Elisabeth of Württemberg (Elisabeth Wilhelmine Luise; 21 April 1767 – 18 February 1790) was an Archduchess of Austria by marriage to Archduke Francis of Austria. Life Elisabeth Wilhelmine Luise was born on 21 April 1767, in Treptow an der Rega, Pomerania, in what today is Poland. She was born as the third daughter and eighth child borne to Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg and his wife, Princess Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Her name came from her baptism. At the age of 15, she was called by the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph II, to Vienna. There, she was educated in the Salesianerinnenkloster by the nuns, in which she also converted to Catholicism. The purpose of this was to make her the future wife of Joseph II's nephew Francis, the future Holy Roman Emperor. In Vienna on 6 January 1788, Elisabeth and Francis were married. At this time, Emperor Joseph was in ill health; the young archduchess was close to the emperor and brightened his last years with her youthful charm. At the end of 1789, Elisabeth became pregnant; however, her condition was very delicate. After her visitation to the anointing of the sick, held by the emperor, on 15 February 1790, Elisabeth fainted—and on the night of 18 February, she prematurely gave birth to Archduchess Ludovika Elisabeth, who lived for only 16 months. Despite an emergency operation to save her life, Elisabeth did not survive the birth, which lasted more than 24 hours. She is buried in the Imperial Crypt, in Vienna. The emperor died two days after the death of his niece. Issue Archduchess Ludovika Elisabeth of Austria (18 Feb 1790 - 24 June 1791) died in infancy. Archives Elisabeth's letters to her parents, Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg and Princess Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt, written between 1780 and 1790, are preserved in the State Archive of Stuttgart (Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart) in Stuttgart, Germany. Elisabeth's letters to her brother, Charles Frederick Henry of Württemberg, are also preserved in the State Archive of Stuttgart. Ancestry References Brigitte Hamann: Die Habsburger, ein biographisches Lexikon. Verlag Carl Ueberreuter, Vienna, 1988 1767 births 1790 deaths Deaths in childbirth House of Habsburg-Lorraine Austrian princesses German Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Duchesses of Württemberg Burials at the Imperial Crypt People from Trzebiatów People from the Province of Pomerania 18th-century Austrian women Wives of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of monarchs