Archduchess Isabella Clara of Austria
Not to be confused with Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain
Isabella Clara of Austria (1629–1685) was the eldest surviving daughter of Leopold V, Archduke of Austria and his wife Claudia de' Medici. She was a member of the House of Habsburg and was an Archduchess of Austria.
Family
Isabella was the third of five siblings. Her siblings included: Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria, Archduke Sigismund Francis of Austria and Maria Leopoldine of Austria, wife of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor.
Her paternal grandparents were Charles II of Austria and his wife and niece Maria Anna of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his wife Christina of Lorraine.[1]
Marriage
Isabella married November 7 1649 to Charles III, Duke of Mantua (Mantova, 31 October 1629 - August 14, 1665), became Duke of Mantua and Monferrato in 1637. The marriage between the two was to create an alliance between the Gonzaga and Habsburg families. As well as the marriage of Isabella and Charles, Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor married Charles' cousin Eleonora Gonzaga.[2].
In response to this important alliance, Charles was able to remove the French from Casale, then agreed with Louis XIV of France that the Monferrato should not be controlled by Spain but would remain with the Gonzaga family.
Charles kept a lover, Margaret Oak and sometimes neglected Isabella. They had one son, Charles IV, Duke of Mantua (August 31, 1652 – July 5, 1708).
Widowhood
Charles III, suddenly died August 14 1665. Isabella assumed the regency on behalf of thirteen-year-old son, assisted in the affairs of government by Count Charles Bulgarini, a noble of Jewish origins of whom Isabella had long had an amorous relationship.[3]
Charles reached full power in 1670 and a year later, on the advice of his mother, he married Anna Isabella Gonzaga of the Guastalla branch.
Isabella retired to private life in the palace Goito, subsequently, by order of the emperor on 16 December 1671, entered a convent where she remained throughout the rest of her life. Isabella died in 1685.
Ancestors
| Isabella Clara of Austria | Father: Leopold V, Archduke of Austria |
Paternal Grandfather: Charles II of Austria |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Anna of Bohemia and Hungary | |||
| Paternal Grandmother: Maria Anna of Bavaria |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Albert V, Duke of Bavaria | ||
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Anna of Austria | |||
| Mother: Claudia de' Medici |
Maternal Grandfather: Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany | |
| Maternal Great-grandmother: Eleonora di Toledo | |||
| Maternal Grandmother: Christina, Grand Duchess of Tuscany |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Charles III, Duke of Lorraine | ||
| Maternal Great-grandmother: Claude of Valois |