Marie Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard

Who was Marie Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard?

Countess Marie Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard, known as Charlotte, was the governess of Maria Theresa of Austria.

Born in Vienna, Marie Karoline came to the imperial court as lady-in-waiting of the future queen consort of Portugal, Maria Anna of Austria, the daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1710, she married Count Christoph Ernst von Fuchs, with whom she had two daughters.

Empress Elisabeth Christine entrusted the Countess with the education and upbringing of her daughter Maria Theresa, the heiress presumptive of the Habsburg dominions, when the girl was born in 1717. Countess Fuchs taught her etiquette and practically raised her. Maria Theresa developed a notably close relationship with Countess Fuchs.

When Maria Theresa succeeded her father as the ruler of Hungary, Bohemia and Austria, she gave Countess Fuchs a castle and made her a chatelaine. When Countess Fuchs died in Vienna, Maria Theresa ordered that she be buried in the Imperial Crypt. Thus, the Countess has the honour of being the only non-Habsburg buried in the Imperial Crypt. The 150th anniversary of her death was celebrated by a special Mass in the Capucin Crypt.