27.11.1763 Isabella of Parma died

Isabella of Parma was the first wife of Joseph II, who was captivated by her beauty. The wedding took place in Vienna. But three years later, the monarch's wife died after giving birth for the second time.

Isabella of Parma was a very beautiful, intelligent and educated girl. Becoming the wife of the future ruler of the Austrian Empire was, of course, the dream of many princesses of other monarchical courts in Europe. Joseph, for example, was courted by the royal family of Naples, but their two daughters were not said to have the distinctive charm and panache to impress the Austrian heir.

The cool and rational Joseph, on the other hand, was enchanted when he was shown a portrait of the Princess of Parma in Vienna. She literally charmed him with her charm. "Empress Maria Theresa and Isabella's parents arranged the marriage, but without asking their children. It was the obligatory price that often immature children paid for a life of social prominence and luxury," writes Vladimír Liška in his book Women of the Czech Monarchs 2.

Even Isabella of Parma was not thrilled to become the wife of a man she had never seen and knew nothing about. And Josef was quite a handsome man and almost the same age as his Parma bride. Isabella expressed her opinion of men in her essay "Traité sur les hommes". At that time, not long after her marriage, she wrote: "...men are useful creatures, equipped above all with self-satisfaction and egocentrism. The consciousness of inferiority leads them to enslave women."

The swarthy, serious woman with black eyes and dark hair was intelligent, which could not be said of other princesses of the timewho preferred to entertain, idle, superficial chatter, relying only on their noble birth or the wealth of their noble families.

Joseph first met Isabella in October 1760 in Laxenburg. He was captivated by his fiancée. He felt that he was faced with a perfect woman whose beauty was combined with a surprising wit. A few days later, the wedding took place in Vienna. But the joy did not last long. The two daughters Isabella brought into the world died shortly after their birth.

"Towards the end of her second pregnancy, in 1763, Isabella contractedsmallpox, the child died shortly after birth, and after five days, its mother, Isabella of Parma, breathed her last. It is strange that she predicted her death as if she wished to die," writes Liška.

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