War of The Bavarian Succession - Contenders - Heir Presumptive

Heir Presumptive

Unbeknownst to either Charles Theodore or Joseph, a widow—historians are uncertain which widow—opened secret negotiations with Prussia to secure the eventual succession of Charles August. Some historians maintain the active negotiator was Max Joseph's widow, Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony. Others assert it was not Max Joseph's widow but Max Joseph's sister, who was also Charles August's mother-in-law. This widow, Maria Antonia, was the mother of the reigning Elector of Saxony. Ernest Henderson even maintained she was the "only manly one among the many Wittelsbach parties" involved in the issue.

Charles August was no great admirer of Joseph's. As a younger man, he had sought the hand of Joseph's sister, Archduchess Maria Amalia. She had been quite content to take him, but Joseph and their mother insisted she marry instead the better connected Duke of Parma. After this disappointment, Charles August married Maria Amalia of Saxony in 1774; she was the daughter of the Elector Christian (d. 1765) and his wife Maria Antonia, Max Joseph's sister. In 1769, the reigning Elector, Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, had married Charles August's sister. Charles August, sometimes called duc de Deux-Ponts (a French translation of Zweibrücken, or two bridges), was a French client and could theoretically draw on French support for his claim. However, he had especially good relations with the Saxon Electors: both his mother- and brother-in-law wanted to ensure that Maria Amalia's husband received his rightful inheritance.