Theresa Benedicta of Bavaria (Theresiae Benedictae Mariae Barbarae Antoniae Walburgae Nicolinae Felicitatis; 6 December 1725 – 29 March 1743) was a Princess of Bavaria.
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Biography
Theresa Benedicta was the third child of Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria and Holy Roman Emperor. Her mother, Maria Amalia, was an Archduchess of Austria by birth.
Her maternal grandparents were Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Her paternal grandparents were Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, and Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska, the daughter of the King of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, John III Sobieski. Theresa's mother, Archduchess Maria Amalia, was also a first cousin of Empress Maria Theresa.
Her mother gave birth to seven children, only four of whom lived through to adulthood. Theresa Benedicta's siblings included her brother Maximilian III, Elector of Bavaria, and two sisters Maria Antonia, Electress of Saxony, and Maria Anna Josepha, Margravine of Baden-Baden.
Death
Princess Theresa Benedicta died on 29 March 1743 in Frankfurt at age 17 of either smallpox or chicken pox, during her father's reign as Holy Roman Emperor. The funeral oration for Theresa Benedicta was printed immediately after her death in 1743.
Her body was buried in the St. Michael's Church, Munich, Electorate of Bavaria.