Isabella Clara of Austria | |
---|---|
Duchess consort of Mantua and Montferrat | |
Tenure | 7 November 1649 – 14 August 1665 |
Born | Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empire | 12 August 1629
Died | 24 February 1685 Mantua, Duchy of Mantua | (aged 55)
Spouse | Charles II, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat |
Issue | Ferdinand Charles, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat |
Father | Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria and Count of Tyrol |
Mother | Claudia de' Medici |
Isabella Clara of Austria (12 August 1629 – 24 February 1685) was a Duchess consort of Mantua, Montferrat, Nevers (until 1659), Mayenne (until 1654) and Rethel (until 1659) by marriage to Charles II, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat.
From 1665 to 1671, she was Regent of the Duchies of Mantua and Montferrat on behalf of her minor son. Accused of marrying her lover without Imperial consent, she was forced to take the veil as a nun and imprisoned at the Ursuline monastery of Mantua until her death.