It was hoped by many at court that she would marry someone like the Crown Prince of Saxony, the Prince Royal of Portugal or Prince Alfons of Bavaria as she courted with him. They had met in 1886 at a ball, but Valerie waited several years to be sure that her feelings toward Franz Salvator were strong enough for a successful marriage. In Bad Ischl on 31 July 1890, Valerie married her third cousin Archduke Franz Salvator. She was a great supporter of the Burgtheater in Vienna, and attended its productions as often as possible. She loved to write plays and poems, and was a talented amateur artist who particularly enjoyed painting flowers. In addition, she spoke English, French, and Italian fluently. She was joyful when she was given permission to speak German with her father, whom she worshipped. Due to the atmosphere they created, Valerie developed a lifelong antipathy toward anything to do with Hungary, exacerbated by Elisabeth's insistence on speaking to her only in Hungarian. However, she physically resembled Franz Joseph more than any of her siblings, even more so as she grew older, and eventually the hearsay stopped. These persisted into Valerie's childhood, hurting her deeply. Malicious rumors began to spread that Valerie was in truth the daughter of Elisabeth's friend and admirer Gyula Andrássy, the Hungarian prime minister. Due to this, there was universal relief at the Viennese court that Valerie was a girl. ![]() According to historian Brigitte Hamann, a boy born to the Queen of Hungary in the castle at Budapest would have raised the possibility of his someday becoming its king, separating Hungary from the Austrian empire. Had Valerie been a boy, she would have been named Stephen after Hungary's canonized King and patron saint. ![]() Valerie was born a little over nine months later.Įlisabeth deliberately chose Hungary as her child's birthplace no royal child had been born in Hungary for centuries. This process culminated in their joint coronation in Buda on 8 June 1867 as King and Queen of Hungary. Valerie loved her mother, but according to her diaries, she often felt embarrassed and overwhelmed by Elisabeth's concentration on her, particularly as she was modest and practical.Īnother of Valerie's nicknames was "the Hungarian child", as her birth had been a concession by Elisabeth, who disliked physical intimacy and pregnancy, in exchange for Franz Joseph's reconciliation with Hungary, her most favored part of the Empire. She was Elisabeth's favorite child by far, and was acidly referred to by some courtiers as " die Einzige" ("the only one") because Elisabeth paid so much more attention to her than to her siblings. Sophie herself wrote to Elisabeth's mother, Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria, "Sisi is completely absorbed by her love and care for this irresistible little angel." Her mother was especially attached to Valerie, who was born ten years after the imperial couple's third child, and whom Elisabeth was allowed to raise herself while her first three children were taken from her in infancy and raised by the Emperor's mother, Archduchess Sophie. Her eldest sibling, Archduchess Sophie had already died by the time she was born. She had an older sister, Archduchess Gisela, and an older brother, Crown Prince Rudolf. ![]() On 31 July 1890, she married Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria the marriage caused a rift between her and her siblings as their marriages had to be dynastic, while Marie Valerie's was, as Empress Elisabeth allowed, for love and desire.Īrchduchess Marie Valerie was born on 22 April 1868 in Buda, Hungary to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his wife, Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. Archduchess Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie of Austria (22 April 1868 – 6 September 1924) was the youngest child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
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