1805 Italy was again the center of interest of the new Emperor, whose crown bore the inscription Rex totius Italiae. From then on, events came quickly and Maria Carolina was surprised by the news of the defeat of Austria in the Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805). Napoleon then did not hesitate to conquer Naples and installed first his brother Joseph Bonaparte, and four years later his brother-in-law Joachim Murat, on the throne of Naples. The royal family was forced to flee to Sicily in February 1806. In their exile, the refugees relied on the help of Great Britain, but after the death of Admiral Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805), the British developed more and more aversion to Maria Carolina. Finally in 1813, her husband essentially (but not officially) abdicated and appointed their son Francis regent. This deprived her of any political influence, and the queen was forced to leave Sicily and return to Vienna. During her trip, she received the news of Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig on 19 October 1813. After a long journey through Constantinople, Odessa, Lviv, and Budapest, Maria Carolina finally arrived in Vienna in January 1814, where she began negotiations with Prince Metternich and her nephew, Emperor Francis I of Austria, for the restoration of her husband and herself to the Neapolitan throne. However, this never happened: Maria Carolina died on 8 September as a consequence of a stroke, without seeing the final defeat of Napoleon and the restoration of her husband by the Congress of Vienna. Her maid found the queen lying dead on the floor among scattered letters. Maria Carolina was buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. Her parents and most of her siblings are also buried there. Issue Ancestry Notes References Citations Bibliography Acton, Harold (1956). Bourbons of Naples. Methuen & Co.: London. Bearne, Catherine Mary (1907). A Sister of Marie Antoinette: The Life-Story of Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples. T. Fisher Unwin: London Crankshaw, Edward (1969). Maria Theresa. Longman Publishers: London. Davis, John Anthony (2006). Naples and Napoleon: southern Italy and the European revolutions (1780–1860). Oxford University Press: Oxford. Fraser, Antonia (2002). Marie Antoinette: The Journey. Phoenix: London. Jackson, Gudia M (2000). Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide. Abc-Clio: Santa Barbara. Jones, Colin (2002). The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon. Columbia University Press: New York. Lever, Evelyn (2001). Marie