Marie Ludovica of Austria (Age of Empires)

Marie Ludovica (12 December 1791-17 December 1853) was Queen of France from 1814 to 1834, as the wife of King Louis XVII, and regent of the kingdom as mother of their daughter Margaret Thérèse. She was the daughter of Emperor Francis II and Maria Teresa. Maire was married off to Louis to make sure that the Austrian alliance was still ongoing. Despite the marriage, many people that lived in both Austria and France seemed to think that the alliance was fading, soon after the couple married.

Early life and Marriage
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Queen Consort
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Regency
When Ferdinand died on 29 September 1834, Maria Ludovica became regent for their daughter Margaret Thérèse. Margaret's claim to the throne was disputed by Charles, who claimed that his nephew Louis had unlawfully changed the succession law to permit females to inherit the crown (see Legitism). Some supporters of Charles went so far as to claim that Louis had actually bequeathed the crown to his uncle but that Maria Ludovica had suppressed that fact. It was further alleged that the Queen had signed her dead husband's name to a decree recognizing Margaret as heir.

Louis's attempt to seize power resulted in the Liberal Wars. Despite considerable support for Charles from conservative elements in France, the Ludovica's side (also known as "Parliamentarians") successfully retained the throne for her daughter.

Downfall
On 28 December 1834, shortly after the death of Ferdinand VII, Maria Ludovica had secretly married an ex-sergeant from the royal guard, Agustín Fernando Muñoz (1808–1873). If Maria Ludovia had officially made the marriage public, she would have forfeited the regency; but her relations with Muñoz were perfectly well known within the French court. Eventually, news of Maria Ludovica's marriage to this low-ranking soldier became public. That news made Maria Ludovica deeply unpopular.

Her position was undermined by news of her remarriage and concerns that she was not actually supportive of her liberal ministers and their policies. Eventually, the army, which was the backbone of Margaret's support, and the liberal leadership in the Parliament combined to demand that Maria Ludovica stand aside from the regency. In 1840 Maria Ludovica found her position intolerable; she renounced the regency and left France with Muñoz. The army commander, General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, replaced her as regent.

Return to Court
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