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Charlotte, Princess of Belgium Wikipedia

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|Image:Carlotta-of-Mexico.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Carlota, Empress of Mexico
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Charlotte, Empress of Mexico (June 7, 1840–January 19, 1927) was the consort of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico.

The only daughter of L??opold I of Belgium|L??opold I, King of the Belgians (1790–1865) by his second wife, Louise d'Orl??ans, princess of France (1812–1850), Charlotte was born at Laeken Palace in Brussels, Belgium, as Marie Charlotte Am??lie Augustine Victoire Cl??mentine L??opoldine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Princess of Belgium. She was named after her father's first wife, Princess Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales|Charlotte of Wales. The House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha took its name from the tiny German duchy that was the homeland of Charlotte's father, Belgium's first king. Charlotte was a first cousin to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Prince Albert.

On July 27, 1857, Charlotte married Maximilian I of Mexico|Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the idealistic younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria. The couple spent several peaceful years as provincial governors of certain areas in present day Italy, which were then under the rule of Holy Roman Empire|Austria.

After Napoleon III of France initiated the French intervention in Mexico, Maximilian accepted the Mexican crown and the couple sailed for the New World. They chose as their seat Mexico City, making their home at the Castle of Chapultepec, a neo-Gothic fantasy built on a hilltop at the edge of the city. (There was a story related to their first visit to Chapultepec, apparently written by Charlotte, that there was lice everywhere in the palace.) Charlotte became known as Carlota (Spanish for Charlotte). Carlota took her duties as Empress of Mexico seriously, and even undertook a tour of the remote Yucat??n frontier, visiting the ruins of Uxmal.

Napoleon III soon found it expedient to abandon Maximilian and withdrew his troops from Mexico. Carlota then travelled to Europe, seeking assistance for her husband in Paris and Vienna and finally in Rome from Pope Pius IX. Her efforts failed; she suffered a profound emotional collapse and never went back to Mexico (it is thought that due to her husband's love affairs with other women she contracted venereal disease, and thereby her mental capacities began to detiorate rapidly). After the Mexicans executed her husband in 1867, Carlota's mental state well nigh failed. Her brother Philippe, Count of Flanders, placed her in the hands of doctors who promptly declared her insane. She spent the rest of her life in seclusion, first at Miramare|Miramar Castle near Trieste, Italy, and then at the Ch??teau de Bouchout in Meise, Belgium.

Carlota died in Meise on January 19, 1927. Some say she believed herself still to be the empress of the Mexicans, living in Mexico City.

Carlota and Maximilian had no children, but in 1865 the imperial couple adopted Agust??n de Iturbide y Green and Salvador de Iturbide y Marzan – grandsons of Agust??n de Iturbide|Agust??n de Iturbide y Ar??mburu, an earlier emperor of Mexico (r. 1822-23). They gave two-year-old Agust??n the title of "His Imperial Highness, The Prince of Iturbide" —similar imperial titles were accorded to various members of the child's extended family—and intended to groom him as heir to the throne. The explosive events of 1867, however, dashed such hopes, and after he grew to adulthood, Agust??n renounced all rights to the defunct Mexican throne, served in the Mexican army, and eventually established himself as a university professor in Washington, D.C.

Some have made the claim that Carlota had an illegitimate child by Alfred, Baron Van Der Smissens, a Belgian colonel, giving birth at Brussels on January 21, 1867. (This birthdate would indicate that the empress was pregnant when she sailed to Europe in support of her embattled husband.) According to some sources this child grew up to be General (Louis) Maxime Weygand (1867-1965). Weygand refused to confirm or deny the persistent rumor and his parentage remains uncertain. Some sources identify his mother as an unknown Polish woman and his father as either L??opold II of Belgium – (Carlota's brother) – or Maximilian. However, Andr?? Castelot, a Belgian historian, believed beyond doubt that Van Der Smissens was indeed the father of General Weygand, but could not offer any viable proof.

Last Modified:   2005-12-19