Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria


Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria was a member of the House of Habsburg and an Archduchess of Austria by birth. She was married to Duke Albrecht of Württemberg,

Family

Margarete Sophie was born at Artstetten Castle, Artstetten-Pöbring, the fourth and youngest child and only daughter of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. She was named for her father's first wife, Princess Margaretha of Saxony, and for her paternal grandmother, Princess Sophie of Bavaria. Her older brothers included Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Archduke Otto Francis of Austria.

Theresan Convent of Noble Ladies

As a young woman, Margarete Sophie was Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Royal and Imperial Ladies Chapter in Prague. The convent was located in the Hradschin Royal Palace, and was an educational foundation open only to high-born young women, who were required to prove that all sixteen of their great-grandparents were of noble birth. It was not unusual for the Abbess to be chosen from among the archduchesses of the Imperial Habsburg family, though the Abbess and all pupils were allowed to leave the order and marry.

Marriage and issue

Margarete Sophie married Duke Albrecht of Württemberg, eldest child of Duke Philipp of Württemberg and his wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, on 24 January 1893 in Vienna, Austria–Hungary. Margarete Sophie and Albrecht had seven children:
Margarete died in Gmunden on 24 August 1902, aged 32.

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