#sexau's pdf

[archduchessofnowhere]

Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria to her sister Archduchess Sophie of Austria, on the possible engagement of Archduke Karl Ludwig to Princess Maria Annunziata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies:

August 22, 1861 (...) My Marie [Queen of the Two Sicilies] wrote to me the other day that it was her husband [Francesco II]'s wish that his eldest sister [Maria Annunziata] could become your Karl [Ludwig]'s wife. Perhaps I should have expressed it in a much more fanciful way, but I didn't quite know how, so I fell through the door. I will now copy to you what Marie says of this sister-in-law: “Certainly Karl can find no better wife, and Aunt Sophie no better daughter-in-law. She is so shy and so learned, has such a noble, open character, such a lively spirit and so much resource, and at the same time such calm, gentle manners, just as I would wish for a wife for Gackel [Karl Theodor, Marie's brother] and a daughter-in-law for you; this must be proof for Aunt Sophie and Karl of how excellent the girl is. Although Petita [Princess Maria Immacolata, Annunziata's younger sister] is much prettier, everyone prefers Ciolla [Annunziata's nickname] because of her character, which is imprinted on her face, which is also pretty and has something so engaging and warm. I hope you will succeed in winning Aunt Sophie over to this idea; I would be indescribably happy, because I love the girl so much! I expect a good answer from you, with indescribable impatience”

Pictured: Princess Maria Annunziata and Archduke Karl Ludwig, by Oscar Kramer, circa 1862 (left). Queen Marie Sophie of the Two Sicilies, unknown, circa 1860 (right). Via ÖNB.

[archduchessofnowhere]

Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria to Miguel, Duke of Braganza, on his engagement to Ludovika's granddaughter Princess Elisabeth of Thurn und Taxis:

15 May, 1877 Your Royal Highness has given me a real pleasure by your kind lines, and especially that you love my dear granddaughter Elisabeth so dearly, and I can be convinced that a happy future will open up for you both. - I hope that Elisabeth will make you as happy as our lovely Marie José [Miguel's sister] made my son [Duke Karl Theodor] - I wish and hope that we will have the pleasure of seeing you here in the course of the summer, and that I will be a witness to your happy togetherness with my dear Elisabeth, then I will no longer need to use the stiff tittles, and may call myself dear Prince Your warmly loving grandmother.

(Translation done by DeepL. Please keep in mind that in a machine translation a lot of nuance may/will be lost)

[archduchessofnowhere]

Glad you found the correspondence with Sisi's mother and how's the reading going?

I was passing the text from the PDF to a doc to be easier to read/translate but I forgot to make an online backup to it and then my computer decided to shut down for no reason so now I don't have access to it anymore 🙃. We sent it to be repaired like two weeks ago so now we are waiting until it gets fix, it seems it wasn't a software problem so I want to believe the files will be fine once we get the PC back but just in case I'm mentally preparing for the files to be lost (since it wouldn't be the first time it happens).

As for some random information I found on the letters: Ludovika had wanted her son Karl Theodor to marry Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern, but Pedro V of Portugal got ahead. Speaking of Stephanies, there was also a mention of Stephanie of Baden (grandmother of the Hohenzollern princess)'s death, and how Napoleon III seemingly was affected by it.

[archduchessofnowhere]

Btw I found a mention of these girls in a letter from archduchess Sophie to her niece by marriage Auguste Ferdinande of Austria, dated February 2 of 1858:

poor [Theodo]Linda's children have been entrusted by their father to a Protestant lady who is in charge of their upbringing. My only hope is that you, my dear Gustchen [Auguste], can influence their young souls this summer…

The girls' mother, Theodolinde, had died in April of 1857. I assume the Protestant lady must have been their governess or something like that? Anyway this is literally the only thing I know of these girls. Follow me for more useless info about royals no knows nor cares about lol

Auguste, Eugenie and Marie of Württenberg, by Unknown author, circa 1850. They were the daughters of Count Wilhelm of Württenberg (later Duke of Urach) and his first wife, Theodolinde of Leuchtenberg.

Via Dorotheum