Maria Theresa married her children off, using them as political pawns. She repeatedly scolded her youngest daughter, Marie Antoinette for failing to produce an heir for Louis XVI of France – but Marie ...

Maria Theresa thus demonstrated a keen sense of absolute monarchy. Conscious of the importance of titles, she even sent back a letter from Louis XV of France, who addressed her as empress, not as ...

Under the supervision of Maria Theresa (the only female Habsburg ruler ... vast elaborate gardens comparable to King Louis XIV of France's palace at Versailles. One of the finest baroque palaces ...