Background
She was the daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (1708–1765) and Maria Theresa of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (1717–1780). Born on 19 March 1751, Maria Josepha was the ninth but sixth surviving daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. After the death of her sister-in-law Princess Isabella of Parma, Maria Josepha was the most important female at court after her mother, niece Archduchess Maria Theresia and sister Archduchess Maria Amalia.
Career
She died of smallpox at the age of 16 and was buried in the Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria. Empress Maria Theresa wanted to marry her fourth eldest surviving daughter, Archduchess Maria Amalia, to Ferdinand of Naples and Sicily for political reasons. After Ferdinand"s father Charles III of Spain objected to the five-year age difference however, Maria Josepha, as the next eldest daughter, was left as the obvious candidate for Ferdinand"s hand in marriage.
Her fears were realised when she died of smallpox on the very day she was to have left Vienna for her journey across the Alps to marry Ferdinand.
However, the rash appeared two days after Maria Josepha visited the vault, and there is an incubation period of about one week after initial infection before symptoms of a rash appear. Therefore, the Archduchess must have been infected before visiting the vault.
She is buried in vault number 46 at the Imperial Crypt Vaults of the Imperial Crypt, Vienna. Titles and styles
19 March 1751 – 15 October 1767 Her Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia, Princess of Tuscany.