Maria Amalia was born on 22 October 1701[1] in the Hofburg in Vienna eleven weeks after the death of her infant brother Leopold Joseph, her parents' only son.

Her mother, Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was unable to conceive more children after her, supposedly because her father had contracted syphilis and passed it onto his wife, rendering her infertile.

However, the prince's father, King Victor Amadeus II did not agree to the plan, and the suggested groom died of smallpox in 1715.

In 1717, Maria Amalia met her future spouse, Charles Albert, Hereditary Prince of Bavaria, when he visited Vienna on his way to participate in the Siege of Belgrade.

Charles Albert used his time in the city become acquainted with the imperial family, wishing to marry into the House of Habsburg for dynastic and economic reasons.

After she had recognised the Pragmatic Sanction and effectively renounced her right to the throne, Maria Amalia married Charles Albert on 5 October 1722 in Vienna.

In 1754, she started the first modern hospital in the city, managed by nuns of the Order of Saint Elisabeth who she had invited to found a convent.

'The Empress, [...] the widow of Charles VII, whose body is still exposed to public view, has warm feet though she is dead', a priest told him, suggesting that he see the 'wonder' for himself.