Eldest daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Upon her father's death in 1740, she inherited the territories of the Habsburg Monarchy, ruling for 40 years as Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Bohemia, among other titles. She was the sole female sovereign to rule the Habsburg lands in her own right, maintaining actual governing power even after her husband, Francis I, became Holy Roman Emperor. Facing attacks from Prussia and other powers in the War of the Austrian Succession, she preserved the vast majority of the Habsburg territories, though she lost Silesia. She attempted to reclaim Silesia during the Seven Years' War, though without success. Meanwhile, she pursued sweeping military, financial, administrative, educational, and judicial reforms, contributing significantly to the centralization and institutional strengthening of the Habsburg Monarchy. She bore 16 children with Francis I, raising future rulers Joseph II and Leopold II, as well as Marie Antoinette.

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