subject: The Trials Of Empress Carlota Of Mexico [print this page] For a very brief period of time in Mexico's long and turbulent history, they were ruled by Emperor Maximilian I and his consort, Empress Carlota. This regime was doomed to end in a bloody manner almost from the start, as they had been crowned after an invasion by France and were stuck in between an unfairly deposed liberal party and the conservative conspirators who disliked their practices. Who was Charlotte of Belgium, and how did she come to have such a position?
Charlotte was born in 1840, the only daughter of King Leopold of the Belgians; she spent her early years in the Royal Castle in Laeken, Brussels. Dying of tuberculosis when she was only just a teen, her mother, the Princess of France, left her side.. The young heiress was then raised by a family friend, spending much of her time with the exiled French royal family.
In 1857, Charlotte married Archduke Maximilian, the younger brother of the Emperor of Austria, and moved to the court at Vienna. The couple were very fortunate in their happiness together, regardless of meddling influences from Empress Elizabeth (who was jealous of their relationship), and they served in Italy for several years happily governing Lombardy and Venita.. Despite technically ruling those provinces, both the Duke and Duchess wanted more of a challenge.
Their chance came when Napoleon III invaded Mexico in 1862 and offered the position of monarch to Maximilian. He accepted, and the couple landed in Veracruz in 1864, moving into the Chapultepec castle in the capital city. As Empress Consort, Charlotte took her position to heart and changed her moniker to the Spanish Carlota; instrumental in helping the working class with land claims, and also in implementing laws that created fairer working practices, Carlota's liberal husband was a social maverick.
A very volatile situation politically confronted the new monarchy, and shortly after invading Mexico Napoleon recalled his troops back to France, leaving the Emperor without support and at the mercy of forces that wished to retake the country.. Looking for assistance for Maximilian, Carlota returned to Europe; after being turned down in both Paris and Vienna, she was denied help from the Pope himself. Overwhelmed by the stress of her failure and the imminent collapse of Maximilian's reign, the Empress suffered an emotional breakdown and never returned to Mexico.
Her delicate nature and personality had a strangely positive impact in that it saved her life; Maximilian was removed from the throne in 1867 and executed via firing squad. Sadly, Charlotte was regarded as insane by her brothers, after the murder of her dear husband, and spent the rest of her life away from the public, secluded. She cherished every thing that she and Max had shared, never remarrying and never fully admitting that he had been killed. In 1921, Carlota the previous Empress for Mexico, passed away from pneumonia.
