Introduction to the sculpture of the royal husband: Franz Stephen, the royal husband, was Francis I of the Holy Roman Empire (1708-1765), also known as "Franz Stephen of Lorraine". The Duke of Lorraine and the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Franz married Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria in 1736 and was elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1745. He never got involved in the management of his wife during his decades as emperor. He devoted most of his energy to scientific research and the collection of art treasures. Most of the early exhibits in Austria's famous Natural History Museum today came from his collection. Franz Stephen also had outstanding talent for financial management, and he managed the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the only directly-administered territory where he could display his talents, to flourish. When he died suddenly of illness at the age of 58, due to his good management, his inheritance not only paid off all the foreign debts of the Austrian country, but also made his heirs the richest men in Europe.