King Ferdinand and Princess Maria married on 20 October 1819, in
Madrid. Henceforth, Maria was known as the
queen consort of Spain. Although the new queen was young, naive and inexperienced, the king fell in love with her because of her kind demeanour. After the failed wedding night, Maria refused to sleep with the king for a long time. It took a personal letter sent by
Pope Pius VII in order to convince the queen that sexual relations between spouses were not contrary to the morality of Catholicism. She finally agreed to share the bed with her husband and consummate the marriage, on the condition that they both pray before carrying out the sexual act, which he accepted without objection. Nevertheless, the marriage remained childless and Maria Josepha Amalia withdrew from public life, with long stays in the Palace of
Aranjuez, in
La Granja de San Ildefonso and the
Royal Palace of Riofrio. . Maria is seen wearing the band and cross of the Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa. The style of the portrait and the mature appearance of the queen have led some authors to affirm that it must have been painted around 1828, one year before the death of the sovereign, and when she was 23 years old. She died as a result of fevers on 18 May 1829 in
Aranjuez, leaving her husband heartbroken, and was buried in
El Escorial. Her husband remarried for the fourth time to
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies who eventually gave birth to the future
Queen Isabella II of Spain. ==Ancestry==