List of Austrian consorts facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This article is about the important women who were married to the rulers of Austria. These women held titles like Margravine, Duchess, Archduchess, and Empress. The system of having a monarch (a king or emperor) in Austria ended in 1918, after the First World War.

The different titles for these royal wives lasted for a very long time, from 976 all the way to 1918.

Margravines of Austria: Early Rulers' Wives

The Babenberg Family

The Babenberg family were some of the earliest rulers of Austria, known as Margraves. Their wives were called Margravines.

Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Margravine	Stopped being Margravine	Died	Spouse
Richardis of Sualafeldgau	Count Ernst IV of Sualafeldgau	945/950	?	976	10 July 994	994?	Leopold I
Glismod of West-Saxony	Count Immed IV in West-Saxony (Immedinger)	975/980	?	23 June 1018	1040	1040	Adalbert
Frozza Orseolo	Otto Orseolo, Doge of Venice (Orseolo)	1015	after 1040	after 1040	26 May 1055	17 February 1071	Adalbert
Adelaide of Eilenburg	Dedi I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark (Wettin)	1040	1060	1060	26 January 1071	26 January 1071	Ernest
Swanhilde of Ungarnmark	Sighard VII of Ungarnmark	?	1072	1072	10 June 1075	1120	Ernest
Ida of Cham	Rapoto IV, Count of Cham	1055/1060	1065?	10 June 1075	12 October 1095	September 1101	Leopold II
Maria of Perg	Walchun of Perg (Perg)	1080	?	12 October 1095	1105	1105	Leopold III
Agnes of Germany	Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (Salian)	1072	1106	1106	15 November 1136	24 September 1143	Leopold III
Hedwig of Hungary	Álmos of Hungary, Duke of Croatia (Árpád)	1107	1132	15 November 1136	9 November 1137	1138	Adalbert II
Maria of Bohemia	Soběslav I, Duke of Bohemia (Přemyslids)	1124/25	28 September 1138	28 September 1138	18 October 1141	1160	Leopold IV
Gertrude of Süpplingenburg	Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor (Süpplingenburg)	18 April 1115	1 May 1142	1 May 1142	18 April 1143	18 April 1143	Henry II
Theodora Komnene	Sebastokrator Andronikos Komnenos (Komnenoi)	-	1148	1148	17 September 1156	2 January 1184	Henry II

Duchesses of Austria: A New Title

In 1156, Austria became a Duchy, a more important type of territory. The wives of the Dukes were called Duchesses.

The Babenberg Family (Continued)

Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Duchess	Stopped being Duchess	Died	Spouse
Theodora Komnene	Sebastokrator Andronikos Komnenos (Komnenoi)	-	1148	17 September 1156	13 January 1177	2 January 1184	Henry II
Helena of Hungary	Géza II of Hungary (Árpád)	1158	1172/4	13 January 1177	31 December 1194	25 May 1199	Leopold V
Theodora Angelina	Sebastokratōr John Doukas or a daughter of one of Andronikos Angelos daughters (Angeloi)	1180/5	1203	1203	28 July 1230	22/23 June 1246	Leopold VI
Agnes of Merania	Otto I, Duke of Merania (Andechs-Merania)	1215	1229	28 July 1230	1240/3?	7 January 1263	Frederick II

Time of Change

After the Babenberg family, there was a period of change in Austria.

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Duchess	Stopped being Duchess	Died	Spouse
	Kunigunda of Slavonia	Rostislav Mikhailovich (Rurikids)	1245	25 October 1261	25 October 1261	November 1276	9 September 1285	Ottokar II of Bohemia

The Habsburg Family Begins to Rule

The famous Habsburg family took over as rulers of Austria.

Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Duchess	Stopped being Duchess	Died	Spouse
Gertrude of Hohenberg	Burchard V, Count of Hohenburg (Burchardinger)	1225	1245	November 1276	16 February 1281	16 February 1281	Rudolf I
Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol	Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia (Gorizia)	c. 1262	20 December 1274	December 1282	1 May 1308	28 October 1312	Albert I
Blanche of France	Philip III of France (Direct Capetians)	c. 1282	25 May 1300	25 May 1300	1 March 1305	1 March 1305	Rudolph III
Elisabeth Richeza of Poland	Przemysl II of Poland (Piast)	1 September 1286	16 October 1306	16 October 1306	3/4 July 1307	18 October 1335	Rudolph III
Isabella of Aragon	James II of Aragon (Barcelona)	1305	11 May 1315	11 May 1315	13 January 1330	12 July 1330	Frederick I
Catherine of Savoy	Amadeus V, Count of Savoy (Savoy)	1304	c. 1315	c. 1315	28 February 1326	30 September 1336	Leopold I
Joanna of Pfirt	Ulrich III, Count of Pfirt (Scarponnois-Montbelliard)	1300	15 February 1324	13 January 1330	15 November 1351	15 November 1351	Albert II
Elisabeth of Bavaria	Stephen I, Duke of Bavaria (Wittelsbach)	1306	15 May 1325	13 January 1330	25 March 1330	25 March 1330	Otto
Anne of Bohemia	John of Bohemia (Luxembourg)	27 March 1323	25 March 1330	25 March 1330	3 September 1338	3 September 1338	Otto
Catherine of Bohemia	Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (Luxembourg)	19 August 1342	c. 1315?	16 August 1358	27 July 1365	26 April 1395	Rudolph IV
Elisabeth of Bohemia	Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (Luxembourg)	19 April 1358	after 19 March 1366	after 19 March 1366	4 September 1373	4 September 1373	Albert III
Beatrice of Nuremberg	Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (Hohenzollern)	1362	1375	1375	9 September 1379	10 June 1414	Albert III
Viridis Visconti	Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan (Visconti)	1352	23 February 1365	27 July 1365	9 September 1379	1 March 1414	Leopold III

The Albertinian Line

This branch of the Habsburg family ruled a part of Austria called Lower Austria.

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Duchess	Stopped being Duchess	Died	Spouse
	Beatrice of Nuremberg	Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (Hohenzollern)	1362	1375	9 September 1379	29 August 1395	10 June 1414	Albert III
	Joanna Sophia of Bavaria	Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (Wittelsbach)	1373	24 April 1390	29 August 1395	14 September 1404	15 November 1410	Albert IV
	Elizabeth of Luxembourg	Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (Luxemburg)	7 October 1409	19 April 1422	19 April 1422	27 October 1439	25 December 1442	Albert V
The last duke of this line, Ladislaus the Posthumous, died young in 1457 before he could get married. His lands were then taken over by another Habsburg branch.

The Leopoldinian Line

This branch of the Habsburg family ruled other parts of Austria, like Styria, Carinthia, and Tyrol.

Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Duchess	Stopped being Duchess	Died	Spouse
Viridis Visconti	Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan (Visconti)	1352	23 February 1365	9 September 1379	9 July 1386	1 March 1414	Leopold III
Joan II of Naples	Charles III of Naples (Anjou-Durazzo)	23 June 1373	13 November 1401	13 November 1401	15 July 1406	2 February 1435	William
Catherine of Burgundy	Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (Valois-Burgundy)	April 1378	15 August 1393	15 August 1393	3 June 1411	24 January 1425	Leopold IV
Margaret of Pomerania	Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania (Pomerania-Wolgast)	1366	14 January 1392	1402	15 July 1406	c. 1407/1410	Ernest

The Ernestine Line

This part of the Leopoldinian line ruled "Inner Austria" (Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola).

Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Duchess	Stopped being Duchess	Died	Spouse
Margaret of Pomerania	Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania (Pomerania-Wolgast)	1366	14 January 1392	15 July 1406	c. 1407/1410	c. 1407/1410	Ernest
Cymburgis of Masovia	Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia (Piast)	1394/1397	25 January 1412	25 January 1412	10 June 1424	28 September 1429	Ernest
Eleanor of Portugal	Edward of Portugal (Aviz)	18 September 1434	16 March 1452	16 March 1452	3 September 1467	3 September 1467	Frederick V
Mechthild of the Palatinate	Louis III, Elector Palatine (Wittelsbach)	7 March 1419	1452	1452	2 December 1463	22 August 1482	Albert VI

The Elder Tyrolean Line

This line ruled Tyrol and Further Austria, also known as "Upper Austria."

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Duchess	Stopped being Duchess	Died	Spouse
	Elisabeth of the Palatinate	Rupert of Germany (Wittelsbach)	27 October 1381	24 December 1446/7	24 December 1446/7	31 December 1408	31 December 1408	Frederick IV
	Anna of Brunswick	Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Brunswick-Lüneburg)	1390	11 June 1411	11 June 1411	1432	1432	Frederick IV
	Eleanor of Scotland	James I of Scotland (Stewart)	1433	12 February 1449	12 February 1449	20 November 1480	20 November 1480	Sigismund
	Catherine of Saxony	Albert III, Duke of Saxony (Wettin)	24 July 1468	24 February 1484	24 February 1484	May 1490	10 February 1524	Sigismund
	Anne of Brittany	Francis II, Duke of Brittany (Dreux-Montfort)	25 January 1477	19 December 1490	19 December 1490	early 1492	9 January 1514	Maximilian I
In 1493, the different Austrian territories were finally brought back together under one ruler.

Archduchesses of Austria: A Grand Title

The title of Archduke was created to show that Austria's rulers were very important, almost like kings. Their wives were called Archduchesses.

The Habsburg Family (Continued)

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Archduchess	Stopped being Archduchess	Died	Spouse
	Catherine of Bohemia	Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (Luxembourg)	19 August 1342	1350?	1358–59	27 July 1365	26 April 1395	Rudolph IV
	Elisabeth of Bohemia	Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (Luxembourg)	19 April 1358	after 19 March 1366	after 19 March 1366	4 September 1373	4 September 1373	Albert III
	Beatrice of Nuremberg	Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (Hohenzollern)	1362	1375	1375	29 August 1395	10 June 1414	Albert III
	Viridis Visconti	Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan (Visconti)	1352	23 February 1365	27 July 1365	9 September 1379	1 March 1414	Leopold III
	Johanna Sophia of Bavaria	Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (Wittelsbach)	1373	24 April 1390	29 August 1395	14 September 1404	15 November 1410	Albert IV
	Elizabeth of Luxembourg	Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (Luxemburg)	7 October 1409	1422	1422	27 October 1439	25 December 1442	Albert V
	Cymburgis of Masovia	Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia (Piast)	1394/1397	25 January 1412	1414	10 June 1424	28 September 1429	Ernest
	Leonor of Portugal	Edward of Portugal (Aviz)	18 September 1434	16 March 1452	1453	3 September 1467	3 September 1467	Frederick V
	Mechthild of the Palatinate	Louis III, Elector Palatine (Wittelsbach)	7 March 1419	1452	1458	2 December 1463	22 August 1482	Albert VI
	Eleanor of Scotland	James I of Scotland (Stewart)	1433	12 February 1449	1477	20 November 1480	20 November 1480	Sigismund
	Katharina of Saxony	Albert III, Duke of Saxony (Wettin)	24 July 1468	24 February 1484	24 February 1484	May 1490	10 February 1524	Sigismund
	Anne of Brittany	Francis II, Duke of Brittany (Dreux-Montfort)	25 January 1477	19 December 1490	19 December 1490	early 1492	9 January 1514	Maximilian I
All the Austrian lands were brought back together in 1493.
	Bianca Maria of Milan	Galeazzo Maria, Duke of Milan (Sforza)	5 April 1472	16 March 1494	16 March 1494	31 December 1510	31 December 1510	Maximilian I
	Isabella of Portugal	Manuel I of Portugal (Aviz)	24 October 1503	10 March 1526	10 March 1526	1 May 1539	1 May 1539	Charles V
	Anna of Bohemia and Hungary	Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (Jagiello)	23 July 1503	25 May 1521	25 May 1521	27 January 1547	27 January 1547	Ferdinand I
In 1564, the Austrian lands were divided again among Emperor Ferdinand's three sons.

Lower Austria (Main Line)

This part of Austria went to Ferdinand's first son, Maximilian.

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Archduchess	Stopped being Archduchess	Died	Spouse
	Maria of Spain	Charles I, Archduke of Austria (Habsburg)	21 June 1528	13 September 1548	25 July 1564	12 October 1576	26 February 1603	Maximilian II
	Anna of Austria	Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (Habsburg)	4 October 1585	4 December 1611	4 December 1611	14 December 1618	14 December 1618	Matthias
Since Rudolf and Matthias had no children, their lands went to the descendants of Emperor Ferdinand's third son, Charles.

Upper Austria (Tyrol and Further Austria)

This part of Austria went to Emperor Ferdinand's second son, Ferdinand.

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Archduchess	Stopped being Archduchess	Died	Spouse
	Anna Juliana of Mantua	William I, Duke of Mantua (Gonzaga)	16 November 1566	14 May 1582	14 May 1582	24 January 1595	3 August 1621	Ferdinand II
Ferdinand had no sons, so his lands went to the descendants of his brother Maximilian.
	Anna of Austria	Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (Habsburg)	4 October 1585	4 December 1611	4 December 1611	14 December 1618	14 December 1618	Matthias
Matthias had no children, so these lands also went to the descendants of Emperor Ferdinand's third son, Charles.

Inner Austria (Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola)

This part of Austria went to Emperor Ferdinand's third son, Charles.

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Archduchess	Stopped being Archduchess	Died	Spouse
	Maria Anna of Bavaria	Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (Wittelsbach)	21 March 1551	26 August 1571	26 August 1571	10 July 1590	29 April 1608	Charles II
	Maria Anna of Bavaria	William V, Duke of Bavaria (Wittelsbach)	8 December 1574	23 April 1600	23 April 1600	8 March 1616	8 March 1616	Ferdinand III
By 1619, all the Austrian lands were reunited under one ruler again.

Reunited and Divided Again

The Austrian lands were reunited in 1619 under Ferdinand III. But a few years later, in 1623, he divided them again.

Lower and Inner Austria (Main Line)

These parts stayed with the main line of the Habsburg family.

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Archduchess	Stopped being Archduchess	Died	Spouse
	Eleonore of Mantua	Vincenzo I, Duke of Mantua (Gonzaga)	23 September (23 February?) 1598	4 February 1622	4 February 1622	15 February 1637	27 June 1655	Ferdinand III
	Maria Anna of Spain	Philip III of Spain (Habsburg)	18 August 1606	20 February 1631	15 February 1637	13 May 1646	13 May 1646	Ferdinand IV
	Maria Leopoldine of Austria	Leopold V, Archduke of Austria (Habsburg)	6 April 1632	2 July 1648	2 July 1648	7 August 1649	7 August 1649	Ferdinand IV
	Eleanor of Mantua	Charles II, Duke of Nevers and Rethel (Gonzaga)	18 November 1630	30 April 1651	30 April 1651	2 April 1657	6 December 1686	Ferdinand IV
All the Austrian lands were finally reunited for good in 1665.

Upper Austria (Younger Tyrolean Line)

This part of Austria went to a younger branch of the Habsburg family.

Picture	Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Archduchess	Stopped being Archduchess	Died	Spouse
	Claudia de' Medici	Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (Medici)	4 June 1604	19 April 1626	19 April 1626	13 September 1632	25 December 1648	Leopold V
	Anna de' Medici	Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (Medici)	21 July 1616	10 June 1646	10 June 1646	30 December 1662	11 September 1676	Ferdinand Charles
	Hedwig Auguste of the Palatinate-Sulzbach	Christian Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach (Wittelsbach)	25 April 1650	13 June 1665	13 June 1665	25 June 1665	23 November 1681	Sigismund Francis
After Sigismund Francis died without children, his lands went back to the main Habsburg family line.

Austria United Again

In 1665, all the different Austrian territories were finally brought together under one ruler.

Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Archduchess	Stopped being Archduchess	Died	Spouse
Margaret Theresa of Spain	Philip IV of Spain (Habsburg)	12 July 1651	12 December 1666	12 December 1666	12 March 1673	12 March 1673	Leopold VI
Claudia Felicitas of Austria	Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria (Habsburg)	30 May 1653	15 October 1673	15 October 1673	8 April 1676	8 April 1676	Leopold VI
Eleonore-Magdalena of the Palatinate-Neuburg	Philip William, Elector Palatine (Wittelsbach)	6 January 1655	14 December 1676	14 December 1676	5 May 1705	19 January 1720	Leopold VI
Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick	John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Welf)	21 April 1673	24 February 1699	5 May 1705	17 April 1711	10 April 1742	Joseph I
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel	Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Welf)	28 August (28 September?) 1691	1 August 1708	17 April 1711	20 October 1740	21 December 1750	Charles III

The Habsburg-Lorraine Family: A New Era

This new branch of the Habsburg family came to power through marriage.

Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Archduchess	Stopped being Archduchess	Died	Spouse
Maria Josepha of Bavaria	Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (Wittelsbach)	30 March 1739	23 January 1765	18 August 1765	28 May 1767	28 May 1767	Joseph II
Maria Louisa of Spain	Charles III of Spain (Bourbon)	24 November 1745	5 August 1765	20 February 1790	1 March 1792	15 May 1792	Leopold VII
Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily	Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (Bourbon-Two Sicilies)	6 June 1772	15 August 1790	1 March 1792	6 August 1806	13 April 1807	Francis I

Empresses of Austria: The Grandest Title

In 1804, the ruler of Austria took the title of Emperor of Austria. His wife was then known as the Empress of Austria.

The Habsburg-Lorraine Family (Continued)

Name	Father	Born	Married	Became Empress	Stopped being Empress	Died	Spouse
Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily	Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (Bourbon-Two Sicilies)	6 June 1772	15 August 1790	11 August 1804	13 April 1807	13 April 1807	Francis I
Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este	Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este (Habsburg-Este)	14 December 1787	6 January 1808	6 January 1808	7 April 1816	7 April 1816	Francis I
Caroline Augusta of Bavaria	Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (Wittelsbach)	8 February 1792	29 October 1816	29 October 1816	2 March 1835	9 February 1873	Francis I
Maria Anna of Sardinia	Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (Savoy)	19 September 1803	12 February 1831	2 March 1835	2 December 1848	4 May 1884	Ferdinand I
Elisabeth in Bavaria	Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria (Wittelsbach)	24 December 1837	24 April 1854	24 April 1854	10 September 1898	10 September 1898	Franz Joseph I
Zita of Bourbon-Parma	Robert I, Duke of Parma (Bourbon-Parma)	9 May 1892	13 June 1911	21 November 1916	11 November 1918	14 March 1989	Charles I