As for the comtesse de Chambord (I discovered she was the sterile one, not her husband apparently):
The most significant event in his early days as pretender was his marriage to Marie Thérèse, daughter of Francis IV of Modena and sister of Francis V, who had just come to the throne....
Rather than turn to a German princess, the royal matchmakers next concentrated on the Lorraine-Habsburg-Este House in Modena. Inevitably much opposition would have developed in Paris to any marriage of a prominent reigning family with an exiled prince. But while great concern would have been felt at the Palais Royale if, for instance, a Romanov princess had exchanged vows with Henri, a marriage with the House of Modena could scarcely be regarded as doing more than uniting the exiled family with a house which to all intents and purposes already recognized the elder branch of the family.
The Duke of Modena apparently expected that his elder daughter, Marie Thérèse, would go into a convent. But however unmarriagable she might have been, the Duchesse d'Angoulême and the Empress of Austria seem to have decided that she should marry the Comte de Chambord. The story that Metternich and Louis Philippe arranged this union, thinking that the rumored sterility of Marie Thérèse would bring an end to the elder Bourbon line, has no foundation, but its later currency well illustrates a frame of mind springing from dynastic rivalry. When asked whether she would be willing to marry Henri, she is supposed to have replied, "With joy!"-words which were reported to Henri, who, starved for joy, seems to have been doubly impressed. Moreover, she was described to Henri, correctly enough, as religious, with the result that he regarded her as the proper choice. Arrangements were soon made, and on 16 Nov 1846 they were married at Bruck-am-Mur in Styria, a marriage described by the Marquis de Belleval as the "prime obstacle to restoration of the monarch." This judgment may be a bit strong, but the fact the Comte de Chambord had no heir certainly had some bearing on his role as pretender. While he always listened politely to his wife, Marie Thérèse could not reciprocate because she was deaf. She was little inclined toward practical affairs, which she was apt to dismiss with religious platitudes, and of no direct political influence upon him. On the other hand, she was so haunted by the guillotine and her hatred of the Orleans that she certainly helped foster the hesitant atmosphere in which the Comte de Chambord was prone to drift. She seems to have feared restoration, its perils, and the demands which would have been made on her as Queen, and to have encouraged the Comte de Paris to be content in exile. She has been called son mauvais génie. In any case, while she was an obedient spouse, she had none of her husband's charm or regal qualities.
There were similarities and differences between the life of the Comte de Chambord and the exiled court at Frohsdorf and at Venice, but one of the unifying features was the presence of the Comtesse. She was always with him. While she was ever in the shadow of her husband, she cast a certain shadow of her own on him and the entourage. Her gloom was well-known. She once said: "The more one is a royalist, the more one should long for my death, since I have no children." And whatever rays of hope did come to her when assured she would be more fortunate in the Tuileries must have been fleeting, for she later commented: "It would be better for everyone if someone would kill me." Somewhat differing descriptions have been given of her appearance and grace, or lack of it. She was tall, had black hair, and her face was definitely deformed at birth, one side appearing a bit smaller than the other. Her voice has been described as "unpleasant," and her timidity was very noticeable to the large number of people whom she had to receive. While altogether lacking in charm, she was dignified in spite of these detractions. Her conduct towards her husband was always correct, and in her way she was loving. Henri never complained of her, and his constancy and courtesy to his wife were notable. But while in a way she was an appropriate companion for him in exile, even a "Henri V en pantoufles," she lent an air of especial sadness to Henri's exile and was definately a major liability to him as the pretender.
- The Comte de Chambord: The Third Republic's Uncompromising King:
It was Ferdinando II who wanted to marry his sister, Maria Carolina Fernanda, to Henri V. But Louis Philippe refused, threatening the king of the Two Sicilies to sever diplomatic relations.
But, for Marie-Therese, everybody is unanimous. She was absolutely sinister, and the worst is that she knew it... The comtesse de Chevigné, one day, hade to make a promenade with Marie-Therese. It was so sad that, overwhrought, she ended up saying out loud to herself (Marie-Therese was deaf too, from a young age... ) : "My God! What a bore!". But for once, Marie-Therese understood. She said :"My poor child! I'm sorry..."
The only woman who had pleased Chambord was Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia whom he had fallen for, he met her in Jüterlock in 1843. The king of Prussia asked to his brother-in-law, the Czar, if he would be okay with the marriage. Nikolai I was delighted, and authorized her niece's conversion to Catholicism. But the duchesse d'Angoulême was opposed to this alliance. For the proud princess, Romanov were a too recent dynasty, definitively not prestigious enough for a future Queen of France... The talks between Henry and Nikolai were stopped. Anyway, Elizabeth died very young, but she most probably would have had time enough to give a child (and maybe a son?) to Henri... And even the Pope (Gregory XVI) agreed to it, the czar's only condition was that the conversion to Catholicism take place after the wedding, which Henri agreed to (unlike when Anna Pavlovna had been proposed to his father, Louis XVIII had insisted on before the wedding, and the Romanovs refused, so the match was dropped). However, Madame Royal was dead set against this marriage and did everything to make the negotiations fail. What a pity...
But a Russian queen of France always fascinates me.