Marriage
In a series of dynastic alliances, Maria Antonia became engaged to Infante Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (who later became King Ferdinand VII of Spain), while her eldest brother, Francis, became engaged to Infante Ferdinand's sister Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain. On 4 October 1802, Maria Antonia married Infante Ferdinand in Barcelona, Spain.
The princess failed to provide the expected heir to the throne: her two pregnancies, in 1804 and 1805, ended in miscarriages. Her mother, Maria Carolina, always full of hatred towards France and the Spanish monarchs, tried to plot to destroy Spain's ties to France and used her daughter for this end, even suggesting to poison the Queen of Spain and Manuel Godoy, Spain's prime minister. Maria Antonia's mother-in-law, Maria Luisa, discovered the plot and fearing her daughter-in-law would poison her, began to subject her books and clothes to scrutiny. In spite of all of this, Maria Antonia managed to gain ascendancy over her dull husband and created an opposition party against Queen Maria Luisa and Godoy.
Read more about this topic: Princess Maria Antonia Of Naples And Sicily
Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“The sum and substance of female education in America, as in England, is training women to consider marriage as the sole object in life, and to pretend that they do not think so.”
—Harriet Martineau (1802–1876)
“Every relationship that does not raise us up pulls us down, and vice versa; this is why men usually sink down somewhat when they take wives while women are usually somewhat raised up. Overly spiritual men require marriage every bit as much as they resist it as bitter medicine.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“A marriage based on full confidence, based on complete and unqualified frankness on both sides; they are not keeping anything back; there’s no deception underneath it all. If I might so put it, it’s an agreement for the mutual forgiveness of sin.”
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906)