Family relations: Oldest child of emperor Charles VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick -Wolfenbuttel. On his death on 20 October 1740, she became empress, although she had to fight 8 years in the War of the Austrian Succession to secure her inhertance, in which she succeeded only partially (Frederic II of Prussia succesfully grabbed Silesia from her); her sister Maria Anna became governess of the Southern Netherlands. With her husband, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, prince of Lorraine, she had eleven daughters, including the Queen of France, the Queen of Naples and Sicily, the Duchess of Parma, and five sons, including two Holy Roman Emperors, Joseph II and Leopold II.