Maria Cristina Amelia of Naples and Sicily (17 January 1779 – 26 February 1783) was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and twin sister of the future
Queen of SardiniaMaria Cristina of Naples and Sicily was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and later Queen of Sardinia as wife of Charles Felix of Sardinia.-Princess of Naples and Sicily:...
. She died of
SmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
1783.
Biography
Maria Cristina Amelia was born at the
Caserta PalaceThe Royal Palace of Caserta is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples. It was the largest palace and one of the largest buildings erected in Europe during the 18th century...
in Naples. She was the youngest of twins born to
Ferdinand IV of NaplesFerdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
and his Austrian consort
Maria Carolina of AustriaMaria Carolina of Austria was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand IV & III. As de facto ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw the promulgation of many reforms, including the revocation of the ban on Freemasonry, the enlargement of the navy under her...
, daughter of
Empress Maria TheresaMaria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
.
A member of the
House of BourbonThe House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, she was a Princess of Naples and Sicily by birth. She was ineligiable to inherit the throne due to
Salic LawSalic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
, which forbade females from inheriting.
Her older sister
Princess Maria CristinaMaria Cristina of Naples and Sicily was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and later Queen of Sardinia as wife of Charles Felix of Sardinia.-Princess of Naples and Sicily:...
, was the wife of the future
Charles Felix of SardiniaCharles Felix was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.-Early life:...
. Her other sisters included a future Holy Roman Empress,
Grand Duchess of TuscanyMaria Luisa of Naples and Sicily , was a Neapolitan and Sicilian princess and the wife of the third Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany.-Background:...
, Queen of the French and Princess of Asturias. Her brother's included
Francis-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
, future
King of the Two Sicilies and the
Leopold, Prince of SalernoPrince Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Michele of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Salerno was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.-Biography:Born Leopoldo of Naples and Sicily, he was the sixth son of Ferdinand IV of Naples and wife Maria...
.
The infant princess and her twin were placed under the education of Vincenza D'Ambrogio. Her sister was her mothers favourite child. At the age of five, the princess caught
SmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
an illness which had previously killed her older brother
Prince CarloCarlo of Naples and Sicily was a Prince of Naples and Sicily and Duke of Calabria. He died in infancy of smallpox.-Biography:Born at the Caserta Palace near Naples, he was created Duke of Calabria at birth as the heir apparent to his father's throne...
in 1777 and
Prince GiuseppeGiuseppe of Naples and Sicily was Prince of Naples and Sicily. He died of Smallpox aged two years.-Biography:...
who died a week before Maria Cristina Amelia did. She died at the Caserta Palace and was buried at the
Church of Santa ChiaraSanta Chiara is a religious complex in Naples, southern Italy, that includes the Church of Santa Chiara, a monastery, tombs and an archeological museum.-Architecture:...
in
NaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
.
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! style="background:#ccccff;"|Family of Maria Cristina Amelia in 1783
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Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 17 January 1779 – 26 February 1783 Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Cristina Amelia of Naples and Sicily
See also