Maria Christina of Austria
Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria[1][n. 1] (Spanish: María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was Queen of Spain as the second wife of Alfonso XII. She was queen regent during the vacancy of the throne between her husband's death in November 1885 and the birth of their son Alfonso XIII in May 1886, and subsequently also until the latter's coming of age in May 1902.
For the 18th-century archduchess, see Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen.Maria Christina of Austria
29 November 1879 – 25 November 1885
26 November 1885 – 17 May 1902
21 July 1858
Gross Seelowitz, Moravia, Austrian Empire
6 February 1929 (aged 70)
Royal Palace, Madrid, Kingdom of Spain
Early life[edit]
Known to her family as Christa, she was born at Židlochovice Castle (Groß Seelowitz), near Brünn (now Brno), in Moravia, a daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria.[2]
Her paternal grandparents were Archduke Charles of Austria and Princess Henriette Alexandrine of Nassau-Weilburg.
Various sources attributed good traits to Maria Christina before her marriage. One states she was "tall, fair, sensible, and well educated".[3] She was Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Royal and Imperial Ladies Chapter of Prague Castle (1875-1879).[4]