Maria Theresa is poised to become the Holy Roman Empress, but to do so, she must survive her enemies, especially the brilliant and secretly homosexual tactician Prince Frederick, in a ferocious battle for the empire forcing two people from oppressed classes to tear one another down in order to succeed in a society designed for them to fail.
Why This, Why Now
The year is 1736 and The Holy Roman Empire spans from Spain to the Ukraine. For 300 years, the Habsburg dynasty has held the title of Holy Roman Emperor, a lifetime position voted on by the princes of The Empire's vassal states. But generations of disastrous financial decisions, costly wars, and inbred hereditary madness have drained the treasury and weakened the once-powerful monolith.
There are no male heirs.
A lifelong battle for the fate of The Empire is about to begin for Maria Theresa (known hereafter as "Theresa"), the female heir to the Habsburg dynasty, and Frederick The Great, the closeted prince of Prussia. Their mutual hatred shapes not only this show, but the course of history, with life and death stakes that influence the outcome of eight wars, building and destroying kingdoms, rocking the lives of key historical figures (Voltaire, Mozart, Catherine The Great, etc.), and even dooming the next generation of rulers (especially Theresa's daughter, Marie Antoinette).
The term "intersectionality," first coined by American legal scholar, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, describes the overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination and disadvantage. Two dueling deuteragonists in this true story encapsulate what happens when intersectionality is quashed and the double-edged sword of privilege and oppression dictates all. Theresa is subjugated by a society that views her as incapable of ruling due to her sex, but she's free to marry the man she loves. Frederick is free in the public sphere, but he is cruelly kept from loving openly as a homosexual. These two monarchs are torn throughout the series between perpetuating the harsh reality that crushes them or reaching toward creating a better world, which would require them to be vulnerable in a society that tears weakness apart. This cycle of oppression bleeds outward, pushing Frederick and Theresa to make monstrous decisions, even toward their own families, to remain in power.
Minorities forced to wrestle one another for a seat at the proverbial table is a story all too familiar to modern-day people. There's a demand for tales like these, told with the complexity and subtext of intersectionality that makes it relevant to today. In the end, Theresa becomes the most powerful woman in history and Frederick becomes one of the most brilliant leaders of his age, with impacts on their respective nations still felt today. But right before their deaths, each of them realizes that the only person who truly understands their horrendous burden is also their most bitter enemy.
Showcasing the heart-swelling triumphs, the grave mistakes, the hilarious pettiness and gaffs, and the haunting horrors, HABSBURG ultimately ends with a message of hope for what can be.
Comparison Shows
HABSBURG will be a historical fiction series that lies between two renowned predecessors, bringing the heart-wrenching historically accurate drama and political intrigue of THE CROWN with some hints of the sharp humor and accessibility of THE GREAT.
Locations
As Theresa's influence spreads, there will be chances to explore the cultural splendor of great European cities which include Vienna (Theresa's capital city where the bulk of the story takes place), Berlin (Prussia's former capital and Frederick's home), Prague, Versailles, Tuscany, Naples, and Parma, among others.
CENTRAL CHARACTERS
Princess Maria Theresa Habsburg
"No one would have prevented me from joining my armies myself, had I not continuously been pregnant." - Maria Theresa
The Empire’s heiress waif... at least at first. The princess is a tiger cub, full of baby blue-eyed bumbling now, but with the potential to be a real face ripper if she makes it to adulthood and becomes The Holy Roman Empress. Constantly torn between Theresa the woman and Theresa the monarch throughout her reign. Her education is utterly neglected by her father, but after his assassination, she must become a quick study in a time when public executions of monarchs are a spectacle for the masses. Learns to use people underestimating her to pin them to the mat, leading her to raise The Empire out of the brink of utter ruin. But her victories have devastating consequences for her marriage, her health, her children, and parts of her soul. At the same time, her stubborn commitment to her Empire above all else makes her the greatest Habsburg ruler in generations, and arguably of the entire dynasty. A reflection on what society forces women to endure in order to achieve greatness.
Prince Frederick "The Great" Hohenzollern of Prussia
"The greatest and noblest pleasure which we have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices." - Frederick The Great
Starts out as a closeted gay Prince with a tragic past and present, making him so morose that even the severe Austrians think he's a buzzkill. Becomes Prussia's warrior King with the heart of a poet, serving as a dichotomous deuteragonist to Theresa. Forced to continuously choose between his search for a better world through The Enlightenment and the bloody wars he incites against his rival. In the end, Frederick transforms Prussia into a global superpower, but his quest for dominance is never enough for him, proving that daddy issues aren't a newfound phenomenon. Frederick is as a living reminder of the tragedy that comes when people who should be working together for the improved society he craves are instead forced to destroy one another.
Prince Albert Wittelsbach of Bavaria
"I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse." - Albert Wittelsbach
Begins as the Prince in Bavaria and the closest kin who is eligible to be Holy Roman Emperor next to Theresa. He ignites Frederick's most ruthless tendencies, driving the initial wedge between Frederick and Theresa, and is instrumental in assassinating The Emperor at a vulnerable time for the Habsburgs. His foppish personality and sexual wantonness are purposeful masks for his dangerously sharp intellect, which he uses to briefly become Holy Roman Emperor. As a man with all the privileges in the world, he expects everything to be handed to him, and it pretty much is. But his reign is cut short by his untimely death, meaning he singlehandedly rewrites the course of history, and then exits stage right just in time to shake every foundation yet again. Literally lives and dies for the drama.
Romilda Augustine
Theresa's fictional lady's maid with a mysterious past who knows all of the most important information, for a price. Teams up with Albert and Frederick as their spy, helping them to best her mistress at several turns. But as she sees through to the personhood of both her masters, she becomes a window into the minds of the common people at the time - buffeted by the whims of the two opposing rulers they are commanded to serve, occasionally at the same time.
The Holy Roman Empress Elisabeth Habsburg
"Iron hand in a velvet glove." - Prince Albert of Bavaria
Theresa’s Mommy Fearest. Stout, suffers no bullshit. Also happens to be Frederick's aunt by marriage. Carries a cane due to health issues resulting from her husband's foolhardy efforts to produce a male heir for the throne. A consistent reminder of the horrific fates awaiting most women, which is why she is so harshly passionate about Theresa's future. Can't be soft and maternal while guiding Theresa through the brutal obstacles they face, mirroring Theresa's eventual struggles with her own children. Both of them have to choose the empire over their parental bond, shaping generations of rulers. Elisabeth's eventual death leaves Theresa to navigate the churning dark waters of ruling without the woman who had become her map.
The Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV Habsburg
“By nature, Charles is endowed with all the characteristics that make a good middle-class subject, but he has not a single quality of a great man.” - Frederick The Great
Maria Theresa's wastrel father whose passion for the opera might remind one of the fervor of the modern-day Taylor Swift fan. Shares the hubris of many Habsburg rulers, believing he’s a more capable ruler and father than he is. Charles exhibits the danger of putting his personal desires before his responsibilities, pushing the empire to the brink of collapse. Intervened at one point to keep Frederick from being executed by his own father, which doesn't stop Frederick from assassinating Charles in a bid to keep Theresa from the throne. Even his altruism leads to failure.
Duke Francis "Franz" Lorraine
“ A husband who is too inclined to notice other silken curls.” - Frederick the Great
The handsome Duke of Lorraine and Maria Theresa's husband. Charming, irredeemable flirt who thinks too highly of his prowess, especially in war. His incompetence forces Theresa to put the good of The Empire above her husband's pride, and she takes all responsibility from him. Humiliated and bored, Francis responds by giving into his baser nature with a series of well-known mistresses. Though their commitment to one another is continuously tested, the couple realizes they must be united against a world that wants their downfall. Franz finds that his removal from the limelight allows him the freedom to garden in slippers and be a devoted father to his large brood of children, luxuries that Theresa doesn't share. Becomes the mediator between his commanding wife and their stubborn offspring, which comes to a sharp end when he suddenly dies of a stroke, setting off a chain of tragic events that lead to their youngest daughter's death in the French Revolution.
Duke Alexander Lorraine
"He who defends everything defends nothing." - Frederick The Great
A handsome wet blanket and Franz's younger brother. Exiled from The Holy Roman Empire after running away to marry Maria Theresa's younger sister, Marianne, an event which sparks huge scandal in an already fragile Empire. Reconciles with Theresa after Marianne's death when she grants him permission to never marry again - to honor his devotion to his late wife. Discovers that while military prowess skipped Francis, Alexander himself inherited more than enough for the both of them, and he becomes a leader in Theresa's armies for the rest of his life. Becomes the key instrument in several of Theresa's victories against Frederick. A person who at one time put his own needs over The Empire and puts his ambitions aside to fight against a ruinous societal standard for women, he becomes one of Theresa's biggest allies once he loses the love of his life, once again putting a woman's empowerment ahead of his own desires. He dies right before Theresa, finally reunited with Marianne, a blissful reward to his faithful devotion.
Princess Marianne Habsburg
“Your happiness can vanish all too fast, and you may be plunged, by your own doing, into the greatest calamities. . . . You will realize all this one day, but it will be too late.” - Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa's younger sister and like her in every way... until she decides to put herself first and marry the love of her life, Alexander. When she first comes to Theresa about arranging a marriage between the two, a sisterly bond prompts Theresa to eagerly agree. But since the union would ultimately be disadvantageous at a time when every advantage is needed, so Elisabeth forces Theresa to withhold her permission. Marianne does what Theresa cannot and runs away from her responsibilities, creating a life in exile with Alexander. When Marianne dies in childbirth, Theresa bitterly regrets putting the crown before her beloved sister, but it won't be the last time she'll experience this kind of remorse.
Pilot
HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR CHARLES IV HABSBURG (55), refuses to have his daughter and heir, MARIA THERESA HABSBURG (19) educated so that she may one day rule - because she is a woman. Instead, he attempts to secure her throne by commanding his vassal princes to come to Vienna and swear to support her inheritance by signing a document known as The Pragmatic Sanction. ELISABETH HABSBURG (45), understanding what her husband's too dense to see, that all oaths will be forsworn and forgotten once her husband dies, takes it upon herself to brutally teach her daughter everything she needs to know in order to rule. Her primary lessons: trust no one, make your enemies your friends, find out what a man loves most and use it against him. Classic mother-daughter bonding conversations.
One of the princes invited to Vienna, PRINCE ALBERT WITTELSBACH OF BAVARIA (39), wastes no time manipulating his trip in the capital into a quest to take Theresa's throne. After a tumble with Theresa's maid, ROMILDA (21), he realizes she's sharper than a guillotine and enlists her to help him sabotage Theresa's coming bid for power. He then immediately approaches fellow PRINCE FREDERICK HOHENZOLLERN OF PRUSSIA (24), knowing the two would make a deadly pair, to assist him in assassinating The Emperor and destabilizing The Empire at a time Theresa is weak. But Frederick is hesitant, believing there is no honor in assassination. Albert sends Romilda to sleep with Frederick as a way to speed things along. Frederick's vehement refusal reveals to Romilda that he's "got a knack for swordplay." Romilda remarks that it's a pity Theresa and Frederick can't work together, since they both aren't free, but that's not how the world works, is it? She coyly promises that she keeps the secrets of "her friends," prompting Frederick to give her money and order her to tell Albert she was successful. Alone, Frederick collapses, now under Romilda's control.
The Emperor reveals to Theresa's intended, FRANCIS "FRANZ" THE DUKE OF LORRAINE (28) that the French don't want the husband of the future Holy Roman Empress to have land on their borders, fearing the Habsburgs will use it against them. As part of Franz's marriage to Theresa, he and his family must give up the rights to their homeland and will be granted the Duchy of Tuscany instead. In a fight that results in hurt feelings and ruined boots, ALEXANDER (24), compels his brother Franz to give up his relationship with Theresa, even though the two are madly in love.
A distraught Theresa confronts her mother about the ruined nuptials, and Elisabeth uses the chaos as an opportunity to teach her daughter about diplomacy by striking a deal with The Emperor. The Empire needs Franz to sign away his rights to Lorraine so that they can convince the French to end a war against them in Poland. They also need Theresa to be married and have a son as soon as possible so that there is a male Habsburg heir that can take the throne. If Theresa can convince Franz to give up his ancestral lands and marry her, solving both issues, then The Emperor will allow his daughter to be present in the council chambers, thus giving her the education she needs to rule. The Emperor agrees, certain his daughter will fail. Always father of the year.
Theresa's younger sister, MARIANNE (18), confronts Alexander about his refusal to allow Franz to marry Theresa. Alexander reveals that part of his decision centered around his own desire to wed Marianne, and The Emperor would never allow two brothers to marry his daughters as that would be disadvantageous to the realm. Disgusted, Marianne retorts she would never put her own happiness above her sister and runs away from him.
While Elisabeth watches, Theresa meets Franz "alone" for the first time in the archery field. Using the skills her mother gave her, Theresa manipulates an unaware Francis into agreeing to marry her, destroying his relationship with his brother and mother. But on the day the hesitant groom is supposed to sign his home away, he hesitates three times. Suddenly, Theresa, newly permitted in the council chambers, enters dramatically in her wedding dress, giving Franz the push he needs to sign the agreement. Albert has to admit, "The dress was a nice touch." It's the first time Maria Theresa used her femininity to score a political victory, but it won't be her last.
On the day of the wedding, Albert pulls Frederick to a back room to see if Romilda convinced Frederick to join them in bringing down Theresa. When Frederick is still hesitant, thinking perhaps Theresa wouldn't be the doom of The Empire, Albert tells him that if he should ever decide to commit to the assassination, all he needs to do is nod. Theresa enters, revealing that they have accidentally had their clandestine meeting in the bridal suite. With her newfound confidence and irritation with their obvious scheming, Theresa mocks the two princes right as her mother walks in. Elisabeth tries to smooth things over, but it's clear that Theresa has violated one of Elisabeth's chief rules for diplomacy: make your enemies your friends. Elisabeth comments, "Let's get you married before you can do any more damage."
As Theresa walks down the aisle to her waiting groom, the fate of The Holy Roman Empire is decided as Frederick watches her, then turns around in the pew to look at Albert...
And nods.
Future Seasons
Season One
Theresa and Franz's incredibly awkward first sexual encounter is witnessed by members of the court. Frederick's past is revealed: after trying to run away with his love, HANS HERMAN VON KATTE, Frederick's tyrannical father, WILLIAM, forces Frederick to watch Hans's beheading. Their tragic last words to each other were: "Please forgive me dear Katte, in God's name, forgive me." "There is nothing to forgive, I die for you with joy in my heart!"
At Elisabeth's recommendation, Frederick is married against his will to CHRISTINE OF BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBUTTEL-BEVERN. After William mocks his son's sexuality, Frederick considers suicide before killing his father in a "fuck around and find out moment," becoming the King in Prussia and using his new influence to help Albert's plans. Pregnant Theresa must convince her father to officially make Franz co-heir. But Elisabeth falls seriously ill, and The Emperor thinks her death could lead to him fathering a son with someone else. Theresa makes him realize he's not a young promising man anymore after The Emperor premieres a really terrible opera he wrote. ANNE IOANNOVA, (Queen of Russia, famous for imprisoning a rival naked in an ice palace) demands that The Emperor join her in attacking the Ottoman Empire, or she won't support The Pragmatic Sanction. Franz suffers failures in battle because it turns out that being just a nice guy doesn't make him a great general, and Albert and Romilda turn the common people against him. Theresa quells riots in Vienna, sparing them from a death sentence, but ordering them to instead clean the streets while dragging chains. When frustrated Franz returns home for brief moments, he picks fights with Theresa over small things like how she likes to have her windows open at all times.
Theresa gives birth to a daughter with a humped back. The broken-hearted new mother has to send the baby to be raised in a nunnery and announce that the child died. The tragedy rekindles the connection between Marianne and Alexander and repairs Theresa and Franz's relationship. A sympathetic Romilda decides to confirm the baby's fake death to Albert so that he can't use the incident against Theresa. Albert, meanwhile, welcomes his healthy youngest daughter, Josepha. The unfairness of life is staggering.
Frederick and Albert poison The Emperor on a hunting trip and, “a pot of mushrooms changes the history of Europe.” Just then, Theresa discovers she's pregnant again. The morning after her father's death, Theresa's devastated to discover the ineptitude of her army, which can only be alleviated with the resources of their province Silesia and the support of their vassal state, Hungary, who dislike Franz because everyone dislikes Franz. Meanwhile, still-bitter Franz urges Theresa to dismiss the council members complicit in his losing Lorraine, while Elisabeth insists Theresa needs their experience, because everyone being on the same page would be too easy for Theresa. Theresa's first public duty as sovereign is a disappointment when her pregnancy forces her to diverge from the traditional horseback ride through the city (also, her useless father never let her learn how because "her uterus could fall out"). Theresa's ministers insist she free GENERAL NEIPPERG, a man her father had imprisoned for his failure in a recent war, to supervise Franz. Albert discovers Frederick is homosexual, making him consider killing Romilda for keeping it from him. Frederick and Albert invade the crucial territory of Silesia in The Battle of Mollwitz. Simultaneously, Theresa goes into labor. In a time in which therapy means letting leeches suck one's blood, Frederick has a panic attack on the battlefield after the soldiers he's attacking all turn into Hans. Frederick flees, heartbreakingly crying by a windmill, and Albert ensures the distraught man that he will keep this quiet. Theresa delivers her healthy son, Joseph, presenting him to the court with a gloating smile that quickly vanishes as news arrives that Silesia has fallen.
Albert arranges for the writer VOLTAIRE to nurse Frederick "back to health." The two begin an intense romance after Frederick shyly shares his poetry. The couple has nearly nausea-inducing monikers for one another like, "My Trojan." Voltaire playfully starts calling Frederick "Luc" which backwards is French for "butt." With newfound confidence, Frederick gives a speech about the role of women to put Theresa down at the celebration of his victory that offends his sister, WILHELMINE. "1 Timothy ii. 11-12, ‘Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection… I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness.” When news of the victory and speech spreads, KING LOUIS XV declares that France will join the war for Albert. Anne of Russia sides with Theresa. A humiliated Franz returns home in time to teach Theresa how to ride horses for her crucial coronation in Hungary. Theresa asks Franz how she should dismiss Neipperg from service, and Franz, understanding she will also be dismissing him, gives her the words to let both men down gently in a sweet moment. Franz becomes content to "potter around in the garden in my slippers."
At the coronation, Theresa delivers a tearful "damsel in distress" speech while clutching her infant son to her chest, rallying the crowd to her defense and winning Hungary's support. With her new army, Theresa wins a huge victory led by Alexander over Albert in Munich. Abruptly, Theresa's ally, Anne of Russia, dies. The heir to the Russian throne is one-year-old IVAN. Frederick immediately schemes with his ally, ELIZAVETA PETROVNA, to eliminate her rivals and put her on the throne, sealing the alliance by marrying her son PETER THE GREAT to a Prussian princess later known as CATHERINE THE GREAT, who arrives just in time to see Elisaveta's enemies' tongues removed and imprison her infant rival. New allies secured, Albert and his army march into Prague, taking a significant part of Bohemia.
Frederick calls for a vote for the Emperor, which unanimously goes in Albert's favor, because everyone loves a mediocre man over a qualified woman. Knowing this is where her fight really begins, Theresa starts calling herself "The Princess with a crown of thorns."
Season Two
Theresa refuses to make peace with Frederick, “The King of Prussia’s suggestions remind me of a man who had slapped another man’s face and then said, I am so sorry, I did not mean it.” She launches a battle to regain Silesia: The Battle of Chotusitz. Frederick's victory there compels Theresa to concede to the Treaty of Breslau, giving Prussia control of Silesia. In response, Theresa founds a military academy with Alexander in charge. Albert refuses to negotiate with Theresa, who responds by kicking Bavaria out of Bohemia and officially being crowned the region's queen. Eager to show her subjects that she's no longer a gentle waif, she creates a commission to “purge Bohemia of disloyal elements (those who were loyal to Albert).”
In Prussia, Frederick abolishes the death penalty in honor of Hans. But he doesn't extend his mercy to his wife, who he banishes to live in near poverty in a faraway castle, telling her, "There can be neither love nor friendship between us". His neglect of her gets so bad, that people quip, "Christine has a candle lit, Frederick must be allowing her a rare extravagance." Frederick's sister, Wilhelmine, encourages him to see Christine as someone who can help run his household and increase his reputation among foreign dignitaries, causing him to rethink his treatment of his wife. A pregnant Theresa secretly meets with GEORGE II KING OF ENGLAND, AUGUSTUS III OF SAXONY AND POLAND, and EMANUEL KING OF SARDINIA, playing up that she's the "helpless Queen of Hungary" and her need for their chivalrous defense. Her trickery creates an alliance against Frederick and Albert called The Treaty of Worms. Suspicious of spies, Theresa keeps all servants from observing the meeting, putting Romilda in danger.
Theresa does her best to be present in her children's lives but comes to the painful conclusion that her offspring fear her and prefer Franz, who is free to pursue his interests while she works. When her ministers encourage uniting her fragile nation by making the realm more homogenous, Theresa exiles Jewish, Protestant, and Jesuit subjects, a horrific move with devastating consequences when Joseph, whose friend is forced into exile, starts deliberately disobeying his mother in public. In response, Theresa orders him caned and when Franz objects to the severe punishment, she replies, "Well, look at the Habsburg Princes; their characters have shown that they have not been sufficiently chastised.” Meanwhile, Alexander successfully wins The Battle of Dettingen, taking back Bohemia and marching into Bavaria. Albert, suffering from gout, concedes and Theresa, feeling petty, refuses to return Bavaria to him, making him "both Emperor and nothing." Realizing Silesia could be next, Frederick invades Bohemia again, but the Saxon army unexpectedly attacks, honoring The Treaty of Worms, in a profound humiliation that deepens Frederick's hatred of Theresa. The defeat confirms Theresa's suspicions that there's a spy among her servants. Romilda, desperate to distract Theresa, encourages Marianne to approach Theresa about marrying Alexander. When the marriage is rejected, Romilda helps Marianne run away with Alexander, forcing Theresa to decree that the two are exiled.
Frederick, jealous of Voltaire's numerous affairs with men and women, starts a revenge romance with FRANCESCO ALGAROTTI. Voltaire is hypocritically peeved at this development. To quell growing conjectures about Frederick's sexuality, his sister, WILHELMINE, starts a rumor that Frederick the Great is amorously involved with ANNA KAROLINA ORZELSKA. After discovering Anna's pregnant, Theresa bribes her to tell Frederick the baby's his in order to spy on him. Forced to claim the child, Frederick realizes that though he’s in charge, he’s not free. Franz starts an affair with the PRINCESS MARIA OF AUERSPERG. In response to Frederick and Franz's "depravity," Theresa starts a Chastity Commission, reporting on the sins of the nobility, outraging her subjects. “This legion of vile spies are the pitiless tormentors of all girls and make life extremely dangerous or very dull in Vienna.” In an attempt to escape drudgery, several prominent people form the "Fig Leaf Brotherhood" and the "Order of Free Ladies," essentially dens of sin. In response to the nobles who oppose her attempts to make their lives boring, Theresa abolishes the Feudal System and begins taxing the nobility, saying, “The nobility has been too well treated and has become so powerful that the nobles are more feared and respected than the sovereign." This move provides millions in revenue to the once strained coffers. Hearing this, Frederick begrudgingly admits he's impressed with Theresa.
Theresa, wanting to help her marriage in the wake of her husband's affair, hires consultants to try and make her more attractive, but comes to the gut-wrenching conclusion that between the burdens of running a country and popping out a brood of children, she can't maintain the beautifying lifestyle. Marianne and Theresa go into labor at the same time. Theresa cradles her newborn son, CHARLES, while Marianne delivers a stillborn baby girl before passing away. Theresa laments, “God could have sent me no more terrible disaster than the death of my sister. They say that time heals grief of this kind. Time will only make me feel my loss more keenly.” Theresa invites the widower Alexander back to Vienna. When Albert succumbs to his debilities and suddenly dies, Frederick is left to the mercy of his allies' responses. Romilda also informs Frederick that she's finished working with him. Theresa sets her sights on recapturing Silesia and sends Alexander to ignite the Battle of Hohenfriedberg. Frederick, knowing Alexander is still grieving, exploits his inevitable mistakes, marching into Bohemia and officially earning the moniker "Frederick The Great."
Wilhelmine meets with Theresa in secret, which nearly destroys Frederick's relationship with his sister. Begrudgingly, Theresa approaches Frederick with a life-saving deal: if he casts a vote for herself and Franz at the imperial election, she'll let him keep Silesia and she will give Parma to one of his few remaining allies, CARLOS III OF SPAIN. Franz and Theresa are crowned Emperor and Empress. Just as Theresa will need Elisabeth's guidance most, she receives news that her mother is dying. Though Theresa begs her mother to stay with her, she cannot command death. Theresa dreads what this crown and this conflict may cost her and her family next.
Season Three
A middle-aged Theresa, pregnant with her last child, now watches her children play: fiery AMALIA, morose LEOPOLD, sweet JOHANNA, and spoiled CHARLOTTE. Among them, her favorite children are the clever CHRISTINA, the gorgeous LEISL, and the ambitious CHARLES (who wants to supersede his brother as heir, which everyone thinks is just a joke except for Joseph and Charles). Crown Prince Joseph is put on Theresa's council so that he can prepare to one day take her place, but Theresa disapproves of Joseph's over-interest in The Enlightenment and Frederick's subsequent educational reforms in Prussia. The pretentious young upstart also derides the council, “The endless speeches and long-winded explanations, were so far above me that I understood neither their import nor their relevance.” However, Theresa occasionally takes Joseph's suggestions and cements certain protections for religious freedom for her Jewish, Jesuit and Protestant subjects.
Determined to ensure Joseph's success, Theresa once again turns her attention to taking Silesia back. But England is too busy fighting "an unimportant squabble with France over the Americas," and George II not only won't support Theresa's fight for Silesia, he demands Theresa send troops to aid him. Forever petty, Theresa dissolves the alliance between them, because she doesn't take orders from anyone. Thankfully for her, this is just as Frederick has a falling out with the French king's mistress, MADAME DU BARRY, because he doesn't understand, “why a King of Prussia should be obliged to consider a demoiselle Poisson at all, especially as she was arrogant and lacking in the respect she owed crowned heads.” Against Wilhelmine's advice, Frederick also mocks Elisaveta's "fondness for vodka and many lovers," which alienates her from the Prussian king. Frederick forms an agreement with George II of England while Maria Theresa connects with Elisaveta of Russia and Madame du Barry in France (despite her complicated feelings about fraternizing with a mistress given her husband's infidelities). Elizaveta agrees to an alliance against Frederick, provided Russia is permitted to acquire parts of East Prussia, because she really can't let Frederick's remarks go. For the first time, three women are deciding the fate of the world. In response, Wilhelmine encourages Frederick to launch a preemptive attack on Saxony. Franz, not trusting France, is enraged with Theresa's new alliance, striking the table and shouting at his wife for the first time in years. With the burst of a cannon, the Seven Years' War begins, embroiling all Europe's major powers in a single war for the first time.
Theresa's last child, MARIE ANTOINETTE, makes an arrival that coincides with her would-be godparents' deaths in an earthquake in Lisbon that kills 30,000 people... which isn't at all an auger of the disaster to come.
In The Battle of Prague, Frederick wins by cutting off its essential food supply and marches into the city, but underestimates Theresa and is unable to hold the city. Frederick mocks Franz for not participating in any battles with an “inglorious retreat into the arms of his wife.” When Franz demands to ride into battle to defend his manhood, Theresa insists that her husband stay home, damaging his ego. On the homefront, Theresa and Franz receive word that their crippled eldest child, Anna, who was raised in a nunnery as a baby, is gravely ill with pneumonia and rush to her side, acknowledging her at last. But when Anna is invited to join the family in court, she's clearly self-conscious next to her beautiful sisters. Trying to pacify the ever-brawling brothers, Joseph and Charles, Theresa and Franz give their younger son the throne of Tuscany. Because the parents can never do anything right, Joseph views this as another sign of her favoritism toward Charles. Fearing that France and Spain could still turn on the alliance, Theresa proposes marrying the king of Spain's niece, ISABELLA OF PARMA, to Joseph. Isabella has an obsession with death, which makes her fun at parties. It all started when her mother died from smallpox and Isabella begged God to tell her when she will die. A nearby clock chimed four times, convincing her wouldn't live to see her 22nd birthday. In the present, consistently stubborn Joseph refuses to like his new wife, until he sees how beautiful she is and then immediately declares he's head over heels in love. But Isabella falls head over heels for his younger sister, Christina. The two compare themselves to Orpheus and Eurydice, and the family delights in their "totally heterosexual close friendship." Though it really rankles Christina that she has to share a wall with the newlyweds, who are her lover and her brother.
At The Battle of Kollin, Theresa wins a major victory against Frederick, liberating Prague and winning back Silesia at last, but Frederick immediately takes it back and is nearly killed when a bullet smashes a snuffbox in his breast pocket. In Vienna, after listening to child prodigy WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART play, who then adorably proposed to an equally young Marie Antoinette, Theresa collapses from exhaustion due to constant stress. Back in Prussia, Frederick's sister dies, mirroring Theresa losing her mother. Both are now without the women who have guided them. When Frederick turns to his lover Francesco instead of Voltaire, jealous Voltaire publishes memoirs mocking Frederick's homosexuality and tries to sneak compromising poems and letters Frederick wrote over the French border. Prompting Frederick to publically burn the pamphlets and place his former lover under house arrest.
Smallpox sweeps through the court, infecting two of Theresa's favorite children: Charles and Leisl. Her daughter recovers, but in a twist of irony, the perpetually vain girl's stunning face is horrifically scarred. Knowing no one will marry Leisl now because aristocratic men are appallingly shallow, her distressed parents send the girl to a nunnery. Charles succumbs to the illness, and his last words are, "You should not weep for me, dear mother, for had I lived, I would have brought you many more tears" a final declaration indicating his intentions to wrestle the Holy Roman Empire from Joseph, a fate that was sidestepped. After his older brother's death, Theresa's difficult fourteen-year-old son, Leopold, is thrust into the throne of Tuscany. Theresa has to watch as her barely pubescent child is taken away in a carriage to give speeches full of voice cracks in front of the country he's supposed to lead, and it won't be the last time she says goodbye to a child who has to go meet their fate. But first, Joseph's daughter, "THERESE," arrives. A beaming Christina is made to hand the baby off to her brother, Joseph. When Isabella gets macabre again, Christina points out that the new mother can't possibly want to leave her daughter. Isabella responds, “Do you think, then, that I shall leave you my little Therese? You will not have her more than six or seven years.” Not at all a creepy thing to say after the birth of one's child.
As the Seven Years' War rages on, Theresa's ally, Elizaveta of Russia dies and her son, Peter, and his once-Prussian wife, Catherine, are pro-Frederick and who Theresa considers to be “as false as a Prussian by temperament.” Meanwhile, England finally defeats France in The Americas and no longer needs an alliance with Prussia, so Theresa and Frederick sign The Treaty of Paris, though it pains Theresa to once again lose Silesia. Catherine The Great overthrows Peter III, assassinating him and the long-held prisoner, former baby ruler Ivan VI. Just as smallpox swept through Austria, it also ravishes Poland, killing Theresa's ally, Augustus III of Poland, and his heir. A Polish succession crisis emerges, and Catherine the Great sets her sights on the land for herself. Understanding the cost of giving Catherine so much power, Frederick turns on her. Hurrying to Theresa's side, Frederick declares that the two lifelong rivals must unite against the Russian queen. Theresa looks into the eyes of her enemy... and accepts.
Season Four
Christina avoids Theresa's attempts to marry her off, while gloomy Isabella bombards her with predictions of her death, "I love thee like a madwoman, in a holy way or diabolically, I love you and will love you to the grave." For her part, Christina thinks, “your longing for death is entirely evil. It should be repugnant to you to express sentiments, which so deeply grieve people who are absolutely devoted to you." Anna becomes suspicious of the relationship between pregnant Isabella and Christina, putting the couple in danger of discovery. When Anna takes her suspicions to Joseph, he becomes so enraged he banishes her from court. Isabella contracts smallpox and dies just shy of her 22nd birthday, as she predicted. A suffering Joseph says, “I have lost her and I am only twenty-two.” Frederick's lover, Francesco Algarotti, also dies of tuberculosis. Grief prompts Frederick to reconcile with Voltaire, who is only too happy to get out of his second house arrest. Though Joseph declares that he, like Alexander, never wishes to marry again, his mother gives him a news flash: the future of the empire depends on Joseph finding another wife. The candidates are Princess of Saxony and Princess Josepha of Bavaria (the usurper Albert's youngest daughter). In a boneheaded attempt to make remarrying easier for Joseph, Christina chooses to reveal her affair with Isabella, which has no other possible consequence but Joseph cutting all ties with his sister. Still raging, Joseph picks Josepha, but he resents that, "Her figure is short, thickset, and without a vestige of charm. Her face is covered with spots and pimples. Her teeth are horrible." Joseph doesn't reflect on the fact that he picked her when he says “I would try to have children, if I could put the tip of my finger on the tiniest part of her body that was not covered by boils.” His treatment of his wife is so awful that Christine comments, “If I were she I would run away and hang myself on a tree at Schönbrunn.”
Catherine tempts Frederick away from Theresa by offering him a piece of Poland, and Frederick promises to support her candidate for the throne, Catherine's former lover, STANISLAW PONIATOWSKI. Polish aristocrats dislike Catherine's pick and openly rebel, and Catherine sends insurgents to quash the uprising, forcing the rebels to flee into Turkey. Wanting to finish the opposition, Catherine attacks several Turkish villages, causing the Ottomans to declare war on Russia. Theresa breathes a sigh of relief because Catherine is now distracted by another war. In an unbelievably true story, Joseph's grief deepens when Isabella's father dies by being stepped on by his horse after falling and then ripped apart by his own hunting dogs. The death leaves his young and very dumb son, Ferdinand, on the throne of Parma. Theresa schemes to marry Ferdinand to one of her daughters in order to reestablish her family's connection to their former province of Parma. Meanwhile, Joseph secretly meets with Frederick of Prussia, and the two get along famously. In the wake of the meeting, Frederick decides to continue pursuing his alliance with The Habsburgs. When Theresa finds out about Joseph's newfound friendship with Frederick, she cautions him to think of that Prussia's hold on Silesia as a reminder of Frederick's ruthless treachery.
As young Leopold still struggles with the financial situation in Tuscany, Theresa negotiates marrying the Spanish princess Luisa to her son. King Carlos insists his daughter relinquish her affiliation with her country as part of the agreement, which pains Luisa. During the wedding, Leopold comes down with pleurisy, struggling to breathe as he says his vows, but he survives. His father, Franz, however, dies suddenly in his carriage. Theresa never recovers from the shock of the man who stood by her through everything now leaving her alone. Joseph is made coregent and, sick of Theresa's "petticoat government," immediately proposes reforms that put him at odds with his mother. Theresa is similarly irritated with her son the "thoughtless imitator of the King of Prussia" who slaughters his late father's hunting boars to save government money without asking. Two opposing factions supporting the opposing monarchs form at court. At Joseph's coronation, Christina meets ALBERT OF SAXONY, and begins another secret love affair. Issues over dividing up Franz's will cause a huge rift between Joseph and Leopold. Christina, knowing that Theresa's will is weakened by grief, entreats her mother to give permission to marry Albert of Saxony, estranging her from the rest of her siblings. Theresa arranges marriages for her remaining children, proposing her sweet and simple daughter, Johanna, as a suitable match for the smaller throne in Parma, held by Isabella's brother Ferdinand. This would leave her more intelligent daughters, Amalia and Charlotte, as matches for the heirs of France and Spain. Marie Antoinette, Theresa's spoiled and stupid youngest child will be married to some lesser house where she wouldn't cause any trouble. Amalia declares she wants to marry PRINCE CHARLES OF ZWEIBRUCKEN, a low-ranking Bavarian noble, and tries to run away with him, but is caught, because Theresa has seen this scene before.
Scientists working on a nascent smallpox vaccine (prior to the one invented using cowpox in 1796 that became more widely used) approach Theresa about inoculating her family, but she's hesitant about the technology being against God's will. Soon after, Josepha dies of smallpox, and Joseph regrets not being kinder to her in their brief marriage. Hypocritically, Joseph resents his mother for not adopting the vaccine saying if she had, “I might not now be sorrowing for the wife who was the joy of my existence.” Superstitious, Theresa makes Johanna pray over the body. Johanna subsequently catches smallpox and dies. In the wake of the death, Theresa has her entire family publically inoculated to support funding further research. After Johanna's death, perpetually gobsmacked Ferdinand of Parma demands Amalia as a replacement bride. The name Johanna is crossed out on the document and replaced with Amalia as if the two girls are basically the same. But since Amalia was supposed to be marrying the heir in France, Theresa pacifies Louis XV of France and his son, the ill-fated LOUIS XVI, by allowing them to choose between her remaining daughters, Charlotte or Antoinette. Theresa tries to steer them toward the much brighter Charlotte. But the young dauphin chooses the more attractive Marie Antoinette because of course he did. For some reason, Theresa can't shake the feeling that having Marie Antoinette as Queen of France is a bad idea, but her hands are tied.
The three girls are each loaded into their respective carriages, one screaming for her mother, one vowing to never speak to her mother again, and one forced to leave behind her precious puppy. Amalia finds that her husband is a simple noodle and Joseph tries to cheer her up by telling her that she's marrying the brother of his beloved wife, Isabella. It's not helpful. Amalia decides to dominate her husband. Charlotte finds a brutish husband in FERDINAND OF NAPLES and contemplates suicide on her wedding night before being coached into how to manipulate him by her sister-in-law, Luisa. Both girls act out against their disappointing husbands and cause an international scandal, especially when Charlotte takes a tumble into the sea and is fished out by sailors. Antoinette struggles with her place in France, and makes a grave mistake when she offends Madame du Barry, making her unpopular at court. Both Amalia and Charlotte give birth to baby girls, disappointing both courts and endangering their positions. Marie Antoinette can't get pregnant. Christina nearly dies in childbirth with a stillborn baby girl. Joseph shows he inherited his mother's pettiness when he declares it's what she deserves and prays that she never bears a child, a wish that ultimately comes true.
Catherine the Great's victories against the Ottomans in the Russo-Turkish war makes it possible that Russia will anex both Turkey and Poland, also putting Theresa's nearby provinces at risk. Turkey approaches Theresa and they sign an agreement in which Theresa declares she will protect The Ottomans as they negotiate peace with Catherine. Frederick falls seriously ill. Behind his mother's back, Joseph, eager to prove himself, gathers an army to claim Silesia in the event of Frederick's death. Frederick recovers... which is awkward for Joseph. Obviously, this shatters Frederick's relationship with the Habsburgs permanently because he knows that when the chips are down, Joseph's going to take his land. In the wake of this betrayal, Frederick makes an agreement with Catherine the Great to partition Poland between their two countries.
Season Five
Theresa now has two choices left: war against Russia and Prussia or divide up Poland between those two countries and herself, going back on her agreement with Turkey to keep Russia from growing. Wanting desperately to avoid another costly European war at a destabilizing time, Theresa is forced to dishonorably go against Turkey in a meeting with Frederick and Catherine (who can't help but remark that Theresa's the only one there who isn't called "The Great"), signing The First Partition of Poland. Theresa's decision to go back on her word to Turkey haunts her for the rest of her life. Frederick rolls his eyes at Theresa's tears, noting "she cries, but she takes." Catherine's even meaner, saying Theresa's, “canting old hypocrite, who suffered from a desire for power and possessions.” At home, Joseph's fight with Theresa grinds to a sudden halt when his seven-year-old only child, Therese, falls ill with pleurisy and dies, fulfilling her mother's prophecy. Grieving, Joseph declares, "I have ceased to be a father: it is more than I can bear. Only when I had got back to my room did I feel the full horror of it, and I shall go on feeling it for the rest of my life, since I miss her in everything." Theresa, knowing that Joseph will likely die childless given his refusal to remarry a third time, starts putting his inevitable heirs, Leopold and his eldest son, on a tighter leash in an effort to train him to become the next Emperor, a pressure that is definitely not suffocating.
Against their mother's wishes, both Amalia and Charlotte work to oust their their scheming ministers who have taken advantage of their weak husbands, GUILLAME DE TILLOT and BERNARDO TANUCCI respectively, to seize power for themselves. Amalia discovers Frankophile Guillaume du Tillot has replaced much of the workforce with the French and changed the national language from Italian to French, which much of the peasantry didn't speak, hurting the common people. Amalia works to restore national pride and cultural identity, increasing her popularity. Theresa tries to intervene to keep her children safe from the rift Amalia's causing with France. This causes Theresa officially estrange herself from her child in an effort to force her to submit, even forbidding her other children from contacting their sister, but Amalia's thrilled by the change. But she questions cutting her mother off when a revolution breaks out and thousands of people surround the Ducal Palace, protesting against Tillot. Fearing their safety, the royal family goes into hiding, but then they realize that the crowd is chanting for Amalia. Stunned, Amalia appears on the balcony to fervent cheers. Ferdinand sees his young wife in a new light as Tillot flees in disgrace. Tillot is apprehended and placed under house arrest. Within weeks, Amalia replaces the prime minister with someone of her own choosing, Parma's first Italian prime minister, Saccio, and increasing Parma's influence on the international stage. Ferdinand gets out of politics altogether, always answering questions with, “Ask my wife, she knows everything!” Amalia gives birth to a son, Luigi, cementing her power over Ferdinand.
Rather than dominating her husband like Amalia, Charlotte chooses to manipulate him. Unfortunately, Charlotte's position becomes tenuous when she gives birth to a second daughter, giving her a reputation amongst her husband's ministers as the mother of "only girls." But Charlotte uses the situation to her advantage, convincing her husband to give her a seat on the Neapolitan Council of State when she delivers a son. The common people love Charlotte's charm and her efforts to rid Naples of Tanucci's Spanish influence, but it angers King Carlos III of Spain and puts Theresa in a bad position. The issues come to a climactic head when the opportunity to innoculate against smallpox comes to Naples. Carlos is vehemently against it. Charlotte, having witnessed firsthand the devastating toll of smallpox insists they bring the vaccine to Naples, she gets into such a passionate argument with Ferdinand about it that she bites his hand. Slightly afraid of his wife, Ferdinand sides with her against his father, sending a clear message about his loyalty. Charlotte's son, Carlo, is born, cementing her power. Desperate, Tanucci approaches Ferdinand in the dead of night, making a dramatic plea for the King to banish his wife from the council. The King responds that he will take it under advisement, but immediately informs his wife. At the council meeting the next morning a wrathful Charlotte accuses the prime minister of treason against the monarchy. Tanucci fell right into her trap.
A sad and vulnerable young Antoinette finds comfort in a hostile court in one of her few friends, her brother-in-law, COMTE D’ARTOIS. The young man who is a walking red flag proves to be a bad influence, encouraging Antoinette's interest in gambling and partying into the wee hours, which shockingly makes Antoinette's enemies take advantage and cast doubts about Antoinette's fidelity. Just as things look at their worst, King Louis XV dies of smallpox. On his deathbed, the King cruelly banishes Madame du Barry in a last ditch attempt to save his soul, ostracizing the one person at court who could have helped the two children who now occupy one of the most predominant thrones in the world. After a calamity during their coronation, in which hundreds of peasants watching the events unfold are accidentally crushed to death by the nobility's carriages, the couple hopes that this will be the last misfortune to befall their reign. Joseph decides to go to the French court to save his sister's reputation, and succeeds in criticizing his sister into tears and offending the French nobility with his brusque manners. But he does realize that his sister and her husband are having sex incorrectly and manages to give them some drawings so they can figure things out. Joseph also convinces Marie Antoinette to finally exert some influence over her husband by having France get involved in going against England in "their little skirmish with the American colonies."
A revolution shakes Bohemia and Hungary, Habsburg territories, as the peasants had been suffering under their strict noble landowners and had enough. Work stoppages mean food supplies are quickly dwindling, causing peasants to literally drop dead in the streets from malnutrition. In response to the crisis, Theresa issues a "Robot Patent, "which lightens the peasants' financial burdens and reverses a century and a half of abuses by the nobility. But the momentum of the uprisings continue and several thousand unarmed peasants march on Prague. Theresa is forced to send in troops to restore order, which doesn't do much to help growing public resentment toward Joseph. At the same time, Amalia's world turns upside down when her son and heir, Luigi, slips and hits his head on a marble table. The anxiety of whether their son would live brings Amalia and Ferdinand closer together. Luigi eventually recovers, but suffers seizures after the incident, rendering him very dependent on his family, especially his mother. His health issues will shape the course of Italian history.
Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria, the oldest son of Frederick's long-time ally, Albert, dies childless. In one final breath, a succession crisis hits Bavaria. Frederick immediately takes a personal interest in the matter, especially since the Habsburgs have legitimate claims to Bavaria under the same tenents Albert once used to seize The Holy Roman Empire. Joseph practically salivates at the chance to grow The Empire and prove himself as "hero of the commonfolk," but Theresa doesn't want another war, especially considering the relative weakness of their army and the fact that they no longer have alliances with Russia and Saxony. Without alerting Theresa, Joseph moves his troops into lower Bavaria, erroneously assuming that Prussia would be neutral to the conflict. Declaring himself the protector of Bavaria, Frederick (now nicknamed "Old Fritz") invades Bohemia in a "day of terror," officially beginning the war. Joseph reaches out to Marie Antoinette for help from France, but she replies that they're occupied with the American-English conflict for independence that Joseph told them to get involved in, hoisting Joseph by his own petard. Hoping there was still a way to avoid a bloody conflict, Theresa goes to Frederick and offers peace, amusing Frederick and utterly humiliating Joseph, who furiously confronts his mother and offers to abdicate, dramatically saying, “What can I do but to leave everything and run away, perhaps to Italy." Amalia's former lover, Charles, enters into secret negotiations with Prussia to gain the throne of Bavaria once the war is over, in the ultimate revenge against Theresa and Joseph.
After finally figuring out how sex works, Marie Antoinette gives birth to a baby daughter, Marie Therese. Theresa is overcome with joy, thinking that her daughter's position is finally safe. Her son is not so lucky, and Theresa fears for Joseph as Frederick orders the execution of any captured soldiers. Joseph regrets the war as he sees the suffering it inflicts on the common people as starvation hits an already debilitated population, giving it the nickname "The Potato War" because even the soldiers are forced to try and dig up potatoes to feed themselves. The close proximity of refugees becomes a breeding ground for disease. The malaria that spikes in the camps sweeps through Europe, eventually landing in Naples and killing Charlotte's four-year-old son. Voltaire and Alexander both die during the war, devastating Frederick and Theresa in turn. Joseph tries to have Frederick assassinated to end the war, which hilariously fails because Frederick stops the would-be assassin by shaking a finger and saying "no no" at him, which scares the trained killer into running away. But it isn't all smooth sailing on the Prussian side as Frederick's troops similarly fall to plague and starvation, causing many to desert. This leaves Frederick no choice but to call for a retreat, turning the tide of the war in Joseph's favor. After Catherine threatens to send Russian troops to support Prussia, Joseph reluctantly drops his claim to Bavaria and the peace treaty is signed. In a final scene between Theresa and Frederick, Theresa acknowledges that this will likely be the last war these two ever fight against one another and that she'd lost, but Frederick hadn't succeeded in truly defeating her. Frederick can't help but agree, and they reach an unspoken understanding.
In her dying moments, realizing the horrible fates she had forced her children to endure, saying, "I have sacrificed you all" and begs Christina to tell her that she, at least, was happy in her marriage. Theresa confronts the fact that the Habsburg dynasty won't last forever and Prussia's ascendency will continue, glimpsing into the future triumphs and pitfalls of her children and grandchildren. She had sacrificed herself and her family for an illusion. But the idea that anything will last forever is an illusion. At some point, all of the things that are viewed as permanent will be altered by time. The only constant in the world is change, and the change has shifted away from her and toward the ideas her son embraces. She has created a world in which she is irrelevant, and what a blessing that is. Her last words to her family were, "I have always tried to do my best. I trust in the mercy of God."
In the wake of Theresa's death, POPE PIUS VI would not allow her funeral to have the customary pomp of a deceased Catholic monarch, stating that those honors could not be done for a woman. Upon hearing the disrespect shown his long-time enemy, Frederick comes to her defense in the form of a eulogy, writing, "
"After the death of Charles VI, Europe thought that Austria was lost. A woman, however, raised this country again, and maintained its position with firmness. She ruled Europe by the power of her genius; she had no equal amongst the sovereigns of this century. I shed sincere tears on her death... I have waged war against her, but I have never been her enemy."
Words that end the series, a lament at what could have been if society had made space for them both, and a yearning for remaking the world so that this 'what if' is a reality.
Credits:
Created with images by KIFOR PRODUCTION - "The crown on a black background is illuminated by a golden beam. Low-key image of a beautiful queen / royal crown Vintage is filtered. Fantasy of the medieval period. Game of Thrones." • ysbrandcosijn - "Retro baroque fashion woman wearing gold dress. Holding a fan. S" • zef art - "Horror view of Guillotine. Close-up of a guillotine on a dark foggy background." • Horváth Botond - "Famous Hofburg Palace in Vienna" • aterrom - "Château de Versailles" • mRGB - "The Belvedere Palace, Vienna, Austria" • ecstk22 - "Duomo di Parma, Parma, Italy" • robertonencini - "COLORNO, ITALY - NOVEMBER 06, 2016 - The Royal Palace of Colorno, Parma, Emilia Romagna, Italy" • neirfy - "Positano resort, Italy" • LALSSTOCK - "Kostel Panny Marie pred Tynem at the sunrise. Church of the Virgin Mary. Beautiful Old Town Square with the church without people in Romanesque - Gothic style." • nejdetduzen - "The New Palace buildings ib Postdam of Germany" • TTstudio - "Prague - Charles bridge, Czech Republic" • vyha - "Alley in old town Tuscany Italy" • f11photo - "Downtown Siena skyline in Italy" • master1305 - "Young and beautiful woman as Marie Antoinette isolated on dark green background. Retro style, comparison of eras concept. Beautiful female model like classic historical character, old-fashioned."