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SISI’s younger sister, "THE WARRIOR QUEEN”, Maria Sophie
Káli-Rozmis Barbara 2015.05.30. 21:37
 SISI’s younger sister, "THE WARRIOR QUEEN”
Maria Sophie Amalie
Bavarian Duchess, the Last Queen consort of Naples - the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (4 October 1841 - 19 January 1925 )
A story of a marriage, which was consummated only ten years after the match. However, meanwhile these years, the young wife gave birth to twins, of course, secretly...
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SISI’s younger sister, "THE WARRIOR QUEEN”
Maria Sophie Amalie Bavarian Duchess
The Last Queen consort of Naples - the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (4 October 1841 - 19 January 1925 )
 Maria Sophie was born in 1841. In 1859 she married the heir to the throne of Naples, Francis (Francesco) II of Bourbon, the son of Ferdinand II, King of Naples. Francis was not good-looking at all, what is more, he had some other problems which turned out later. The marriage was a political one, Ferdinand II wanted to ally himself with the Emperor of Austria, a powerful fellow absolutist - and with this match it was possible since Empress Elisabeth was the elder sister of Marie.
Photo: Maria Sophie right, her sister, Mathilde left
It was Maria’s mother, Ludovica, who forced this marriage but her father, Duke Maximilian wanted to prevent it after having got to know about the “strange things” of Prince Francis. The marriage, however, was also supported by the Bavarian King due to political reasons. Eventually, they got married but the match was not consummated because of “the health problems" of the husband...
 However, Maria Sophie knew and understand nothing about her husband’s problem due to her prude education. In the 19th century in accordance with the spirit of the Puritan, which was very typical among the nobility and the ruling class, sex education was not usual what is more it was regarded as a taboo as far as the girls were concerned.
After the death of her father-in-law, Ferdinand II, her husband, Francis inherited the throne and Marie Sophie became the Queen but their country, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, soon "disappeared" , thanks to Garibaldi 's troops, who occupied that in 1861. /Gaeta battle Soran ( November 5 , 1860 - February 13 , 1861 )/ During the battles, Marie Sophie got the name, “the Warrior Queen " because she recruited the solders and nursed the wounded while offering them her own food.
'By the age of 19, Maria Sophia had been a queen, lost her kingdom, rallied soldiers around her in the hopeless defence of a lost cause, and had had men—even her enemies—writing reams of romantic slush about her. She was "the angel of Gaeta" who would "wipe your brow if you were wounded or cradle you in her arms while you died". D'Annunzio called her the "stern little Bavarian eagle" and Marcel Proust spoke of the "soldier queen on the ramparts of Gaeta". She was intelligent, lovely, and headstrong; she could ride a horse and defend herself with a sword. She was everything you could ask for—a combination of Amazon and Angel of Mercy."
That time the couple’s marriage was still not consummated, and Maria Sophie temporarily left Francis, with whom she did not have any marital relationship. Soon after that Mary fell in love with a Belgian count, Armand de Lawayss, from whom she gave birth to twins in 1862. Their relationship and her pregnancy were kept in secret by her Bavarian family. Needless to say that it would not have cast a good light on the Duke and the Bavarian Royal family, not to mention the imperial couple. Mary gave birth to her children in a monastery in Augsburg, but the little girls were taken away from their mother after the labour.
 One of the little girls, Viola, was taken by Marie 's brother, Louis, and she grew up knowing to be his child. The other one was given to her father, Count Armand, and raised by him, however, her short life was ended - she died of tuberculosis in 1871. The girls sometimes met their mother, whom they believed to be their "aunt", and they considered themselves as cousins.
After losing her children, Mary was inconsolable and suffered terribly. She wanted to annul her marriage to her husband, with whom, expect praying together, did not do anything in common. The count Lawayss made several attempts to get back his precious love, Marie Sophie, however, Maximilian II, King of Bavaria, hired agents to prevent it. Finally, Mary, following her family’s advice, wrote her husband and made a confession. Francis forgave her then soon he underwent a medical intervention.
Mary stayed for a while with her family in Possenhofen, where she was visited by her sister, Empress Elisabeth. The Empress was said to give a kind and gorgeous gift to her sister, which was waiting for Marie in her home with her husband in Rome, where the royal couple lived after the loss of their country. This surprise present was a luxurious marital bed...
 The Warrior Queen finally returned to her husband and on 24 December 1870 (which is also her sister, Empress Elisabeth’s birthday), after more than 10 years marriage, she gave birth to a little girl, whose godmother was Empress Elizabeth. However, the little girl died on 28 March 1871, possibly due to the inadequate care which she had got from her caregivers. She was only 3 months old. Marie had no more children.
Elisabeth and Marie had good relationship with each other. The sisters, whenever it was possible, met. After the death of Marie’s child, Marie Sophie hurried to Vienna to see Sisi then she left her husband permanently. Francis moved to a small palace near the Lake Stranberg, where he spent the rest of his life hidden under the pseudonym, Count De Castro. In 1894 he died from diabetes - Marie Sophie attended his funeral.
Maria Sophie travelled a lot and often met her sisters, Sisi and her younger sister, Mathilde.
In the picture below, Marie, Empress Elisabeth and another lady can be seen while riding a horse in a London street in 1874.
Mary, like Elisabeth, was an excellent horsewoman, and coped with horse breeding near Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where she lived in Villa Hamilton. She loved going out and keeping a company. Unlike her elder sister, she was fond of being in the centre. Maria Sophie could preserve her natural beauty. She was courted by a lot of aristocrats, however, she disregarded them and was very much in the political life instead.
In World War I, the former Queen had to leave France and return to his native Bavaria, where she settled in Munich. During the Soviet Republic she lived at Hotel Kaiserhof. Where. The Revolution found her there, and the owner of the hotel tried to protect her from the dangers but Mary laughed and boldly said, "I will not go down to the basement. I want to see if today's revolutionaries can shoot better than in my time." (Translated from the book of Sigrid -Maria Grössing 137)
 Marie spent her final years in Wittelsbach Palace, Munich, where she stayed at a small apartment with her nephew’s permission. Even that time, she was interested in politics, and sometimes she hosted notable people ex-monarchs and aristocrats). However, that time she could not afford to subscribe political newspapers, which she was fond of. At her older age, she still nursed her grievances. An interview made by a reporter of a newspaper called Corriere della Sera she said: "The French Republic was much more noble to the Orleans than the Italian Kingdom to us. The way we were treated, is a bad omen" (translated from Sigrid -Maria Grössing, 138). The interview was conducted in December 1924, a few weeks before her death but due to political reasons only some parts of it could be published that time).
 Marie Sophie, the last Queen of Naples, was a beautiful woman while ageing, what is more, her appearance and movements were royal. She died on 18 January 1925, a few days before her 84th birthday. After her death, her mortal remains lived nearly as an “active life” as she had. At first, she was buried in Munich then her body was taken to Rome, where she was placed next to her husband and her daughter, but this was not her final resting place. The Warrior Queen travelled one more time: In 1984, the last ruler couple of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were taken to Paris, where they were reburied in the Bourbons Pantheon.
Work Cited:
Sigrid-Maria Grössing Sisi családi körben. (112-138) Gabo Kiadó, 2013
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The video below is worth watching:
Maria Sofia di Baviera & Matilde di Baviera || Marie & Spatz ||
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