Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony
The Queen in 1829
Queen consort of Spain
Tenure	20 October 1819 – 18 May 1829
Born	(1803-12-06)6 December 1803 Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Died	18 May 1829(1829-05-18) (aged 25) Royal Palace of Aranjuez, Aranjuez, Spain
Burial	Royal Crypt, El Escorial, Spain
Spouse	Ferdinand VII of Spain ​ (m. 1819)​
Full name Maria Josepha Amalia Beatrix Xaveria Vincentia Aloysia Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Anna Apollonia Johanna Nepomucena Walburga Theresia Ambrosia
House	Wettin
Father	Maximilian, Crown Prince of Saxony
Mother	Caroline of Parma
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Coat of arms of Queen Maria Josepha of Spain

Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony (Maria Josepha Amalia Beatrix Xaveria Vincentia Aloysia Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Anna Apollonia Johanna Nepomucena Walburga Theresia Ambrosia; 6 December 1803 – 18 May 1829) was Queen of Spain as the third wife of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. She was the youngest daughter of Prince Maximilian of Saxony (1759–1838) and his first wife, Princess Carolina of Parma (1770–1804), daughter of Duke Ferdinand of Parma. She was a member of the house of Wettin.

Childhood

Princess Maria Josepha Amalia was born in Dresden, Germany, to Princess Carolina of Parma and Maximilian, Crown Prince of Saxony. Maria lost her mother when she was only a few months old; due to this, her father sent her to a convent near the Elbe river, where she was brought up by nuns. As a result, Maria had a strict religious upbringing and was a fervent Catholic all her life.

Since King Ferdinand VII of Spain was widowed and looking for a wife, Maria's father, Crown Prince Maximilian, suggested that his youngest daughter Maria could marry him. The marriage was soon negotiated by the Marquis de Cerrlvo. The king was reportedly enthralled by her, and decided to marry her.

Queen of Spain

King Ferdinand and Princess Maria married on 20 October 1819, in Madrid. Henceforth, Maria was known as the queen consort of Spain. Although the new queen was young, naive and inexperienced, the king fell in love with her because of her kind demeanour.

This was the king's third marriage. The King was childless when he married Maria, and it was his ardent desire that this marriage be blessed with living sons. However, the marriage, which lasted ten years until her death, proved childless, and Maria Josepha Amalia withdrew from public life, with long stays in the Palace of Aranjuez, in La Granja de San Ildefonso and the Royal Palace of Riofrio.

Portrait of María Amalia of Saxony, by Vicente López Portaña. Maria is seen wearing the band and cross of the Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa. The style of the portrait and the mature appearance of the queen have led some authors to affirm that it must have been painted around 1828, one year before the death of the sovereign, and when she was 23 years old.

She died as a result of fevers on 18 May 1829 in Aranjuez, leaving her husband heartbroken, and was buried in El Escorial. Her husband remarried for the fourth time to Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies who eventually gave birth to the future Queen Isabella II of Spain.