View source for Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1822–1869)

{{Short description|French princess by marriage; Duchess of Aumale}}
{{for|other people called Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Princess Maria Carolina Augusta
| title        = Duchess of Aumale
| image        = Maria Carolina Augusta di Borbone, Principessa delle Due Sicilie (1848).jpg
| caption      = Portrait of Maria Carolina
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale|Prince Henri, Duke of Aumale]]|1844}}
| issue        = [[Louis d'Orléans, Prince of Condé|Louis, Prince of Condé]]<br>[[François d'Orléans (1854–1872)|François Louis, Duke of Guise]]
| issue-link   = Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1822–1869)#Children
| issue-pipe   = Among others...
| house        = [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Bourbon-Two Sicilies]]
| father       = [[Leopold, Prince of Salerno]]
| mother       = [[Archduchess Clementina of Austria|Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1822|4|26|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Vienna]], [[Austrian Empire]]{{cn|date=August 2020}}
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1869|12|6|1822|4|26|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Twickenham]], [[London]], England{{cn|date=August 2020}}
| burial_place = [[Chapelle royale de Dreux]]
| signature    = Signature of Princess (Marie) Caroline Auguste of the Two Sicilies, Duchess of Aumale.png
}}
'''Princess Maria Carolina Augusta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies'''{{cn|date=August 2020}} (26 April 1822 – 6 December 1869) was a [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies]] by birth and a princess of the [[House of Orléans]] through her marriage to Prince [[Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale|Henry of Orléans, Duke of Aumale]]. She was the daughter of [[Leopold, Prince of Salerno]] and [[Archduchess Clementina of Austria]], and was their only child to survive to adulthood.
==Life==
===Youth and marriage===
[[File:Undated minitaure of Princess Maria Carolina Augusta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (later Duchess of Aumale) as a child by a member of the French School.jpg|left|thumb|Portrait miniature of Maria Carolina Augusta in her early years. The miniature is undated and the artist is unknown.]]
Maria Carolina was born in Vienna on 26 April 1822, the only surviving child of [[Leopold, Prince of Salerno]] and his wife and niece [[Archduchess Clementina of Austria|Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria]].
Nicknamed ''Lina'' since her birth, the Princess spent the first years of her life under the supervision of her mother in the Austrian Imperial court at Vienna and was officially introduced there in society. As a teenager, she returned with her family in Naples.
In the 1830s and 1840s, there were not many princesses from European nobility who were in a marriageable age, allowing Maria Carolina to receive several suitors for her hand. The choice finally fell on Prince [[Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale|Henry, Duke of Aumale]], fifth and second-youngest son of King [[Louis-Philippe I of France]] and his wife [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies]], who became impressed with her during a stay at her father's palace in Naples.<ref>Cazelles, p. 106.</ref> The marriage negotiations began in late August 1844, and on 17 September of the same year at the ''Revue de Paris'', their engagement was officially announced.<ref name="Woerth">Woerth, p. 71.</ref> The union was anything but a love match. Henri d'Orléans described his wife in a letter to his teacher Alfred-Auguste de Cuvillier-Fleury as "not nice, but nothing unpleasant about herself".<ref>Woerth, note p. 70.</ref> Cuvillier-Fleury agreed with him, adding that she also had an "exquisite appearance".<ref>Cazelles, note p. 111.</ref> Henry agreed to the marriage only after intense pressure from his parents after they rejected other candidates. Finally opting for the small and graceful Maria Carolina to forestall any other marriage proposals to her from other European princes.
The marriage took place on 25 November 1844 in [[Naples]] at the request of the groom, although Maria Carolina's future in-laws would have preferred that the marriage would be celebrated in Paris. The civil wedding was performed in the royal palace of King [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies]], and on the same day, the religious ceremony was celebrated with great pomp. The bride received the large amount of 517,000 [[gold franc]]s as a dowry.<ref>Cazelles, p. 157.</ref> The festivities on the occasion of the wedding, such as balls, receptions, hunting events or theater galas, lasted more than two weeks.<ref name="Woerth"/> However, Maria Carolina travelled already on 2 December 1844 together with her husband by ship to [[Toulon]]. From there, the newlyweds had a grand reception by the city to Paris, where they settled in a series of rooms at the [[Tuileries Palace]].
===First years of marriage and children===
[[File: Princess Maria Carolina Augusta of the Two Sicilies (later Duchess of Aumale) from the studio of Franz Xaver Winterhalter (Versailles).jpg |thumb|right|Princess Maria Carolina Augusta of Bourbon (by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]])]]
During the first months of 1845, which for Maria Carolina were filled by ceremonial duties at official occasions such as balls, theatrical performances or meetings with nobles, she and her husband had finally the opportunity to know each other better. They developed a mutual respect, and during all their years together, the Princess was a faithful and devoted wife who never made claims.<ref>Cazelles, p. 114.</ref> Her charming ways, gentleness and kindness, gained the love of her husband's family.<ref>Woerth, p. 73.</ref> Contemporaries described her as amiable and witty.<ref>Cazelles, note p. 102.</ref> In May 1845 she moved with her husband to the [[Château de Chantilly]], which Henry specially rebuilt and modernized for her. During that summer [[Queen Victoria]] and her [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|husband]] were passing by France from their trip to Germany stayed for a night with the French royal family, according to her diary she describe of meeting Marie Carolina of the first time "who is a good bit smaller than me, very, very, fair & not at all pretty, but very pleasing; she has light blue eyes, a large nose & not a pretty mouth." but later wrote that "Lina is really very amiable; she speaks German de préférence, having been born in Germany — at Vienna — & having always lived there." They would become lifelong friends.
Maria Karolina remained at her husband's side after he was appointed in September 1847 Governor General of Algeria and therefore his presence in that country was necessary.
===Exile in England and death===
[[File: CsAumale02.jpg|thumb|right|Princess Maria Carolina Augusta, Duchess of Aumale in her final years (by Camille Silvy)]]
After the February Revolution of 1848 the Orléans family went into exile in England and were, by decree from 16 May 1848, permanently banned from France. Maria Carolina followed her husband, and they temporarily moved to [[Claremont House]]. Their strained finances forced the Princess to sell parts of their precious jewels to pay for their maintenance.
Maria Carolina soon become a close friend of [[Queen Victoria]],<ref>Cazelles, p. 282.</ref> who gave her and her family the [[Orleans House]] in [[Twickenham]], London, as their residence. They moved from Claremont to their new home on 16 April 1852.<ref>Woerth, p. 266.</ref> A year earlier, she traveled to Naples with her husband to visit her recently widowed mother and remained there for almost a whole year. While there, she gave birth to her fourth child, named ''François Paul'' in January 1852, who unfortunately died at the age of 3 months due to catching whooping cough 'on the way & dies 10 days after their arrival at Claremont.' as Queen Victoria sadly wrote in her journal. Possibly as a result of her parents and her husband's [[Inbreeding|genetic closeness]], is likely the main reason for the demise of all her siblings and most of her children. After a long journey in August 1864 across Europe (including Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland and the Orient), Maria Carolina preferably spent her time in the ''[[Wood Norton Hall]]'' estate at [[Worcestershire]].
The unexpected death of her eldest son Louis Philippe, Prince of Condé, in 1866 plunged Maria Carolina into a deep depression from which she never fully recovered.{{cn|date=August 2020}} After a six-week bout of illness,{{cn|date=August 2020}} she died on 6 December 1869 aged 47 at Orleans House from infectious [[tuberculosis]].
[[Queen Victoria]] wrote of her friend's death: "Deeply grieved, for I loved her much, & since dear [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Victoria]]'s death, she was the one of the family I clung most to. Dear, kind little soul, I can hardly believe I shall never see her again! It is dreadful for poor Aumale & her poor old mother, also her poor little boy."
Four days after her death, on 10 December 1869, Maria Carolina was buried in the Catholic Chapel of Weybridge until 1876, when her remains were returned to France by her husband to be buried in the [[Chapelle royale de Dreux]]. After the death of his wife, Henry preferred to remain a widower until his own death in 1897.
==Children==
{{Hidden top
| title=Children of Maria Carolina Augusta
| titlestyle= text-align:center; background: #CCDDCC; border:1px solid black
}}
{| style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
! width=20% | Name !! width=100px | Portrait !! Lifespan !! Notes
|-
| '''[[Louis d'Orléans, Prince of Condé|Louis Philippe Marie Léopold d'Orléans]]'''<br/>''Prince of Condé''
|| [[File:Photo of Prince Louis of Orléans, Prince of Condé.png|100px]]
||15 November 1845 –<br/>24 May 1866
||Died at age 20 without issue.
|-
| '''Henri Léopold Philippe Marie d'Orléans'''<br/>''Duke of Guise''
||
||11 September 1847 –<br/>10 October 1847
|| Died in infancy.
|-
| Daughter
||
||16 August 1850
|| Stillborn
|-
| '''François Paul d'Orléans'''<br/>''Duke of Guise''
||
||11 January 1852 –<br/>15 April 1852
|| Died in infancy.
|-
| '''François Louis Philippe Marie d'Orléans'''<br/>'' Duke of Guise''
|| [[File:Portrait de François duc du Guise - Jalabert - Musée Condé.jpg |100px]]
|| 11 January 1854 –<br/>25 July 1872
|| Died at age 18 without issue.
|-
| Son
||
||May 1857
|| Stillborn
|-
| Son
||
||15 May 1861
|| Stillborn
|-
| Son
||
||June 1864
|| Stillborn
|-
|}
{{hidden bottom}}
==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Princess Maria Carolina of the Two Sicilies'''
|2= 2. [[Leopold, Prince of Salerno]]
|3= 3. [[Archduchess Clementina of Austria]]
|4= 4. [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies]] (= 14)
|5= 5. [[Maria Carolina of Austria|Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria]] (= 15)
|6= 6. [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor]]
|7= 7. [[Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily|Princess Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily]]
|8= 8. [[Charles III of Spain]]
|9= 9. [[Maria Amalia of Saxony|Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony]]
|10= 10. [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor]]
|11= 11. [[Maria Theresa of Austria]]
|12= 12. [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor]]
|13= 13. [[Maria Luisa of Spain|Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain]]
|14= 14. [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies]] (= 4)
|15= 15. [[Maria Carolina of Austria|Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria]] (= 5)
}}
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==Bibliography==
* Raymond Cazelles: ''Le duc d’Aumale. Prince aus dix visages''. Tallandier, Paris 1984, {{ISBN|2-235-01603-0}}, pp.&nbsp;98–115, 279–282.
* Alfred-Auguste de Cuvillier-Fleury: ''Marie-Caroline Auguste de Bourbon, duchesse d’Aumale'', 1822–1869. C. Lahure, Paris 1870. [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6372109j online]
* Eric Woerth: ''Le duc d’Aumale. L'étonnant destin d’un prince collectionneur''. L’Archipel, Paris 2006, {{ISBN|2-84187-839-2}}, pp.&nbsp;65–82.
==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{Princesses of the Two Sicilies}}
{{Princesses of Orléans by marriage}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Carolina Of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Princess}}
[[Category:1822 births]]
[[Category:1869 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from Vienna]]
[[Category:Princesses of Bourbon-Two Sicilies]]
[[Category:Princesses of France (Orléans)]]
[[Category:Burials at the Chapelle royale de Dreux]]
[[Category:Austrian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian people]]
[[Category:Duchesses of Aumale]]
[[Category:Royal reburials]]