Dowager Empress Anna Maria of Great Oceanus

Crown Princess Anna Maria in her sitting room, 1693.

1710-1725: Empress Anna Maria of Great Oceanus

1725-present: Dowager Empress Anna Maria of Great Oceanus

Mary Catherine, Queen of Poland

Victoria Elizabeth, Princess of Denmark

### Siblings

Maria Anna Victoria, Dauphine of FranceMaximillian II Emmanuel, Elector of Bavaria

Joseph Clemens, Archbishop of Cologne

Violante Beatrice, Grand Princess of Tuscany

## Biography

### Birth

On a chilly spring evening in May of 1674, soon-to-be Anna Maria's mother and father, Electress Henriette and Elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria, were having dinner at Schleissheim Palace, the primary residence of all Bavarian rulers within the house of Wittelsbach. The electress was two weeks from her expected due date, so she had little worries that anything would happen prior to then. She was very wrong. During dinner, she had a horrific contraction, throwing her onto the carpeted floor. She sustained no injury. She was quickly brought up to her bedroom, a physician having been called for. Servants and nobles alike rushed to the electress' bedchamber to view the terrific spectacle. The birth quickly went awry; violent, blood-curdling screams coming from Theresa's mouth and filling nearly the entire palace. The spectacle was best summarized by her eldest brother, Maximilian, who later wrote, "'Twas a horrific sight, a sight that will indeed be engrained in my mind for the rest of my time on earth; it was utterly ineffable." Many fainted, the physician himself having gone out of consciousness once. Blood and sweat was expelled from her body, a scene so graphic that guards had to escort onlookers and those who fainted out of the room. At the 11th hour of that day, Anna Maria was born. Miraculously, her mother survived. The very next day, a mass was held for the miracle of Theresa living through the night. She was indeed two weeks early, but was still a very healthy infant. On May 31, 1674, she was christened Lady Anna Maria of Bavaria within the house of Wittelsbach.

### Childhood

Lady Anna Maria was very quick at learning. At age two, she learned how to change her clothes by herself. At four, she could read and write. At seven, she could play the harpsichord and proficiently. Her parents were astounded at her savant-like qualities, and they disenrolled her from the school she was attending at the time and enrolled her into a noble school for the intellectually gifted. Shockingly, even at this school, she was ahead of her peers. Anna Maria learned Latin, French, and English very quickly, and was proficient at the violin and cello in a matter of months. At eleven, Anna Maria joined in adult conversations with a proficient understanding of the topics discussed, such as politics, literature, and the sciences. She had a small personal library in her chambers, a collection with many novels. At the time, her parents were somewhat unnerved that she could be exposed to information and ideas that would be inapt for her age and status, especially for a young lady, but there was never a time when such a thing happened. Aside from her acute intellect, Anna Maria was still very sweet, endearing, and enthusiastic. Her favorite past-time was to play the harpsichord, something she often did to entertain family members during evening gatherings.

### Adolescence

As Anna Maria reached her teenage years, her attitude changed. She was no longer the sweet girl who would play with dolls and frolick in the garden. She turned more foreboding, more serious. However, this was not a serious change, it was rather small, but it was still apparent. This was dismissed as the regular changes that happen during adolescence, and it indeed was. At the age of thirteen, Anna Maria grew adventurous. She often asked for hunting trips and picnics, sometimes she wrote in her journal that she wished to sail to England and experience the intrigue of London. She wanted to marry a great king or emperor, and experience the world. Luck would happen to catch up with her. Her wish happened to come true.

### Marriage

On a summer's day in 1688, in a move to advance relations and gain respect from the Holy Roman Empire, a letter from the Emperor of Great Oceanus was sent to the Elector of Bavaria requesting for the daughter of the elector, Anna Maria, to marry the emperor's first-born son. Her father informed her of this, and she was utterly fervid. She had been waiting for this moment for years. The elector hastily agreed. After two weeks of being tutored on Oceanian etiquette, Anna Maria was sent off to London to wed Crown Prince William Frederick of Great Oceanus. The wedding was magnificent, Anna Maria walking along the pews in a frilly white gown with a five-foot train. After the ceremony, there was a grand banquet. Lady Anna Maria of Bavaria became Crown Princess Anna Maria of Great Oceanus. She was fourteen years old at the time.

### As the Crown Princess of Great Oceanus

Once Anna Maria arrived at the Imperial Palace of Great Oceanus, she was awestruck at its scale. She wrote it best in her journal, "I have never seen something so grand, so magnificent. Everything is large. The population of the palace is large, the rooms are large, the beds are large, the portions of food are large. It is astounding." Anna Maria quickly fit in with the nobility. She gained many close friends.