Daughter of Archduke Rainer of Austria, Viceroy of Lombardy, and Princess Maria Francesca of Savoie-Carignan, in 1842 she married her first cousin, Vittorio Emanuele, the Crown Prince and in 1849 King of Sardinia-Piemont.

Adelheid, in tradition of the House of Savoy, was virtuous while the princes were 'gallant'. Soon it became known publicly that her husband would rather 'tumble' with farmers' daughters and did not
change his habits after their marriage.

In thirteen years of marriage Adelheid bore him seven children but, at age thirty-two, died in childbirth. Her husband then married his mistress, Rosa Teresa Vercellana, making her Contessa di Mirafiori e Fontanefredda. While Adelheid was still alive, Rosa Teresa had given birth to two children fathered by Vittorio Emanuele. In 1861, seven years after her death, Vittorio Emanuele became King of the whole of Italy.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas