Maria Isabella of Spain

Maria Isabella of Spain (; 6 July 1789 – 13 September 1848) was Queen of the Two Sicilies from 4 January 1825 until 8 November 1830 as the wife of Francis I of the Two Sicilies.

Maria Isabella was the youngest daughter of King Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma, the second daughter of Philip, Duke of Parma, and Louise-Élisabeth of France, and thus a granddaughter of King Louis XV and Queen Marie Leszczyńska. Maria Isabella's siblings included King Ferdinand VII of Spain, Carlota Joaquina, Queen of Portugal, and the Count of Molina.

Maria Isabella was born into political turmoil, coinciding with the events of the French Revolution and the rise of Manuel Godoy. She received a rudimentary education and was featured in the painting Charles IV of Spain and His Family, painted by the famed Goya.

Considered by her mother as a potential Empress of France, Maria Isabella instead married her cousin Prince Francesco, Duke of Calabria, later King Francis I of the Two Sicilies, and had many children. The family was forced to flee to Sicily in early 1806 when after several attempted invasions by Joachim Murat, brother-in-law of Emperor Napoleon, who had already succeeded in becoming King of Naples. However, they were returned to the mainland in Naples with the intervention of the British military.

In 1812, her husband was appointed regent for his elderly father and in 1825, the old king died, making Maria Isabella Queen consort of the Two Sicilies. She was known for her frivolity, and kept an active correspondence with her family in Spain, later marrying a young nobleman of the House of Baux. She died in 1848 at the age of 59; many of her children making marriages to their Spanish and Portuguese relatives.

Infanta of Spain

She was the youngest daughter of King Carlos IV of Spain and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma a granddaughter of King Louis XV and his popular wife Queen Marie Leszczyńska. Maria Isabella's birth coincided with the rise to power in Spain of her mother's favorite, Manuel Godoy. Court rumour attributed Maria Isabella's paternity not to the king, but to the young Godoy, who became Spain's prime minister in 1792.

The Infanta's childhood coincided with the events of the French revolution and political turbulence in Spain. The youngest surviving daughter in a large family, Maria Isabella was spoilt by both of her parents and her education was rudimentary. 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 Maria Isabella in marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte in April 1801. 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. On 6 July 1802, her thirteenth birthday, Maria Isabella married in Madrid her 25-year-old cousin, Francesco by proxy, as his second wife. Her brother Ferdinand stood in the ceremony in place of the groom. The Spanish royal family traveled to Barcelona on 13 August. María Isabella had regular features and was relatively better-looking compared to Carlota Joaquina and Maria Amalia, but she looked even younger than her thirteen years. She was described as "little, and round as a ball". |

She was only fifteen years old when her first daughter, Luisa Carlotta, was born in Portici on 24 October 1804. She also had a step-daughter, Princess Carolina, who would marry the French-born Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (the second son of the future King Charles X of France).

Maria Isabella's life was deeply marked by Napoleon's actions. Fearing for his crown, King Ferdinand joined the Third Coalition against Bonaparte. Napoleon's troops defeated the allied armies at the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805 and the Neapolitan corps at Campo Tenese. Following these victories, Napoleon's forces occupied Naples in 1806. The Emperor gave the crown of Naples to his brother Joseph Bonaparte, and four years later to his brother-in-law Joachim Murat.

Maria Isabella, with the rest of the royal family, had to flee from Naples to Sicily in February 1806. Despite successive attempts by Murat to invade the island, King Ferdinand and Maria Carolina held their status and power in Sicily under the protection of British troops, but would be unable to challenge French control of the Italian mainland. The real power in Sicily was held by Lord William Bentinck, commander of British troops on the island. The king spent the following years hunting, appearing at Palermo only when his presence was required.

In 1812, Francesco, Maria Isabella's husband, was appointed regent. Maria Isabella did not get involved in the complex Sicilian affairs of the Neapolitan court in exile in Palermo. Francesco clashed with the aristocracy of the island who opposed new taxes to finance the war against France, claiming a high degree of autonomy. Queen Maria Carolina was exiled to her homeland Austria in 1813, where she died in 1814.

Return to Naples Francis and Maria Isabella's family in 1820; she is at the far left, holding Maria Carolina Ferdinanda. In 1815, under Austrian protection, Ferdinand returned to Naples. He suppressed the Sicilian constitution and joined his two kingdoms into that of the Two Sicilies in 1816, bestowing on Francesco the title of Duke of Calabria as heir of the combined kingdoms. She was still with her mother when Queen Maria Luisa died in January 1819.

Ferdinand VII invited his sister and brother-in-law to accompany their daughter to the wedding in Madrid. Francis I's was afflicted with gout and on declining health, but Maria Isabella was anxious to visit her native country after 27 years of absence. She convinced her husband to make the long trip to Spain. Maria Isabella rejected him, appealing to her son to rid her of her former lover. The king had Schmuckher expelled from Naples in January 1838. title=Ancestors of María Isabel of Spain boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; 1= 1. María Isabel of Spain 2= 2. Charles IV of Spain 3= 3. Maria Luisa of Parma 4= 4. Charles III of Spain 5= 5. Maria Amalia of Saxony 6= 6. Philip, Duke of Parma 7= 7. Louise-Élisabeth of France 8= 8. Philip V of Spain 9= 9. Elisabeth Farnese 10= 10. Augustus III of Poland 11= 11. Maria Josepha of Austria 12= 12. Philip V of Spain (= 8) 13= 13. Elisabeth Farnese (= 9) 14= 14. Louis XV of France 15= 15. Marie Leszczyńska