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Francis II & I
Friedrich von Amerling 003.jpg
Francis II by Friedrich von Amerling
Holy Roman Emperor
King in Germany
Reign 5 July 1792 – 6 August 1806
Coronation 14 July 1792, Frankfurt
Predecessor Leopold II
Successor Monarchy abolished
Emperor of Austria
Reign 11 August 1804 – 2 March 1835
Predecessor Monarchy established
(partly himself as Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor)
Successor Ferdinand I
Chancellor Klemens von Metternich
King of Hungary and Croatia
King of Bohemia
Reign 1 March 1792 – 2 March 1835
Coronations
  • 6 June 1792, Buda
  • 9 August 1792, Prague
Predecessor Leopold II
Successor Ferdinand V
King of Lombardy–Venetia
Reign 9 June 1815 – 2 March 1835
Predecessor Monarchy established
Successor Ferdinand I
Born (1768-02-12)12 February 1768
Florence, Tuscany
Died 2 March 1835(1835-03-02) (aged 67)
Vienna, Austria
Burial Imperial Crypt
Spouses
(m. 1788; died 1790)

(m. 1790; died 1807)

(m. 1808; died 1816)

(m. 1816; died 1835)
Issue
Detail
  • Archduchess Ludovika Elisabeth
  • Marie Louise, Empress of the French
  • Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria
  • Archduchess Marie Caroline
  • Archduchess Caroline Ludovika
  • Maria Leopoldina, Empress of Brazil and Queen of Portugal
  • Clementina, Princess of Salerno
  • Archduke Joseph Franz
  • Marie Caroline, Crown Princess of Saxony
  • Archduke Franz Karl
  • Archduchess Maria Anna
  • Archduke Johann Nepomuk
  • Archduchess Amalie Theresa
Full name
Franz Joseph Karl
House Habsburg-Lorraine
Father Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother Maria Luisa of Spain
Religion Roman Catholicism
Signature Francis II & I's signature

Francis II (German: Franz; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after the decisive defeat at the hands of the First French Empire led by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. In 1804, he had founded the Austrian Empire and became Francis I, the first Emperor of Austria, ruling from 1804 to 1835, so later he was named the one and only Doppelkaiser (double emperor) in history. For the two years between 1804 and 1806, Francis used the title and style by the Grace of God elected Roman Emperor, ever Augustus, hereditary Emperor of Austria and he was called the Emperor of both the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. He was also Apostolic King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia as Francis I. He also served as the first president of the German Confederation following its establishment in 1815.

Francis II continued his leading role as an opponent of Napoleonic France in the Napoleonic Wars, and suffered several more defeats after Austerlitz. The proxy marriage of state of his daughter Marie Louise of Austria to Napoleon on 10 March 1810 was arguably his severest personal defeat. After the abdication of Napoleon following the War of the Sixth Coalition, Austria participated as a leading member of the Holy Alliance at the Congress of Vienna, which was largely dominated by Francis's chancellor Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich culminating in a new European map and the restoration of Francis's ancient dominions (except the Holy Roman Empire which was dissolved). Due to the establishment of the Concert of Europe, which largely resisted popular nationalist and liberal tendencies, Francis became viewed as a reactionary later in his reign.

Marriages

Francis II married four times:

  1. On 6 January 1788, to Elisabeth of Württemberg (21 April 1767 – 18 February 1790).
  2. On 15 September 1790, to his double first cousin Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies (6 June 1772 – 13 April 1807), daughter of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (both were grandchildren of Empress Maria Theresa and shared all of their other grandparents in common), with whom he had twelve children, of whom only seven reached adulthood.
  3. On 6 January 1808, he married again to another first cousin, Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este (14 December 1787 – 7 April 1816) with no issue. She was the daughter of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d'Este, Princess of Modena.
  4. On 29 October 1816, to Karoline Charlotte Auguste of Bavaria (8 February 1792 – 9 February 1873) with no issue. She was daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and had been previously married to William I of Württemberg.

Children

From his first wife Elisabeth of Württemberg, one daughter, and his second wife Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies, eight daughters and four sons: Children of Francis II

Name Picture Birth Death Notes
By Elisabeth of Württemberg
Archduchess Ludovika Elisabeth 18 February 1790 24 June 1791 (aged 1) Died in infancy and buried in the Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria.
By Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies
Archduchess Maria Ludovika Maria Luigia of Austria, duchess of Parma.jpg 12 December 1791 17 December 1847 (aged 56) Married first Napoleon Bonaparte, had issue, married second Adam, count of Neipperg, had issue, married third to Charles, Count of Bombelles, no issue.
Emperor Ferdinand I Kaiser Ferdinand I von Österreich in ungarischer Adjustierung mit Ordensschmuck c1830.jpg 19 April 1793 29 June 1875 (aged 82) Married Maria Anna of Savoy, Princess of Sardinia, no issue.
Archduchess Marie Caroline 8 June 1794 16 March 1795 (aged 0) Died in childhood, no issue.
Archduchess Caroline Ludovika 22 December 1795 30 June 1797 (aged 1) Died in childhood, no issue.
Archduchess Caroline Josepha Leopoldine Maria Leopoldina 1815.jpg 22 January 1797 11 December 1826 (aged 29) Renamed Maria Leopoldina upon her marriage; married Pedro I of Brazil (a.k.a. Pedro IV of Portugal); issue included Maria II of Portugal and Pedro II of Brazil.
Archduchess Maria Klementina Princesse de Salerne.jpeg 1 March 1798 3 September 1881 (aged 83) Married her maternal uncle Leopold, Prince of Salerno, had issue.
Archduke Joseph Franz Leopold 9 April 1799 30 June 1807 (aged 8) Died some weeks after his mother in childhood, no issue.
Archduchess Maria Karolina Peter Krafft Bildnis einer Maria Karolina.jpg 8 April 1801 22 May 1832 (aged 31) Married Crown Prince (later King) Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, no issue.
Archduke Franz Karl Waldmüller Erzherzog Franz Carl 1839.jpg 17 December 1802 8 March 1878 (aged 75) married Princess Sophie of Bavaria; issue included Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico.
Archduchess Marie Anne 8 June 1804 28 December 1858 (aged 54) Born intellectually disabled (like her eldest brother, Emperor Ferdinand I) and to have suffered from a severe facial deformity. Died unmarried.
Archduke Johann Nepomuk 30 August 1805 19 February 1809 (aged 3) Died in childhood, no issue.
Archduchess Amalie Theresa 6 April 1807 9 April 1807 (aged 0) Died in childhood, no issue.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Francisco II del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico y I de Austria para niños

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