Producing a dynasty

The marriage between Maria Theresa and Franz Stephan is regarded as one of the few dynastic unions to have been founded on love: political considerations on the part of the dynasties of Habsburg and Lorraine were not the (only) determining factor. The two became acquainted and fell in love at an early stage when Franz Stephan was living at the court of Vienna. Whatever the truth about their courtship, the marriage concluded in 1736 was of the highest political importance: the Habsburg dynasty now became the dynasty of Habsburg-Lorraine, even though the suffix is sometimes dropped.

Maria Theresa and Franz Stephan are generally thought to have had a profound affection for one another; more specifically, it is alleged that ‘in spite of certain escapades on Franz Stephan’s part’ they had a ‘happy marriage’, the claim being supported through the graphic image of Maria Theresa wearing mourning from the point of her husband’s death onwards. One point that does not quite fit into this popular image is the fact that Franz Stephan was constantly unfaithful.

The couple’s prolific record in the production of children – sixteen in all – has led to Maria Theresa becoming an established mother-figure and fertility icon. A considerable number of them followed in their mother’s footsteps by pursuing a political career: Joseph (II) and Leopold (II) became Holy Roman Emperors, Maria Theresa’s ‘favourite daughter’ Marie Christine became Governess of the Austrian Netherlands, and the youngest daughter Maria Antonia earned tragic fame as Queen Marie Antoinette of France.

The accounts of Maria Theresa, in particular of her productivity as a mother, make use of a large number of female role models: she is turned into the ‘warm-hearted German matron’ whose principal qualities are tender loving care and a constantly peaceable character. Especially in textbooks composed for girls attending Austrian schools, she has been presented as an ideal most deserving of imitation.