Reinas de España'', p. 326〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「María Isabella of Spain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|