Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Facts for Kids

Francis II (German: Franz; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after the decisive defeat at the hands of the First French Empire led by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. In 1804, he had founded the Austrian Empire and became Francis I, the first Emperor of Austria, ruling from 1804 to 1835, so later he was named the one and only Doppelkaiser (double emperor) in history. For the two years between 1804 and 1806, Francis used the title and style by the Grace of God elected Roman Emperor, ever Augustus, hereditary Emperor of Austria and he was called the Emperor of both the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. He was also Apostolic King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia as Francis I. He also served as the first president of the German Confederation following its establishment in 1815.

Francis II continued his leading role as an opponent of Napoleonic France in the Napoleonic Wars, and suffered several more defeats after Austerlitz. The proxy marriage of state of his daughter Marie Louise of Austria to Napoleon on 10 March 1810 was arguably his severest personal defeat. After the abdication of Napoleon following the War of the Sixth Coalition, Austria participated as a leading member of the Holy Alliance at the Congress of Vienna, which was largely dominated by Francis's chancellor Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich culminating in a new European map and the restoration of Francis's ancient dominions (except the Holy Roman Empire which was dissolved). Due to the establishment of the Concert of Europe, which largely resisted popular nationalist and liberal tendencies, Francis became viewed as a reactionary later in his reign.

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Marriages

Francis II married four times:

On 6 January 1788, to Elisabeth of Württemberg (21 April 1767 – 18 February 1790).
On 15 September 1790, to his double first cousin Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies (6 June 1772 – 13 April 1807), daughter of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (both were grandchildren of Empress Maria Theresa and shared all of their other grandparents in common), with whom he had twelve children, of whom only seven reached adulthood.
On 6 January 1808, he married again to another first cousin, Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este (14 December 1787 – 7 April 1816) with no issue. She was the daughter of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d'Este, Princess of Modena.
On 29 October 1816, to Karoline Charlotte Auguste of Bavaria (8 February 1792 – 9 February 1873) with no issue. She was daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and had been previously married to William I of Württemberg.

Children

From his first wife Elisabeth of Württemberg, one daughter, and his second wife Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies, eight daughters and four sons: Children of Francis II

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
By Elisabeth of Württemberg
Archduchess Ludovika Elisabeth	18 February 1790	24 June 1791 (aged 1)	Died in infancy and buried in the Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria.
By Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies
Archduchess Maria Ludovika	12 December 1791	17 December 1847 (aged 56)	Married first Napoleon Bonaparte, had issue, married second Adam, count of Neipperg, had issue, married third to Charles, Count of Bombelles, no issue.
Emperor Ferdinand I	19 April 1793	29 June 1875 (aged 82)	Married Maria Anna of Savoy, Princess of Sardinia, no issue.
Archduchess Marie Caroline	8 June 1794	16 March 1795 (aged 0)	Died in childhood, no issue.
Archduchess Caroline Ludovika	22 December 1795	30 June 1797 (aged 1)	Died in childhood, no issue.
Archduchess Caroline Josepha Leopoldine	22 January 1797	11 December 1826 (aged 29)	Renamed Maria Leopoldina upon her marriage; married Pedro I of Brazil (a.k.a. Pedro IV of Portugal); issue included Maria II of Portugal and Pedro II of Brazil.
Archduchess Maria Klementina	1 March 1798	3 September 1881 (aged 83)	Married her maternal uncle Leopold, Prince of Salerno, had issue.
Archduke Joseph Franz Leopold	9 April 1799	30 June 1807 (aged 8)	Died some weeks after his mother in childhood, no issue.
Archduchess Maria Karolina	8 April 1801	22 May 1832 (aged 31)	Married Crown Prince (later King) Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, no issue.
Archduke Franz Karl	17 December 1802	8 March 1878 (aged 75)	married Princess Sophie of Bavaria; issue included Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico.
Archduchess Marie Anne	8 June 1804	28 December 1858 (aged 54)	Born intellectually disabled (like her eldest brother, Emperor Ferdinand I) and to have suffered from a severe facial deformity. Died unmarried.
Archduke Johann Nepomuk	30 August 1805	19 February 1809 (aged 3)	Died in childhood, no issue.
Archduchess Amalie Theresa	6 April 1807	9 April 1807 (aged 0)	Died in childhood, no issue.

Images for kids

1770 painting by Anton Raphael Mengs depicting Archduke Francis at the age of 2.
Painting of Francis II at the age of 25, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece, with the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary's Crown of Saint Stephen in the background (1792)
Francis I as Austrian Emperor wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece, undated
Medallion of Francis I, designed by Philipp Jakob Treu in Basel, Switzerland on 13 January 1814. This was the date in the War of the Sixth Coalition when the allied monarchs of Austria, Prussia, and Russia crossed the Rhine at Basel into France.
1 Thaler silver coin with portrait of Emperor Franz I, 1820
Sarcophagus of Francis II in the Imperial Crypt
Monument in the inner courtyard of the Hofburg in Vienna

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor facts for kids

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Marriages

Children

Images for kids

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