Early Years and First Marriage
Born in Palermo, Sicily, Italy on 27 April 1806, she was the daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies by his second wife, Maria Isabella of Spain.
Maria Christina married King Ferdinand VII of Spain on 11 December 1829 in Madrid. Ferdinand was her uncle by birth and by marriage. Like her mother Maria Isabella, Ferdinand was a child of King Charles IV of Spain and his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma. With the death of the King's third wife on 27 May 1829, Ferdinand's desperation to father an heir for his crown resulted in his fourth marriage just seven months later.
The new queen, Maria Christina, rapidly gave birth to two daughters, Isabella (the future Queen Isabella II, 1830–1904) and the Infanta Luísa Fernanda (1832–1897).
Read more about this topic: Maria Christina Of The Two Sicilies
Famous quotes containing the words early, years and/or marriage:
“Foolish prater, What dost thou
So early at my window do?
Cruel bird, thou’st ta’en away
A dream out of my arms to-day;
A dream that ne’er must equall’d be
By all that waking eyes may see.
Thou this damage to repair
Nothing half so sweet and fair,
Nothing half so good, canst bring,
Tho’ men say thou bring’st the Spring.”
—Abraham Cowley (1618–1667)
“What blessed you
that you sit,
sedately no harlot
a witness
as years pass,
to beauty?”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“Honor, riches, marriage blessing,
Long continuance, and increasing,
Hourly joys be still upon you!
Juno sings her blessings on you.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)