Early Life
Maria Teresa was born in Kleinheubach, Kingdom of Bavaria the second daughter of Miguel I of Portugal and Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. Her father became king of Portugal in 1828 after deposing his niece Queen Maria II. He reigned until 1834 when Maria II of Portugal was restored and Miguel was forced into exile.
Described as one of the most beautiful women in Europe, Maria Theresa married as his third wife Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, a younger brother of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, at Kleinheubach on 23 July 1873. Despite providing him with two daughters Archduchess Maria Annunziata of Austria (1876–1961) and Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria (1878–1960), the marriage was an unhappy one due to her husband's bullying and tormenting of her. In addition to their daughters she also became the step mother to his children by his second wife, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Archduke Otto Franz of Austria, Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria and Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria.
Maria Theresa managed to obtain considerable influence at the Austrian court when Empress Elisabeth effectively withdrew from the social scene in Vienna after the suicide of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, in January 1889. Maria Theresa stood in for the Empress and carried out honours at the Hofburg Imperial Palace with the Emperor until the death of her husband in 1896 when court etiquette ruled she had to go into retirement.
Read more about this topic: Infanta Maria Theresa Of Portugal
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