Maria Luisa of Etruria (1782–1824)
Maria Luisa of Etruria (1782–1824)
Queen of Etruria (Tuscany) . Name variations: Luisa, Regent of Etruria, Duchess of Lucca; Marie Louise and María Luisa of Spain. Born in Madrid, Spain, on July 6, 1782; died on March 13, 1824; daughter of Charles IV, king of Spain (r. 1788–1808), and Maria Luisa Teresa of Parma (1751–1819); sister of Carlota Joaquina (1775–1830) and Ferdinand VII, king of Spain (r. 1813–1833); married Louis de Bourbon also known as Louis I (1773–1803), duke of Parma (r. 1801–1803), on August 25, 1795; children: Charles Louis (1799–1803), duke of Parma; Louise of Parma (1802–1857).
The kingdom of Etruria (located in present-day Tuscany) was created in the Treaty of Luneville and bestowed to Louis de Bourbon in 1801. Upon the death of her husband in 1803, Maria Luisa became regent of the province for her son Charles Louis. In 1807, Maria Luisa lost her kingdom, failed an 1811 attempt to flee to England, and was imprisoned in a Roman cloister until 1814. After the fall of Napoleon in 1815, she was granted the province of Lucca by the Congress of Vienna. She ruled as the duchess of Lucca until her death in 1824.