Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily - The Last Queen Of The French

Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily was born on April 26 1782 at the Caserta Palace just outside Naples. She was the daughter of Maria Carolina of Austria and Ferdinand I of the two Sicilies. Maria Amalia's mother and her aunt, France's queen Marie Antoinette, decided early on that she would marry her cousin, the Dauphin of France, Louis-Joseph, and she was raised to be Queen of France. However, the heir of the French throne died in 1789 and the French Revolution erupted. No new suitable marriage matches were found for Maria Amalia. The Archduke Anton Victor of Austria was considered, but he decided to become a priest. A marriage to Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias, and the later Ferdinand VII of Spain was proposed, but in the end her sister Maria Antonia was chosen as his bride instead of Maria Amalia. When Napoleon conquered Naples permanently in 1806, Maria Amalia settled with her family in Palermo in Sicily. In July 1809 Louis-Philippe, Duke d'Orléans, visited Sicily and proposed to Maria Amalia. Despite her mother Maria Carolina's disgust with Louis-Philippe's father, Philippe Egalité, whom she considered complicit in the execution of her sister Marie Antoinette, Maria Carolina gave her permission after Louis-Philippe declared his willingness to atone for his father's crimes. The wedding took place on November 25, 1809. Maria Amalia was gentle, loving, serious and very religious and the relationship with Louis-Philippe is described as being a happy and harmonious one. The couple lived on British allowances in British-occupied Sicily in the Palazzo Orléans in Palermo, given to them as a gift by Maria Amalia's father. In 1814 Napoleon fell from power and the Bourbon dynasty was restored to the French throne. During the reign of Louis XVIII, Maria Amalia's husband Louis-Philippe was not allowed at court because of the role Louis-Philippe's father had played during the French Revolution. But when Charles X ascended the throne in 1824, the two branches of the family grew closer again and dined together once a month. Maria Amalia became Queen of France when Louis-Philippe ascended the throne after the July Revolution of 1830. She was reportedly horrified and embarrassed that her own husband had agreed to become a constitutional monarch and take over the throne from his own relatives. When Maria Amalia heard that Louis-Philippe had accepted the throne, she reportedly burst into tears and said he would be called a usurper. She also refused to return to Paris in an open carriage to avoid giving the impression of triumph and when she arrived it was noted that she was red-eyed. Maria Amalia never got involved in politics but devoted her time solely to family life even after she became Queen. She is said to have deliberately refrained from any political action, partly because of the cautionary example set for politically active women by the execution of Marie Antoinette, but also because it was not in keeping with her personal view of the monarchy and of marriage for a wife to interfere in the affairs of her husband. The royal family lived a relatively low-key bourgeois lifestyle in the Tuileries with simplified etiquette, few major celebrations and sparse representation. Maria Amalia carried out her representational duties with dignity and became known for her personal modesty, her simple lifestyle and her charity. In 1842 she received Queen Victoria of Great Britain during Victoria's state visit to the Chateau of Oe in Normandy. However, she did not accompany Louis-Philippe on his return visit to Great Britain in 1844. During the revolution of 1848, Maria Amalia made perhaps her only attempt to politically influence her husband. As riots broke out in the streets, Louis-Philippe lay down on a couch, unable to act. Maria Amalia then urged him to take control of the National Guard and fight for his throne, adding that she, their daughters, daughters-in-law and grandchildren should stand on the balcony and watch him win or die. However, Louis-Philippe chose to abdicate in favor of his grandson Philippe d'Orléans. Maria Amalia and Louis-Philippe left France and settled as guests of Queen Victoria at Claremont House in Surrey, England, under the name of the Count and Countess de Neuilly. The couple are said to have been treated with a lot of respect in England. They had no financial problems as the French state allowed them to keep their private property and the French Parliament also approved their stay in England, on condition that England recognized all future French governments as legitimate. All members of the Orléans family were exiled for life. In 1852, Napoleon III declared that the family's property in France had to be sold in order for it not to be confiscated by the state. Maria Amalia's husband Louis-Philippe died in 1850. Maria Amalia remained at Claremont. In England, Maria Amalia was admired for her resignation, her quiet lifestyle and her strong devotion to religion, which at the time was part of the contemporary ideal of womanhood. Maria Amalia died on March 24, 1866, at the age of 83. At the time of her death, she was the last surviving grandchild of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. She was buried in the Orléans crypt in Dreux. Thank you for watching.