Maria Theresa was unrelated to Emperor Charles VI.
Maria Theresa . She started her 40-year reign when her father , Emperor Charles VI , died in October 1740 . Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and spent his entire reign securing it . Maria Theresa and her husband , Francis I , Holy Roman Emperor , had eleven daughters , including the Queen of France and Navarre , the Queen of Naples and Sicily , the Duchess of Parma , and five sons , including two Holy Roman Emperors , Joseph II and Leopold II .