Maria Leopoldina, Archduchess of Austria
Maria Leopoldina Josepha Caroline of Habsburg, archduchess of Austria, was born in 1797 in Vienna, Austria. She was the daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Among her many siblings were Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria and Marie Louise, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.In 1817 she married Peter, Heir to the throne of Portugal. Leopoldine was very cult and she took many researchers and Biologues to Brazil, where the Portuguese Court lived at the time.
Leopoldine gave Peter 7 children:
- Queen Maria II da Glória of Portugal, following Peter's devotion to Our Lady of Glória
- Michael (1820)
- John Charles (1821-1822)
- Januária (1822-1901), named after the city of Rio de Janeiro, married Louis of Bourbon, prince of Two Sicilies
- Paula Mariana (1823-1833)
- Frances Caroline (1824-1898) married François d'Orleans, prince of Joinville
- Emperor Peter II of Brazil
The biggest railway station in Rio de Janeiro, is named Imperatriz Leopoldina after her.