She must had been a pretty sad wife. I. Ferdinand's favouritue thing to do was to wedge himself in a wastepaper basket and roll over and over like a ball (Ferdinand was sadly retarded with an over-large head with a flat skull and water on the brain)...
For years, doctors had claimed that it was impossible for Ferdinand to beget heirs. Nevertheless, in 1831 a bride was chosen by his father's advisor, Clemens von Metternich (1773-1859, to the right). The unfortunate bride was the plain and virtuous Maria Anna. On the wedding day, sharp-eyed Sophie of Bavaria noted that the bride was "white as linen". She "trembled perceptibly, her voice shook when she spoke, and whenever her eyes rested on the bridegroom, they filled with tears". Even Emperor Franz was heard to murmur at the wedding: "May God have mercy."3 Afterwards, 37-year-old Ferdinand was informed by his uncles about what he was supposed to do in his wedding night. Nevertheless, it is assumed that his marriage remained a marriage in name only. Maria Anna became more a nurse than a wife to Ferdinand. In one night in December 1832 Ferdinand suffered 20 epileptic seizures of such violence that his doctors abandoned all hope for him. But he miraculously recovered, although for a while he had more trouble with speaking and gradually he began having trouble with hearing. Often, Ferdinand could be found standing for hours at his window staring down at passers-by.
After the abdication of her husband, she went living with him in castle Hradschin in Prague, where Ferdinand indulged in his hobbies of botany, heraldry and music. He received the title "Duke of Reichstadt", that had once belonged to his late nephew, Napoleon's only son.
