Archduchess Marie Valérie of Austria(-Tuscany)

[grandduchessella]

I think she is the most round up personality. She wasn't as ugly as Gisela or as clever as Rudolf.

Poor Gisela! I never thought she was ugly--no Sisi for sure but not horrible. Luckily for MV she wasn't as high-strung and temperamental as Rudolf either.

I know her husband remarried after MV died but was her marriage to him a love-match? They certainly had a large family.

[Aliss_Kande]

I believe it was a love match from MV's point of view.  Whether or not he felt the same way I don't know, but I blieve they did have a happy marriage.

[Eric_Lowe]

I agree as a variation of what Sisi said of her situation "one does not sent the daughter of an emperor packing". However I did heard that Gisela's marriage was not happy. Gisela loved her husband, but he was definitely not with her. It was just a marriage, no more, no less.

[Linnea]

I would say that both marriages were quite happy. Leopold wasn´t a picnic and could be quite stern at times, but Gisela had such a calm temper that they had a balanced relationship.
Marie Valerie certainly married for love and nothing else (Franz Salvator wasn´t a good match, as he was the second son of the second son of the non-reigning part of the Habsburg-family), but Elisabeth wanted Marie Valerie to marry for love and she told her that she even could marry a chimney sweeper if she wanted to. Franz Salvator remarried 10 years after Marie Valerie´s death, I think this is ok.

[leanora]

There are a few informations on Marie- VAlérie in the Brigitte Hamann's book.

Marie Valérie was very very shy.. She called this deep shyness "my génation" (sorry I can't traduce in english,  but it means that this shyness was a big trouble for her).. When she was toddler, Her mother's ladies in honor didn't like her, because like all shy people, she seemed haughty and distant. She was said to be "strange". And the fact that she was the "kedvesem", the dear daughter of the hatred Sissi, didn't arrange things.

I find that Marie-valérie looked like her father very much. They had also identical conceptions. The difference was that Marie-Valérie was not really Habsburg by heart. Of course, she loved her country, her family and its high position, but she would dream of a huge German Community which would have included Habsburg ,Hollenzollern and all the german blood people. In this point of view, she was different of her family and of the court which had anti-germanic feelings.

After her mother's death, she seemed to have had very hard feelings for her family, except for her father of course(maybe a disgut of court life I don't know). At the beginning of the 20th century, She wrote in her diary that she wanted her children to grow up far away from this court and this family. She spend the rest of her life in a real isolation in her Wallee castle, leaving it only for the wedding of Charles I and Zita, or to close her father's eyes.

[Linnea]

Dear leonora,

I don´t think Marie Valérie was hated as a toddler nor that she was that shy. She wasn´t liked by certain ladies-in-waiting because she was "the Hungarian child", but that´s all.
You are right, Marie Valerie had quite pro-German feelings, but this was something very common in Austria in the late 1800s untill the early 1900s. Sadly, she didn´t like either the Slavic nor the Hungarian part of her father´s monarchy as a grown-up; She moreover wanted a united Germany with Austria as a part of it. But I wouldn´t say that the Austrian court had anti-German feelings (maybe for some time after Königsgrätz, but this didn´t stay for long). Of course, Crown Prince Rudolf hated the Hohenzollern, but after his death there were not any of this feelings left. Moreover, Franz Joseph was delighted that he had an alliance with Wilhelm II.
Neither would I say that Marie Valerie lived in isolation in her castle. She didn´t like court life, but she loved doing charity work, visiting relatives etc.

[Eric_Lowe]

One of Valerie's closest friend was Madi, Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Sicily, daughter of Mathilde, Countess Trani. That was recorded in her dairies that was edited by Matha Schad a few years ago and published.

[Linnea]

Yeah, Valerie was close to several of her cousins, especially Amélie in Bavaria, Louise d´Aléncon or Maria Teresa ("Mädi") of Bourbon-Sicily.

[Svetabel]

Indeed, it was a fancy dress ball organized by the Archduchess herself on 14th February 1888 in the Marble Hall of the Royal Palace in Budapest

Herself and on the 14th February? St-Valentine's day?

[MarieCharlotte]

Eric, could you please show us these pictures of Marie Valérie and her cousins?

[leanora]

Dear leonora,

I don´t think Marie Valérie was hated as a toddler nor that she was that shy. She wasn´t liked by certain ladies-in-waiting because she was "the Hungarian child", but that´s all.
You are right, Marie Valerie had quite pro-German feelings, but this was something very common in Austria in the late 1800s untill the early 1900s. Sadly, she didn´t like either the Slavic nor the Hungarian part of her father´s monarchy as a grown-up; She moreover wanted a united Germany with Austria as a part of it. But I wouldn´t say that the Austrian court had anti-German feelings (maybe for some time after Königsgrätz, but this didn´t stay for long). Of course, Crown Prince Rudolf hated the Hohenzollern, but after his death there were not any of this feelings left. Moreover, Franz Joseph was delighted that he had an alliance with Wilhelm II.
Neither would I say that Marie Valerie lived in isolation in her castle. She didn´t like court life, but she loved doing charity work, visiting relatives etc.

Linnea

Perhaps I am mistaken, but it seems to me that there was a great antipathy between the austrian and the german courts since the disaster of 1862 (battle of Sadowa). After the defeat, Austria was forced to release its possessions in italia (venetia, lombardia,...). And above all, Austria lost also its influence over the germanic confederation. But the austrian court never forgot this defeat and kept anti-germanic feelings.

During the first world war, germany and Austria were fighting together, but it was only for political reasons. All the other countries of Europe had defiance and antipathy for Whilelm II , included Austria.

In the case of Marie-Valérie, I said that she lived in a real isolation because it seems that she didn't go to the court frequently. As I said She wanted her children to be raised far away from the court, and hersef seemed to have a sort of disgut.

[Svetabel]

I don´t think that she had much resemblance with her father concerning looks.

I do think that Marie Valerie was the spitting image of her father. Just look at this portrait of young Franz Joseph.

[grandduchessella]

I agree, Sveta. I figured she must take after FJ since she didn't seem to resemble Sisi but that portrait really seems to clinch it.

[Linnea]

I do think that Marie Valerie was the spitting image of her father. Just look at this portrait of young Franz Joseph.

I still think that those two didn´t even look a bit a like! ;DJust think of Marie Valerie´s brown eyes and hair and her father´s blue ones and his blonde hair! But maybe it´s just me!

[dboro]

I do think that Marie Valerie was the spitting image of her father. Just look at this portrait of young Franz Joseph.

Hi, Sveta, I need your help. Do you have any information (location/source, artist...) about this portrait of Emperor Franz Joseph posted by you earlier?
It seems to me, this is a variant of one of the portraits painted by austrian court painter Anton Einsle.
Einsle painted his first portrait in 1848. In the late 1840s and in the first half of the 1850s it was followed by numerous variants and copies, also in full-length.
It was often copied by other artists, too.

A full-length version by Einsle himself:

An excellent small version by fellow court painter Franz Russ:


What about your version? I'm really curious... Thanks,

Daniel