How did a woman rise to power, and keep it, in the fiercely male-dominated Habsburg Empire?

From her distrust of the Enlightenment to her religious intolerance, and from family strategy to imperial power, Maria Theresa was a remarkable ruler driven by discipline, faith, dynastic ambition, and political will.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger to discover how Maria Theresa held together a fractured empire, confronted war and court politics, and reshaped Europe.

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Habsburg Women: Matriarchs of Power

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When Women Ruled the Low Countries

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

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