King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Carolina

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes. women in power is a rarity, it so happens that Maria Theresa & Catherine the Great's reign overlap each other.

[CountessKate]

Quite a nice picture of Maria Carolina and her 5 eldest children in 1777 - Vesuvius puffing away in the background.

[Eric_Lowe]

I think the eldest daughter on the right must be Carolina Maria Theresa who married into the Saxon Royal Family.

[prinzheinelgirl]

I think the people at the portrait are (based on her children living by 1777:

(L-R): Prince Carlo, Princess Luisa, Prince Francesco (baby on the bassinette), Maria Carolina holding Princess Maria Anna, and Princess Maria Teresa.

[Marc]

I think the eldest daughter on the right must be Carolina Maria Theresa who married into the Saxon Royal Family.

Eric,none of her daughters married into the Saxon Royal Family...

[CountessKate]

Perhaps Eric was thinking of Maria Amalia's daughter Carolina Maria Teresa Giuseppa of Parma, who married Maximillian of Saxony.

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes. You are right. I got mixed up with Maria Amalia's eldest daughter. The eldest daughter here was Maria Teresa, future Empress of Austria.

[prinzheinelgirl]

The full names of the two cousins are very close:

Caroline of Parma: Carolina Maria Teresa Giuseppa
Maria Theresa of Naples & Sicily: Maria Teresa Carolina Giuseppina

Caroline of Parma was named after Charles III, Empress Maria Theresa and (perhaps) Joseph II. I presume Maria Theresa of Naples was also named after Empress Maria Theresa, Charles III (or maybe Maria Carolina herself?), and Joseph II.  If Maria Amalia had her way, Caroline's names would've been Maria Teresa Carolina Giuseppa. It would've been more confusing!  And both girls took after the Bourbons in looks (although they never looked exactly alike, except maybe for the Bourbon nose)!

[Eric_Lowe]

I do wonder if the two princesses ever met in person ?

[prinzheinelgirl]

I think that would've happened only in their bridal journeys. There seems to be no record that the cousins traveled outside of their realms prior to marrying. Caroline of Parma did pass by Austrian territory on her way to Dresden in 1792  but it's unclear to me  whether she passed by the capital. And I'm not sure if Maria Theresa of Naples and her family (parents and her sister Luisa) passed by Parma on the way to Vienna in 1790, when she married.

[Eric_Lowe]

I think their mothers met at some point in their lives. I wonder if they being the elder daughters accompany their mothers on their reunions.

[prinzheinelgirl]

Maria Amalia and Ferdinand visited Naples in 1783 but it was a "husband and wife time" for them; they didn't bring any child along.  Maria Carolina and her Ferdinand only left their  realm in 1785/786 (to show off Naples' ships throughout Italy, they didn't bring any child along) and in 1790 for the marriages of their 2 eldest daughters. 

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes. That would leave only the bridal stops. It would be interesting if Maria Teresa of Naples pass through Parma on her way to Austria.

[prinzheinelgirl]

I don't know of Maria Theresa of Naples & Sicliy passed by Parma on her way to Austria - via Bologna was used by Maria Carolina in her bridal journey instead of Parma. And Caroline of Parma did not seem to pass by Vienna on her way to Dresden in 1792; it appears that she proceeded west of Innsbruck (wrong way to Vienna) after making a brief visit/stop to her aunt Archduchess Maria Elisabeth.

It also appears that Caroline and her siblings did not have much interaction with their cousins in Naples.  They were, from several journals and other references, close to their cousins in the Tuscany and Modena lines.

[CountessKate]

It also appears that Caroline and her siblings did not have much interaction with their cousins in Naples.  They were, from several journals and other references, close to their cousins in the Tuscany and Modena lines.

Why was that, prinzheinelgirl?  Was it because the familiies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany were simply closer and more in visiting distance, and able to share experiences etc. more easily and thus be more able to build more intimate friendships?