Left: Leopold (1747-1792) and right: Joseph (1741-1790). Both became emperors, Joseph after his father's death (co-ruled with his mother) and Leopold after Joseph's death.
Joseph became MA's closest brother when she became a queen. He was the only one she received two visits from at Versailles. He's said to have helped Louis XVI and his wife to overcome their marital problems and to become fully husband and wife. Thanks to his advice, Louis XVI and MA had their first child a few months after his departure.
Ferdinand-Karl (1754-1806)
Maximilien (1756-1801). He visited Versailles and his sister but disappointed many people who called him 'Archibête' (pun pen, 'so stupid'). But as kids they got along a lot, and they were games comrades.
Both Leopold and Ferdinand had many children. Poor Joseph, he was deeply in love with his first wife, Isabelle. Unfortunately for him, she respected him but wasn't in love with him. She seemed to have felt a stronger affection for his sister Marie-Christine, on the other hand. When she died, he was terribly affected. He didn't succeed in loving his second wife who died a sad princess. His two daughters, from his first wife, died while they were still children. These losses really cost him a lot emotionally. So he really was a sensitive man; in the end, he never tried to remarry since marriage failed him twice. A rumour says, however, that he had been interested in Marie-Elisabeth, Louis XVI's young sister. Had such a surprising marriage happened, the princess would have probably known a happier ending.
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