| Archduchess Maria Josepha | |||||
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| Born | (1867-05-31)31 May 1867 Dresden,Kingdom of Saxony,North German Confederation | ||||
| Died | 28 May 1944(1944-05-28) (aged 76) Erlangen,Middle Franconia,Bavaria,Nazi Germany | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | Charles I of Austria Archduke Maximilian Eugen | ||||
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| House | Wettin | ||||
| Father | George, King of Saxony | ||||
| Mother | Maria Anna of Portugal | ||||
Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (31 May 1867 – 28 May 1944) was the mother of EmperorCharles I of Austria and the fifth child ofGeorge of Saxony andInfanta Maria Anna of Portugal.
Maria Josepha Louise Philippina Elisabeth Pia Angelica Margaretha was the daughter of the future KingGeorge of Saxony (1832–1904) andInfanta Maria Anna of Portugal (1843–1884).
On 2 October 1886 at age nineteen, she marriedArchduke Otto Franz of Austria,"der Schöne" (the handsome), younger brother of theArchduke Franz Ferdinand who would later be killed inSarajevo.
A pious woman, only her strength of religion enabled her to bear the burdens of marriage to the notoriously womanizing "gorgeous Archduke". His frequent absences from his family helped her goal of keeping her children away from his bad influence succeed. Eventually, however, she herself entered into a close friendship with the actorOtto Tressler, who had been presented to her by the emperor Franz Joseph, who felt sorry for her because of the adultery of her spouse. Maria Josepha often invited Tressler to her home; he sometimes met her husband and his friends in the doorway. When her husband died, her ability to avoid extravagant displays of grief was much admired. As a widow, she ended her relationship with Tressler, probably because of her sense of what was appropriate behaviour for a widow.
DuringWorld War I she nursed the wounded in theAugarten Palace ofVienna, which had been converted into a hospital.
In 1919 she left Austria with her son EmperorCharles I of Austria and his wife,Zita of Bourbon-Parma, and went into exile with them. She lived first inSwitzerland and from 1921 inGermany.
She died atSchloss Wildenwart, Upper Bavaria at age 76, a property owned by some members of the Royal Family of Bavaria. She is buried in the New Vault of theImperial Crypt in Vienna, beside her husband.
With Archduke Otto Franz she had issue:
| Ancestors of Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867–1944) |
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