Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal - Widowhood

Widowhood

She remained such an influential figure behind the scenes at court after the death of her husband that when rumors spread that she was to marry the master of her household, Count Cavriani, no one dared to say a word against her. In the end the rumors turned out to be false. During her widowhood she spent the winter months living in Vienna and the summer months at Reichstadt castle in Bohemia.

She offered encouragement and support to her stepson Franz Ferdinand in his determination to marry Countess Sophie Chotek against his family's will. She traveled to a convent in Prague herself to fetch Sophie and took her into her own house, even pleading on Sophie's behalf with the Emperor Franz Joseph. After the union was finally permitted, Maria Theresa made all the arrangements for the wedding, insisting that it take place in her own private chapel.

She remained close to Franz Ferdinand and Sophie until their assassination in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. It was she who broke the news of the couple's death to their children Sophie, Maximilian and Ernst. She also managed to ensure the children's financial security after telling the Emperor that if he did not grant them a yearly income, she would resign the allowance which she drew as a widow in their favour. (The majority of Franz Ferdinand's property went to his nephew the Archduke Charles).

On 21 November 1916, her brother-in-law Emperor Franz Joseph died, and Archduke Karl of Austria the son of Archduke Otto Franz of Austria and nephew of Franz Ferdinand became the new Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. He would reign until November 1918 when the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed following its defeat in the First World War. After his abdication, Maria Theresa accompanied Karl and his wife Zita into exile in Madeira, but eventually returned to Vienna where she spent the rest of her life.

In 1929, following a decline in her finances, Maria Theresa engaged two agents to sell the Napoleon Diamond Necklace, a piece inherited from her husband, in the United States. After a series of botched sales attempts, the pair finally sold the necklace for $60,000 with the aid of the grand-nephew of Maria Theresa, the Archduke Leopold of Austria, but he claimed nearly 90% of the sale price as "expenses". Maria Theresa appealed to the United States courts, ultimately resulting in the recovery of the necklace, the imprisonment of her grand-nephew, and the absconding of the two agents.

Maria Theresa died in Vienna during World War II. She survived her husband by 48 years.