The first time I knew about this princess was when I saw her in the famous Goya painting " The Family of Charles IV". She and her little brother look like they may be normal children. She actually looks very nice in this painting compared to most of the rest of them- and I was curious to learn more about what happened to her. Actually, this painting makes one want to research everyone and what happened to them. She was only 11 at the time of the painting
It was then I learned that only two years later this princess Maria Isabella in this painting married her first cousin Francis of Naples after his Austrian wife died, and that she was only 13 and he was 25. Today that age difference would be child abuse. Can you imagine their wedding night? Maybe this is why she came across to people as she did in the above posts.
Her first daughter was born when she was only 15, and this daughter Maria Luisa married Isabella's little brother Francisco- the one in the famous painting, when she was only 14. Isabella's second daughter was born when she was 17, and this daughter Maria Christina married her older brother in the painting- Ferdinand, Prince of the Asturias. Both of these marriages were uncle niece marriages. What do we call that today? ( And the other brother in the famous picture- Carlos, ALSO married a niece, the daughter of another sister. AND the brother of the King in the picture- Antonio Pascal- he married another niece- an older sister of Isabella.) So, this painting has at least 4 uncle niece marriages connected to the people in it- maybe there are even more. The King and Queen in the picture were first cousins through their fathers. And, the Prince of Parma in the picture is married to his first cousin, another daughter of the King and Queen- the one holding the baby in the painting.
So, this is what I found researching this painting - starting with the pretty princess Maria Isabella. All the posted paintings of her on this thread, are not as nice as she looked as she was portrayed by Goya as an 11 year old girl.
And, I learned her youngest son- married - you guessed it- his niece.