All About Royal Families

Princess Charlotte of Belgium – The Solitary Lady of Bouchout Castle Princess Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine of Belgium (1840 – 1927) was the only daughter of King Leopold I and Queen Louise of Orléans. She grew up charming everyone around her with her intelligence and elegance. In 1857, she married Archduke Maximilian of Austria, younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph. This made Charlotte the sister-in-law of both Franz Joseph and his world-famous wife, Empress Elisabeth – “Sisi.” Princess Charlotte of Belgium as a child - Exhibition Louise Marie of Orléans in Namur In 1864, the couple sailed to Mexico, where they were crowned Emperor and Empress. For a brief time, life sparkled with ceremony and grandeur. But it all ended tragically: in 1867 Maximilian was executed, and Charlotte, heartbroken, suffered a deep mental collapse. She lived for a while in Italy and at Tervueren, but after a fire destroyed her residence there, she moved in 1879 to Bouchout...

Carlota of Mexico was born on June 7th. 1840 in Belgium as the only daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium and his second wife Louise of Orléans. She had 3 brothers: Louis Philippe (who died in infancy), Leopold (who became King Leopold II) and Philippe, Count of Flanders. Carlota - Source picture: Wikipedia When Charlotte was then years old, her mother died in Ostend of turberculosis. The princess grew up by a close family friend the Countess of Hulste. On July 27th. 1857 she married in Brussels her second cousin  Archduke Maximilian of Austria (younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef). Princess Charlotte and her husband - Source picture: Wikipedia She disliked her sister-in-law Empress Elisabeth (Sisi).  Princess Charlotte was prized by her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie  ( see my today in history of May 28th .) Later the couple moved to Italy, where Maximilian was governor of the provinces Lombardy and Venetia. In 185...