María Isabella of Spain

She was the youngest daughter of King Carlos IV of Spain and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma a granddaughter of King Louis XV and his popular wife Queen Marie Leszczyńska. María Isabel's birth coincided with the rise to power in Spain of her mother's favorite, Manuel Godoy. Court rumour attributed María Isabel's paternity not to the king, but to the young Godoy, who became Spain's prime minister in 1792. The Infanta's childhood coincided with the events of the French revolution and political turbulence in Spain. The youngest surviving daughter in a large family, María Isabel was spoilt by both of her parents and her education was rudimentary. She and her family members were painted by Francisco Goya in his 1800–1801 portrait Charles IV of Spain and His Family. In December 1800, Lucien Bonaparte arrived in Spain as the new French ambassador. Through him, Queen Maria Luisa offered María Isabel in marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte in April 1801. Then First Consul, Napoleon had been married to Joséphine de Beauharnais for two years, but it had been suggested that he should divorce her to marry a princess of royal blood. Napoleon had a low opinion of the House of Bourbon and commented privately, "If I would have to remarry, I wouldn't look in a house in ruins for my descendants" ==Marriage==

Anxious to find a crown for Maria Isabel, in the spring 1801, her mother looked to marry her to her paternal first cousin the Duke of Calabria, Prince Francesco of Naples and Sicily, whose wife, Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria, was then still alive, but died of consumption in November of that year. On 6 July 1802, her thirteenth birthday, María Isabel married in Madrid her 25-year-old cousin, Francesco by proxy, as his second wife. Her brother Ferdinand stood in the ceremony in place of the groom. The Spanish royal family traveled to Barcelona on 13 August. The two couples were married in person on 4 October at the arrival of Francesco and his sister. The festivities lasted until 12 October when María Isabel, in Italian Maria Isabella, left Barcelona towards Naples. ==Duchess of Calabria==

Maria Isabella did not evoke a good impression upon her arrival at the court of Naples. All four daughters of Charles IV (Carlota Joaquina, Maria Amalia, Maria Luisa and María Isabel) were short and plain. María Isabel had regular features and was relatively better-looking compared to Carlota Joaquina and Maria Amalia, but she looked even younger than her thirteen years. She was described as "little, and round as a ball". Despite successive attempts by Murat to invade the island, King Ferdinand and Maria Carolina held their status and power in Sicily under the protection of British troops, but would be unable to challenge French control of the Italian mainland. The real power in Sicily was held by Lord William Bentinck, commander of British troops on the island. The king spent the following years hunting, appearing at Palermo only when his presence was required. In 1812, Francesco, Maria Isabella's husband, was appointed regent. Maria Isabella did not get involved in the complex Sicilian affairs of the Neapolitan court in exile in Palermo. Francesco clashed with the aristocracy of the island who opposed new taxes to finance the war against France, claiming a high degree of autonomy. Queen Maria Carolina was exiled to her homeland Austria in 1813, where she died in 1814. ==Return to Naples==

. In 1815, under Austrian protection, Ferdinand returned to Naples. He suppressed the Sicilian constitution and joined his two kingdoms into that of the Two Sicilies in 1816, bestowing on Francesco the title of Duke of Calabria as heir of the combined kingdoms. She was still with her mother when Queen Maria Luisa died in January 1819. Maria Isabella was instrumental in the marital choices of the Neapolitan court for her daughters, of whom four (out of six) married members of the Spanish royal family. The first of these marriages took place in April 1819 between her eldest child Luisa Carlotta and Maria Isabella's younger brother, Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain in a union between niece and uncle. During these troubled years Maria Isabella was constantly pregnant. At intervals of less than two years, she gave birth to nine children born in Palermo. She finally returned to Naples with her husband in July 1820. Her father-in-law King Ferdinand was now completely subservient to Austria; an Austrian, Count Nugent, was commander-in-chief of the army. For the next four years her father-in-law reigned as an absolute monarch within his domain, granting no constitutional reforms. In this period, Maria Isabella had two more children born in Naples. ==Queen of the Two Sicilies==

King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies died on 4 January 1825 and Maria Isabella's husband became the new king. Francis I, aged 47, was a large heavy man; well-intentioned; simple in his tastes and more interested in farming than in politics. Ferdinand VII invited his sister and brother-in-law to accompany their daughter to the wedding in Madrid. Francis I's was afflicted with gout and on declining health, but Maria Isabella was anxious to visit her native country after 27 years of absence. She convinced her husband to make the long trip to Spain. Their eldest son, Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria was left as regent during their absence. Traveling by land, the royal party left for Spain on 28 September 1829. On their way, they visited Pope Pius VIII in Rome. In Grenoble, they met the Duchess of Berry, happy to see her parents after thirteen years. Once in Spain, the marriage was celebrated on 25 January 1830. On the way back, they were reunited once again with the Duchess of Berry who presented to them to her infant son, the Duke of Bordeaux, at Chambord. Maria Isabella and her husband went to Paris, where they were entertained by King Charles X. In June, the King and Queen left for Genoa reaching Naples on 30 July. After their return, the king's health deteriorated rapidly. He died on 8 November 1830. ==Queen mother==

At the death of her husband, Maria Isabella's eldest son became King Ferdinand II. Unbeknownst to her, she was at the center of a liberal conspiracy hatched by Prince Vincenzo Ruffo della Scaletta and Peter Ugo, Marquis delle Favare. Their intention was to name Maria Isabella regent, displacing her conservative son from the throne for at least a couple of years. The plot was discovered and immediately crushed by the young king. Maria Isabella rejected him, appealing to her son to rid her of her former lover. The king had Schmuckher expelled from Naples in January 1838. ==Later years==

In January 1836, Maria Isabella served as a godmother to her grandson Francesco, Duke of Calabria. In March that same year, the Prince of Capua contracted a morganatic marriage. Maria Isabella pleaded for her favorite son, but her efforts to obtain a pardon for him proved fruitless. Ferdinand II did not forgive his runaway brother: Capua went into permanent exile in England, and Maria Isabella never saw him again. As Maria Isabella was determined to remarry, her son, King Ferdinand II, gave her a list with names of young noblemen of the kingdom, from whom to choose. Her first two choices hesitated and she withdrew her proposals. Ultimately she selected Francesco, Count dal Balzo dei Duchi di Presenzano (1805–1882), a handsome young lieutenant from an ancient but impoverished noble family. Their marriage took place privately on 15 January 1839. She was 50 years old and the groom, 34. The couple had no children. They retired from the Neapolitan court, moving to the Palace of Capodimonte. Tragedy struck the Queen Dowager when in January 1843, Antonio, Count of Lecce, her fourth son was killed. Her fifth son, Luigi, Count of Aquila, followed a career in the navy. In July 1843 he went to Brazil when Teresa, Maria Isabella's youngest daughter, married Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. In 1845, to keep the Spanish throne in the House of Bourbon Louis Philippe d'Orléans, King of the French, launched the idea of marrying Maria Isabella's youngest son Francesco, Count of Trapani, who had been originally destined for the church, to Queen Isabella II of Spain, her granddaughter, in another union between uncle and niece. The project did not, however, come to fruition. In the political crisis of late 1847, Maria Isabella, her son Leopold, Count of Syracuse and her brother-in-law, Leopold, Prince of Salerno, advocated in vain in favor of liberal reforms. Due to her affable character and generosity towards the poor, Maria Isabella remained a popular figure till the end. She died on 13 September 1848 at age 59. ==Issue==

Francis and María Isabella were well matched and he treated her with kindness. They had twelve children, six daughters and six sons: • Princess Luisa Carlota (1804–1844), married her mother's younger brother Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain. • Princess María Cristina (1806–1878), married firstly her mother's older brother Ferdinand VII of Spain and became Queen regent of Spain; and secondly, Agustín Fernando Muñoz, subsequently created Duke de Rianzares. • Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (1810–1859), became Francis I's successor and married twice. • Carlo, Prince of Capua (1811–1862), married non-dynastically to Penelope Smyth; and had issue. • Leopoldo, Count of Syracuse (1813–1860), married Princess Maria of Savoy-Carignan; had issue. • Princess Maria Antonia (1814–1898), married Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. • Antonio, Count of Lecce (1816–1843). • Princess Maria Amalia (1818–1857), married Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain. • Princess Maria Carolina (1820–1861), married Infante Carlos, Count of Montemolin, the Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain; had no issue. • Princess Teresa Cristina (1822–1889), married Emperor Pedro II of Brazil; had issue. • Prince Louis, Count of Aquila (1824–1897), married Princess Januária of Brazil (sister of Pedro II of Brazil and of Maria II of Portugal); had issue. • Francesco, Count of Trapani (1827–1892), married Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria; and had issue. ==Ancestors==