Ana María Huarte
Ana María Josefa Ramona Juana Nepomucena Marcelina Huarte y Muñiz (1786–1861) was the first Empress of Mexico. She was born on January 17, 1786, in Valladolid, Michoacán, New Spain, to Isidro Huarte and Ana Manuela Muñiz y Sánchez de Tagle, part of two very wealthy families.
In 1805 she married Agustín de Iturbide, who would become Emperor of Mexico. They had ten children, nine of whom survived to adulthood. Ana María was known for her beauty, grace, and good education. She and Agustín were crowned together as emperor and empress on July 21, 1822, in the Mexico City Cathedral.
When Agustín abdicated on March 19, 1823, the couple went into exile. They lived in Italy and then in Britain. In 1824 Agustín tried to return to Mexico, but he was executed. Ana María was pregnant at the time and later moved with her children to the United States, living in places including New Orleans, Baltimore, Georgetown, and finally Philadelphia.
She received a pension from the Mexican government for some years and even met U.S. President James K. Polk in the White House in 1847 to seek help with it. Ana María donated several family portraits and items to a convent. She outlived several of her children and died on March 21, 1861, in Philadelphia at age 75. She was buried in the Catholic Church of St. John the Evangelist in Philadelphia.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:50 (CET).