I would agree with you there. Do you know anything about her personality in comparison to those of her daughters? I read somewhere that Hilda in particular inherited the "Braganza temperament," but that's about all I know.
As William IV, the Grand Duchess Marie-Anne adopted the motto of John the Blind : Ich dien (I serve), to guide her in troubled times of her reign ephemeral. Throughout the duration of illness of the Grand Duke, Grand Duchess, dedicated nurse, assisted him and comforted him relentlessly.
Education of princesses, who were " learning about life as it really is " also a testament to her strength of character. Despite the warmth of maternal love she knew to radiate far beyond the family circle, she was very demanding regarding compliance with the established principles. No sloppiness was tolerated in the morning, they do not read novels or works designed to entertain, and the young princesses were associated with care given to their father.
An anecdote shows the sacrifice that they knew to show. Aged just six years, Princess Sophie, red and swollen hand, says she was stung by a wasp left to protect the Grand Duke, on which she had to see.
During the First World War and four years of occupation of the Grand Duchy by the Germans, the privations touched all Luxembourgers. It was not uncommon then to see the Grand Duchess Marie-Anne refused a meal less meager than usual. She then went a basket under her arm, on the road leading to the bedside of a sick or needy.
The fate of the Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide, who abdicated in 1919 in favor of her sister Charlotte, was also marked by deep concern for others. Become a Carmelite nun, she devoted herself indeed for the poor in Modena, and Rome.
