Claudia Felicitas of Austria

Claudia Felicitas of Austria
Holy Roman Empress Archduchess of Austria Queen consort of Bohemia and Hungary
Tenure	1673–1676
Spouse	Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Issue
Archduchess Anna Maria Sophia Archduchess Maria Josepha
House	Habsburg dynasty
Father	Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria
Mother	Anna de' Medici
Born	30 May 1653 Florence
Died	8 April 1676 Vienna

Archduchess Claudia Felicitas of Austria (30 May 1653 – 8 April 1676) was the eldest daughter of Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria, and his wife Anna de' Medici. She was Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Archduchess of Austria, German Queen, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia as the spouse of Leopold I.^[1]

Family and early life

Claudia Felicitas was born in Florence at the court of her mother Anna de' Medici. She was their eldest daughter and only child to survive into adulthood. The failure of her parents to produce male heirs meant that her father's brother Sigismund Francis succeeded to Tyrol and Further Austria upon Ferdinand Charles' death in 1662.

Her maternal grandparents were Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Maria Magdalena of Austria.

Marriage and children

After his first wife Margaret Theresa of Spain died in 1673, many among the court expected the Emperor Leopold I to find another spouse. He was the last of the male Habsburgs, besides the sickly King Charles II of Spain and thus was in dire need of a male heir.^[2] Leopold deeply mourned his first wife, but was obligated to seek another six months later. Claudia was chosen, and she became his second wife on 15 October 1673, in Graz. She was young, attractive, and apparently aware of the great status it implied. Leopold lamented that she was "not like my only Margareta".^[3]

Claudia bore Leopold two children:

• Anna Maria Sophia (11 September 1674 - 21 December 1674).
• Maria Josepha (11 October 1675 - 11 July 1676).

Both her children died young. Claudia Felicitas herself died shortly thereafter in Vienna, where she is buried in the Capuchin monastery. Leopold remarried later that year to Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate-Neuburg.

Ancestors

References

1. ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/336625/Leopold-I
2. ^ Wheatcroft (1995), pp. 200-201.
3. ^ Wheatcroft (1995), p. 201.

Sources

• Wheatcroft, Andrew (1995). The Habsburgs: Embodying Empire. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0670854905. 

External links

Media related to Claudia Felicitas of Austria at Wikimedia Commons

Claudia Felicitas of Austria House of Habsburg Born: 30 May 1653 Died: 8 April 1676
German royalty
Preceded by Margaret Theresa of Spain	Empress of the Holy Roman Empire German Queen 1673–1676	Succeeded by Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg
	Archduchess of Austria 1673–1676
	Queen consort of Bohemia 1673–1676
	Queen of Hungary 1673–1676

Persondata
Name	Austria, Claudia Felicitas Of
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	30 May 1653
Place of birth	Florence
Date of death	8 April 1676
Place of death	Vienna