Was She The Most Tragic Daughter of Maria Theresa?

Maria Josepha of Austria

Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria was born in 1751 into the Imperial House of Habsburg, the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. As part of her mother’s strategic efforts to secure peace among European powers, Maria Josepha was prepared from a young age for a major diplomatic marriage. She was betrothed to King Ferdinand IV of Naples, an alliance intended to closely bind the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties. As her sixteenth year approached, the young archduchess underwent rigorous preparation to assume her future role as the Queen Consort of Naples, with her departure for the Italian kingdom scheduled for the autumn of 1767.

However, a severe health crisis struck the imperial court in Vienna that same year. Her sister-in-law, Maria Josepha of Bavaria, contracted smallpox, a highly contagious and devastating disease, and succumbed to the illness. Following traditional customs of the deeply religious Habsburg court, Empress Maria Theresa required that family members pay their respects at the final resting place of the deceased. Before her upcoming journey to Naples, the young Maria Josepha was directed to visit the Imperial Crypt beneath the Capuchin Church to pray at the tomb of her late sister-in-law.

The young archduchess was profoundly distressed by the instruction, deeply fearful of the smallpox contagion that had gripped the palace. Despite her tears and hesitation, imperial duty and parental obedience prevailed, and she accompanied her mother into the crypt to perform her prayers. Tragically, her fears proved well-founded. Shortly after her visit to the vault, Maria Josepha began showing the unmistakable and severe symptoms of smallpox.

Her health declined rapidly as the infection ran its course. On 15 October 1767, the exact date she had been scheduled to begin her royal journey to Naples, the archduchess passed away at the age of sixteen. Her sudden death plunged the imperial family into deep mourning, and Empress Maria Theresa was reportedly devastated by profound regret over the circumstances surrounding her daughter's illness. Maria Josepha was laid to rest in the same imperial crypt she had visited, and her younger sister, Maria Carolina, was subsequently chosen to take her place as the bride for the King of Naples.