Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria

Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie was born 22 April 1868, the last child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth. While her older siblings were forced into dynastic marriages, Valerie — with her mother's backing — chose differently. On 31 July 1890 she married Archduke Franz Salvator in a union built on love and desire, not empire. The decision opened a rift with her brothers and sisters that never fully closed. She died 6 September 1924.