December 18, 1847 - Death of Empress Marie Louise

 

A daguerreotype of Empress Marie Louise, taken shortly before her death in 1847.

On December 18, 1847, Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria and second wife of Napoleon I, died in Austria. She was born on December 12, 1791 and was christined Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Therese Josepha Lucia. Her father was then-Archduke Franz of Austria, while her mother was Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Franz’s second wife. A year after her birth, Franz succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the vast Habsburg dominions, after the death of his brother, Emperor Leopold II. Franz would be the last of the long line of Holy Roman Emperors. Marie Louise was married by proxy to Napoleon I on  in the church of St. Augustine, Vienna, on March 11, 1810. They finally met on March 27, in Compiegne. The civil and religious contracts took place at Paris early in April. You can read more about the life of Marie Louise of Austria here.