Maria Josepha of Bavaria

Maria Josepha of Bavaria (20 March 173928 May 1767) was Holy Roman Empress, Queen of the Romans, Archduchess of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, among other titles, by her marriage to Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. By birth, she was a Princess and Duchess of Bavaria as the daughter of Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria, and Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria. Family and early life Maria Josepha was born on 20 March 1739 in Munich, Bavaria. She was the seventh and youngest child of Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria and Holy Roman Emperor. Her mother, Maria Amalia, was an Archduchess of Austria by birth. Her maternal grandparents were Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Her paternal grandparents were Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, and Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska, the daughter of the King of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, John III Sobieski. Josepha's mother, Archduchess Maria Amalia, was also a first cousin to her future mother-in-law, Empress Maria Theresa, and therefore Josepha was a second cousin to her future husband, Joseph, King of the Romans. Josepha's mother, Archduchess Maria Amalia, gave birth to seven children, only four of whom lived through to adulthood. Maria Josepha's siblings included her brother Maximilian III, Elector of Bavaria, and two sisters Maria Antonia, Electress of Saxony, and Maria Anna Josepha, Margravine of Baden-Baden.