Princess Charlotte of Belgium was the only daughter of Leopold I and Louise-Marie d’Orléans. Charlotte was born on 7 June 1840 at the Castle of Laeken. She was just ten years old when her mother died of tuberculosis, a sudden death which left a deep mark on the young princess. As a young adult, her beauty and status attracted many suitors. In 1857, she married one of them, the Archduke of Austria Ferdinand Maximilian (1832-1867), a husband who proved to be a disappointment in many respects. The couple moved to Italy where the Archduke’s brother was Viceroy of Lombardy and Venice. Maximilian was stripped of his functions because his brother did not like the way in which he governed the Italian territories. Therefore, the couple moved to its second home, Miramare Castle, on the shores of the Adriatic Sea near Trieste. It was an enchanting place which quickly became a golden prison where Charlotte grew bored. The couple found themselves caught up in the political strategies of Napoleon III. Under pressure from the latter, Maximilian accepted the Imperial crown of Mexico in 1864. However, the Mexicans refused to recognise him as their Emperor, instead seeing him as a puppet of Napoleon who was occupying the country by force. Finally, the French Emperor decided to withdraw his troops in order to focus more on Europe. Maximilian was overthrown and was executed in 1867. Charlotte, who had returned to Europe a few months earlier to seek help, found herself up against closed doors. Hearing of the death of her husband and the fall of the Mexican empire, she succumbed to hysteria and paranoia. Her brother Leopold II, who had become King of the Belgians, welcomed her at the Royal Palace. The deposed Empress, prey to persistent bouts of insanity, retired to her home country and died at Bouchout Castle in 1927.
Princess Charlotte of Belgium
