Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria

Archduchess Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie of Austria (22 April 1868 – 6 September 1924) was the youngest child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She was usually called Valerie. On 31 July 1890, she married Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria; the marriage caused a rift between her and her siblings as their marriages had to be dynastic, while Marie Valerie's was, as Empress Elisabeth allowed, for love and desire. Early life Archduchess Marie Valerie was born on 22 April 1868 in Buda, Hungary to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his wife, Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. She had an older sister, Archduchess Gisela, and an older brother, Crown Prince Rudolf. Her eldest sibling, Archduchess Sophie had already died by the time she was born. Her mother was especially attached to Valerie, who was born ten years after the imperial couple's third child, and whom Elisabeth was allowed to raise herself while her first three children were taken from her in infancy and raised by the Emperor's mother, Archduchess Sophie. Sophie herself wrote to Elisabeth's mother, Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria, "Sisi is completely absorbed by her love and care for this irresistible little angel." She was Elisabeth's favorite child by far, and was acidly referred to by some courtiers as "die Einzige" ("the only one") because Elisabeth paid so much more attention to her than to her siblings. Valerie loved her mother, but according to her diaries, she often felt embarrassed and overwhelmed by Elisabeth's concentration on her, particularly as she was modest and practical.