v54_0454 - 40 lire or 1815 Milan VG.2385

ITALY - DUCHY OF PARMA DE PIACENZA AND GUASTALLA - MARIE-LOUISE OF AUSTRIA

(1814-1847)

Marie-Louise de Habsbourg (12/12/1791-18/12/1847) was the daughter of Emperor Francis II of Austria and Maria Theresa of Naples. After the battle of Wagram, Austria is in a bad position and the emperor is forced to give his daughter in marriage to Napoleon to preserve peace between France and Austria. The wedding took place on April 2, 1810 after Napoleon repudiated Josephine. Napoleon II, King of Rome, was born on March 20, 1811. In 1813, Napoleon entrusted him with the regency. After Napoleon's abdication in 1814, she joined her father in Vienna. It receives the lifetime sovereignty of the Duchy of Parma. She morganatically married Count von Neipperg in 1821, four months after Napoleon's death, and had two children by him. After the Field-Marshal's death, she remarried her Grand Chamberlain, the Count of Bombelles, in 1834. Her son, Napoleon, known as "l'Aiglon", died of consumption two years before, in Vienna..