Burial Imperial Crypt, Vienna Role 1740–1741 | Name Archduchess Carolina Siblings Marie Antoinette | |
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Born 12 January 1740
Vienna, Austria ( 1740-01-12 ) Father Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor Mother Maria Theresa of Austria Died January 25, 1741, Vienna, Austria Parents Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Theresa Grandparents Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor Nieces Marie Therese of France, Princess Sophie Helene Beatrice of France Similar People Maria Theresa, Francis I - Holy Roman E, Marie Antoinette, Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, Maria Carolina of Austria | ||
Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (full German name: Maria Carolina Ernestina Antonia Johanna Josefa; 12 January 1740 – 25 January 1741), was the third child and daughter of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, later Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Duke Francis of Lorraine, later Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor.
Life
In Maria Theresa's third pregnancy expectations for a male heir were intense. The disappointment was correspondingly great when, on 12 January 1740, a third daughter was born. She was inmediately baptized in the evening of her birth.
After the death of her older sister Maria Elisabeth on 7 June, she became in the second in line of succession, preceded only by her other older sister Maria Anna. Five months later, on 20 October, her grandfather Emperor Charles VI died and her mother inherited the Austrian and Bohemian lands, and with this began the War of the Austrian Succession.
On 24 January 1741 the newborn Archduchess suddenly became gravely ill with violent seizures, dying around noon of the next day. The cause of death was now known believed that was either tetany or spasmophilia; however, at the time of her death an autopsy was carried out on the corpse, but no explanation was given for her demise. She was buried in the Maria Theresa Vault at the Imperial Crypt, Vienna.
Two other sisters were named after her: another short-lived one (born and died in 1748) and another (born in 1752), later Queen of Naples and Sicily.