White relaxing at the beach at a resort like Gran Porto Real Playa del Carmen might seem like the very pinnacle of luxury, your amazing Cancun vacation has nothing on the ten months that Ana Maria Josefa Ramona de Huarte I Muniz spent as the Empress Consort of Mexico, during the country’s extremely brief First Empire in 1822. After the Mexican War for Independence ended in 1821, there were disagreements as to how the new country’s government should be structured. Eventually Agustin de Iturbide, one of the central figures in ending the conflict, was declared Emperor; Ana Maria, his wife, was suddenly royalty.
Ana Maria was born into one of Spain’s richest families, the House of Tagle, and attended school in her home city of Valladolid, one of the most powerful states in the colonially controlled Mexico. She was very beautiful (according to the standards of the time) and was renowned for her excellent grace and manners. She met the young Agustin de Iterbide while they were both in school; he was also from a rich noble family with roots in Spain, and their union was considered a ‘perfect match’. They married in 1805, in a wedding that was one of the highlights of the social season.
In 1822, Agustin was declared the ruler of the newly independent Mexico, and Ana Maria was crowned his consort. By this time, their marriage had been rocky for several years and the two were on the verge of separation, partly due to Agustin’s love of gambling and his womanizing reputation. At this point, eight of their eventual ten children had been born. The couple reconciled for political purposes, and suddenly Ana Maria had seven ladies in waiting, wardrobe consultants, tutors for her children, and a huge palace to live in.
Only ten months later, the empire was in serious trouble. Ana Maria and the children fled the palace for a convent, and then joined the Emperor in fleeing the country when he abdicated in March 1823. they eventually settled in London, and Agustin continued to receive reports from Mexico from his supporters. In 1824, the couple returned to the shores of their once-kingdom, only for Agustin to be arrested and executed; Ana Maria, pregnant with their last child, fled to the United States, and resided in Philadelphia, where she stayed until her death at age 75 in 1861.