Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (Maria Theresia Josefa Johanna; 1 November 1773 – 29 March 1832) was born an archduchess of Austria-Este and a princess of Modena. She was later queen of Sardinia as wife of Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia.


She was born at the Royal Palace of Milan, a daughter of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, governor of Milan and son of Empress Maria Theresa after whom she was named. Her mother was Maria Beatrice d'Este, heir to the Duchy of Modena.


Maria Theresa married on 25 April 1789 at the age of 15 with the 29-year-old Victor Emmanuel, Duke of Aosta future King Victor Emmanuel I. Their relationship was a happy one. She was a good friend of Marie Clotilde of France, the childless consort of Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont. She was also close to the Duchess of Chablais. At the time of her marriage, her spouse was the Duke of Aosta as such she was styled as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Aosta till she became queen. The couple had six daughters and one son, who died young. Upon the invasion of Savoy by Napoleon in 1798, she left with her family first to Tuscany and then to Sardinia.


Maria Theresa survived Victor Emmanuel by eight years. She was accused of having tried to convince her childless brother-in-law Charles Felix to assign Francis IV, duke of Modena (her brother and the husband of her eldest daughter Maria Beatrice), as heir to the throne. Due to the hostility directed toward her, she was not allowed to return to Turin until 1831. She was buried in the Basilica of Superga.


Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain (María Antonia Fernanda; 17 November 1729 – 19 September 1785) was a Queen consort of Sardinia by marriage to Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia. She was the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese. She was the mother of the last three mainline Kings of Sardinia.


She was born at the Royal Alcázar of Seville in Seville and was the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain and of his second wife Elisabeth Farnese. She was born in Seville during the signing of the Treaty of Seville which ended the Anglo-Spanish War. She spent her infancy in the city of her birth before moving to Madrid in 1733. She was baptised with the names "María Antonia" along with "Fernanda" in honour of her half brother, then the heir to the throne. Variations in her name range from "Antonia Fernanda" and "Antonietta Ferdinanda". As a daughter of the King of Spain, she held the title of Infanta of Spain and style of Royal Highness.


In a double marriage plan she would marry Louis, Dauphin of France, and her brother, Infante Philip, would marry the Dauphin's sister Louise Élisabeth of France. Her mother consented to the latter union but insisted on waiting for Maria Antonia Ferdinanda to reach a more mature age. The Infanta's hand was also sought by the Electoral Prince of Saxony. The marriage between Infante Philip and Louise Élisabeth occurred in 1739 and eventually her older sister Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela married the Dauphin in 1745. However, upon the death of Maria Teresa Rafaela in 1746 Ferdinand VI tried to engage Maria Antonia Fernandina to the Dauphin but the idea was snubbed by Louis XV as "incest". Instead he chose Maria Josepha of Saxony.


At the death of her father-in-law Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia in 1773, her husband succeeded him as Victor Amadeus III. She was the first queen of Sardinia in over thirty years since the death of Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine in 1741. Her oldest son Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont married Marie Clotilde of France, sister of Louis XVI in 1775. Marie Clotilde and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda would become very close. Queen Maria Antonia Ferdinanda died in September 1785 at the Castle of Moncalieri. She was buried at the Royal Basilica of Superga. Her husband outlived her by eleven years.


Christine of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg (Christine Henriette; 21 November 1717 – 1 September 1778) was a princess of the German dynasty of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg. She was the Princess of Carignan by marriage and mother of the "princesse de Lamballe" and of Victor Amadeus II, Prince of Carignan.


"Christine" Henriette was born in Rotenburg the youngest of the ten children of the Landgrave Ernst Leopold I of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg and his consort Princess Eleonore Anna Maria von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. Her older sister Polyxena was married in 1730 to the future Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia and had issue. Another sister, Caroline was the wife of the French Prime Minister, Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon until her death in 1741.


After Polyxena's marriage, Christine became engaged to Louis Victor, Prince of Carignan, the eldest surviving child of Victor Amadeus, Prince of Carignan and his wife Maria Vittoria Francesca of Savoy. The Carignans were a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, would inherit from them the kingship of Sardinia, and would be declared kings of Italy from 1861.


Christine married Louis Victor on 4 May 1740 at the age of 22. The next year her husband succeeded to the title "Prince de Carignan", the "seigneury" of Carignan having belonged to the Savoys since 1418. The fact that it was part of Piedmont, only twenty kilometers south of Turin, meant that it could be a "princedom" for the cadet line in name only, being endowed neither with independence nor revenues of substance.


Christine's second child, born at the Palazzo Carignano, was named Victor Amadeus and was the great-grandfather of the future Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. Her fifth daughter was her most famous; Louise, princesse de Lamballe, the tragic best friend of Marie Antoinette.


Christine died at the Palazzo Carignano in Turin on the night of 31 August – 1 September 1778, and was followed less than three months later by her husband. Buried firstly at Turin Cathedral, she was moved in 1835 to Turin's Basilica of Superga. At her death the "Gazette de France" published a small epitaph for her in honour of her daughter Madame de Lamballe:


"Tuesday, the 31st of last month, princesse Christine Henriette de Hesse Rheinfels, wife of Louis Victor Amédée de Savoie, Prince de Carignan, died in this city [Turin], after a lingering and painful illness. She was born the 24th November, 1717".


Louise of Savoy (28 December 1461 – 24 July 1503) was a member of the French royal family, who gave up a life of privilege and comfort to become a Poor Clare nun. She has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.


Louise was born on 28 December 1461, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, to the Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy, and his wife, Yolande of Valois, the sister of King Louis XI of France. Through her mother, Louise was a collateral descendant of the Franciscan saint, Elizabeth of Hungary. She was born the fifth of their ten children. Her father was a very pious ruler who gave much attention to works of charity in his duchy. He suffered from epilepsy, which, added to his retiring nature, led him to leave the mechanisms of government in the hands of his wife. He himself was beatified in 1677.


Louise showed an inclination to the spiritual life at a very young age. While still a child, she was found to be fasting on only bread and water on the Vigil of any major feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Despite the active court life around her, she was drawn to prayer and solitude. Yet she was marked by a spirit of obedience, and when her mother insisted that she dress well in keeping with her station, she would obey. She would wear a hairshirt under her lovely garments, though.


This life of happiness soon ended, though, as her husband, the Prince, died when she was 27 years of age. As she had no children, the young widow then determined to follow her calling as a nun, refusing many offers of marriage. She used her vast wealth to meet many needs of the poor and entered the monastery of the Poor Clare nuns in Orbe, now part of modern Switzerland.


In the cloister, she showed herself to be a model of humility and obedience, preserving nothing of her royal origins. Louise died at the age of forty-two. She was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839. Her feast is observed by the Poor Clares on the date of her death.


Maria Vittoria of Savoy (Maria Vittoria Francesca; 9 February 1690 – 8 July 1766) was a legitimated daughter of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, first king of the House of Savoy. Married to the head of a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, she is an ancestor of the kings of Sardinia and of the Savoy kings of Italy.


Maria Vittoria Francesca di Savoia was the child of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia and his "maîtresse-en-titre", Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes. Born in Turin on 9 February 1690 while her father was reigning Duke of Savoy, her parents' affair had begun in early 1689. Daughter of a French duke of distinguished ancestry and wife of a prominent Savoyard nobleman, initially she sought to avoid becoming a mistress of Victor Amadeus, then reigning Duke of Savoy. But ambition prompted her husband's family and even the Duke's wife, Anne Marie d'Orléans, to encourage the liaison.


Her mother's popularity made her unpopular at the Savoyard court. Maria Vittoria's father, jealous and obsessed with Jeanne Baptiste, eventually had her shut up from view of the court. Jeanne Baptiste decided to flee Savoy in 1700 and sought refuge in France from Louis XIV.


When her mother fled Savoy in 1700, Maria Vittoria and her brother, Vittorio Francesco di Savoia, remained in the duchy under the care of their father.


Her father legitimated Maria Vittoria and her brother Vittorio Francesco, making him the Marchese di Susa (he died childless in 1762, aged 68) and granting her the feminine version of that title, "Marchesa di Susa".


In 1713 Victor Emmanuel acquired royal dignity, becoming King of Sicily (although he would be compelled to exchange that realm for Sardinia by the European Powers in 1720, while retaining the title of king). Betrothed in mid-1714 in an arrangement which imitated Louis XIV's practice of marrying his legitimated offspring to his royal kinsmen, the "princes du sang", Maria Vittoria married Victor Amadeus of Savoy, Prince of Carignan at the Castle of Moncalieri on 7 November, aged 23. Her father gave her husband an annual income of 400,000 livres, partly to assuage injury to the princely dignity of the Carignans for acquiescing to a marital alliance with a lady born out of wedlock.


Her father was fond of Prince Victor Amadeus but in 1717, her husband was found to be deeply in debt and lost the King's favour. As a result, Maria Vittoria's husband fled to France in July 1718 during the Regency of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, travelling as the "Conte di Bosco". Soon after, Maria Vittoria followed.


The couple settled in Paris at the court of the infant Louis XV, who lived at the Tuileries Palace. Her husband was created "Intendant des Ménus Plaisirs" – a sort of Master of Ceremonies by the Regent. The couple lived at the "Hôtel de Soissons", which they claimed in right of the Savoy-Soissons inheritance which had been confiscated when Savoy became an enemy of France under Louis XIV during the War of the Spanish Succession. Maria Vittoria and her husband led a scandalous life at the "Hôtel de Soissons", turning it into "one of the most dangerous for gambling in the capital".


Maria Vittoria eventually developed a close relationship with Cardinal Fleury, "She pretends to be devout and makes money out of the transactions of the court through the Cardinal, with whom she is on good terms." She also became an intimate of Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, Louis XV's prime minister after the death of Phillipe d'Orléans.


Her husband's position and their connections at the French court were important to their circumstances, as Prince Victor Amadeus proceeded to incur massive debts in France, adding to those already contracted in Savoy.


Maria Vittoria is alleged to have intrigued with the Duke of Bourbon, reporting all to her father back in Savoy, effectively acting as a spy. She also reported attempts of Queen Marie Leszczyńska to influence Louis XV politically – which involved the Duke of Bourbon's trying to dispose of Fleury, a move which ended very badly for the duke. However, Maria Vittoria is alleged to have remained loyal to Fleury: When the Duke of Bourbon suggested, via an intermediary, that if she could mend the relationship between himself and the Cardinal her husband's huge debts in both France and Savoy would be settled and an income of half a million livres would be assured her, she is said to have indignantly refused.


The Queen is said to have sought Maria Vittoria's advice as to how to reconcile with the King when he took offence at her attempts to interfere in his relations with Fleury. She advised the queen to henceforth discontinue all involvement in politics and act only as a role model for the consort of the Most Christian King of France, and advise queen Marie followed. Nonetheless, Maria Vittoria never became very intimate with the Queen; in 1726 she and Fleury speculated about who would replace Marie if she should die in childbirth.


Maria Vittoria saw her son marry Landgravine Christine of Hesse-Rotenburg, whose sister Caroline of Hesse had married the disgraced Duke of Bourbon in 1728, in 1740.


Her husband died at the Hôtel de Soissons in April 1740 heavily in debt; she lived quietly as a widow but successfully managed to marry her only surviving daughter, Princess Anna Teresa of Savoy-Carignan, to the widowed Charles de Rohan, Prince of Soubise. Anna Teresa had one child; Victoire de Rohan, who would become the official governess of Louis XVI's daughter, Marie Thérèse of France.


In 1763 Leopold Mozart wrote in a letter that "today my little girl was given a small, transparent snuff-box, inlaid with gold, from the Princess Carignan, and Wolfgang a pocket writing case in silver, with silver pens with which to write his compositions; it is so small and exquisitely worked that it is impossible to describe it".


Maria Vittoria of Savoy-Carignan died in Paris on 8 July 1766 aged 76. She was the paternal grandmother of the "Princesse de Lamballe", tragic friend of Marie Antoinette.


Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy (Maria Francesca Anna Romana; 26 December 1914 – 7 December 2001) was the youngest daughter of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Elena of Montenegro. She was a sister of Umberto II of Italy and of Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria.


She was born in Rome as the fifth and youngest child of her parents. She had three elder sisters, Yolanda, Giovanna, Mafalda, and a brother, Umberto. In her birthplace, on 23 January 1939, Maria married Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma (5 December 1899 - 4 December 1967), a younger son of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. Her husband was a brother of Zita, Empress of Austria, among many others.


The couple moved to Cannes, where all four of their children were born. Maria was interned with her husband and two elder children by the Nazis during World War II. After the war, they lived in Italy for a while, then returned to France. She took up permanent residence in Mandelieu, near Cannes, after her husband's death.


Maria Beatrice of Savoy (Maria Beatrice Vittoria Giuseppina; 6 December 1792 – 15 September 1840) was a Princess of Savoy and Duchess of Modena by marriage.


She was the eldest daughter of Victor Emmanuel, Duke of Aosta and his wife Maria Teresa of Austria-Este. Her father became King of Sardinia unexpectedly in 1802 when Charles Emmanuel IV abdicated.


Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este. Ferdinand was the third son of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Austria. Maria Beatrice was the eldest daughter of Ercole III d'Este and Maria Theresa, Princess of Carrara.


In December 1798, Maria Beatrice left Turin with her parents and uncles to escape the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. They fled to Parma, then Florence, and finally settled at Sardinia, the last dominion held by Kingdom of Sardinia. Maria Beatrice spent most of her time at Cagliari in the following thirteen years.


On 20 June 1812, Maria Beatrice married her maternal uncle Francis, Archduke of Austria-Este; due to their close relation, a special dispensation was received for their marriage from Pope Pius VII. Maria Beatrice's husband became Francis IV, Duke of Modena, Reggio, and Mirandola on 14 July 1814, thereby elevating Maria Beatrice to the rank of Duchess of Modena. The marriage beget four children:


The couple left Sardinia on 15 July 1813 for Zakynthos Island, and then sailed to Trieste off the east shore of Adriatic Sea, finally reaching Vienna by land. On the invasion of Joachim Murat during The Hundred Days, they fled Modena until 15 May 1815.


On the outbreak of revolution, Maria Beatrice had to flee Modena again with her family on 5 February 1831, but with Austrian military assistance the Ducal family was able to return within a year.


Maria Beatrice died of a heart condition on 15 September 1840 at Castello del Catajo. Her remains were kept in the Chiesa di San Vincenzo in Modena. She was a Lady of the Austrian Order of the Starry Cross.


Through her father, she inherited the Jacobite claim to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but like other non-Stuart pretenders, she never asserted her claim. Had she gained the throne she would have been "Mary III & II".


Maria Letizia Bonaparte (Marie Laetitia Eugénie Catherine Adélaïde; 20 November 1866 – 25 October 1926) was one of three children born to Prince Napoléon and his wife Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. In 1888 she married Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, the former king of Spain and her uncle. Maria Letizia became the Duchess of Aosta, as Amadeus was known before and after his kingship as Duke of Aosta. Their marriage was instrumental in almost reviving French hopes of reinstating the Bonaparte dynasty into a position of power, as seen in the days of Napoleon III.


Maria Letizia's father Napoléon Joseph was a nephew of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte through his brother Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. This then made Maria Letizia a great-niece of Emperor Napoleon. Her mother Maria Clotilde was a daughter of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. Through this connection, Maria Letizia was a niece of King Umberto I of Italy and Queen Maria Pia of Portugal.


Maria Letizia was born in the Palais Royal in Paris on 20 November 1866, during the last few years of the Second French Empire. She grew up living between Paris, Rome and elsewhere in Italy with her two brothers Napoléon Victor and Louis. After the fall of the French Empire in 1870, their family resided in a beautiful estate near Lake Geneva.


The marriage was also unpopular with both the French and the Italians; the latter in particular felt that the daughter of their king had been sacrificed to an unpopular member of the House of Bonaparte and consequently regarded it as a "mésalliance". For France's part, Napoléon Joseph was ill-regarded and had been known to carry on a number of affairs both before and during his marriage. Their official reception into Paris on 4 February was greeted very coldly by Parisians, not out of disrespect for a daughter of the king of Sardinia, but instead out of dislike for her new husband. Indeed, all her life public sympathy tended to lean in her favour; she was fondly regarded as retiring, charitable, pious, and trapped in an unhappy marriage.


After Maria Clotilde's father Victor Emmanuel died in 1878, she returned to Turin, Italy without her husband. During this period, Maria Letizia mostly resided with her mother in the Castle of Moncalieri, but her two brothers stayed mainly with their father. It was in Italy that their mother withdrew herself from society to dedicate herself to religion and various charities. As a result of her mother's religious devotion, Maria Letizia was raised in a convent-like atmosphere.


By her late teens, Maria Letizia was considered by some contemporaries to be beautiful and to be in appearance a "real Bonaparte". She was said to have resembled some of the sisters of Napoleon Bonaparte, who were considered quite beautiful in their day.


In Florence, Maria Letizia met and almost married her cousin Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy. A change of plans occurred however, and the marriage never took place. Emanuele later married Princess Hélène of Orléans instead. In 1886, a rumour circulated that Maria Letizia was going to marry her cousin Prince Roland Bonaparte. He was thirty years old and recently widowed. Nothing ever came of these rumors however.


It was in Moncalieri that she met Emanuele's father Amadeus, Duke of Aosta (sometimes referred to as Amadeo). He was her maternal uncle and was formerly the elected king of Spain for a brief period of three years (1870–1873).


Maria Letizia was considered very charming, and Amadeus was very dependent on her society when he visited Italy. In 1888, she agreed to marry him. One source attributes the marriage to the fact that Amadeus felt great love for his niece, but states that Maria Letizia's decision was simply a "strong desire for independence on the part of the Princess because of the heaviness of the maternal yoke". In preparation for the marriage, she received a great number of notable gifts from personages such as Empress Eugenie, the widowed wife of Napoleon III, and Amadeus' three sons.


Eugenie sent her some "great and illustrious" family jewels, while the boys gave her a necklace with seven rows of pearls that was valued at sixty-thousand dollars. The couple planned to marry in Turin with the hopes of turning the city into a "brilliant centre of attraction in Italy".


The announcement of their marriage caused a great scandal in the Italian court, as he was not only twenty-two years older, but was also her mother's brother. Nevertheless, later that year the necessary papal dispensation was obtained, giving them permission to marry. Although the Pope gave them permission, the consanguinity of their marriage, along with those of other royal houses led Pope Leo XIII to declare in 1902 that no more dispensations would be granted for such marriages.


They wedded that same year, on 11 September 1888 at the Royal Palace of Turin in Turin, Italy. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Gaetano Alimonda, who had gone to Rome to obtain their dispensation. Their wedding was attended by many members of the houses of Bonaparte and Savoy, including Queen Maria Pia of Portugal, who was Amadeus' sister and Maria Letizia's maternal aunt. Maria Letizia was Amadeus' second wife, as his first spouse Maria Vittoria del Pozzo della Cisterna had died in 1876. Due to the large age difference, Maria Letizia was only three years older than Amadeus' eldest child.


It was the first marriage of a Bonaparte to a member of a reigning house of Europe since 1859. As the first major event since the fall of the Second French Republic, the marriage attracted considerable press attention to the Bonapartes' marriage prospects and the potential impact on the establishment of another government.


One article stated that at the time of their marriage, a Bonaparte would have had an easy chance of obtaining at least two million votes if a plebiscite were to occur. This likelihood of a Bonaparte resurgence was most likely because there was a certain nostalgia among the French for the days of Maria Letizia's great uncle Napoleon I and even for the more recent rule of her uncle Napoleon III.


The couple lived in Turin and had one son, Prince Umberto, Count of Salemi (1889–1918), who died of the Spanish flu during World War I. Maria Letizia was widowed after less than two years of marriage when Amadeus died on 18 January 1890.


Up to 1902, Umberto and his mother were rarely seen at the Italian court. No images of Umberto were ever distributed, unlike other members of the Italian royal family. His absence sparked many rumors, some implying that he was "mentally afflicted" or "misshapen". In later years, he would appear more in the press, disproving all of these theories.


Amadeus's first wife had been a wealthy woman; upon her death, she left her vast fortune to him and their three sons. This meant that any wealth Amadeus had accumulated went to his first three children, leaving little to nothing upon his death for Maria Letizia and their son Umberto. They thus remained dependent upon the allowance they received from the Italian crown. This dependency would cause problems later, as Umberto often angered his cousin Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, the head of the House of Savoy. After Umberto committed various misdemeanors and pranks in 1911, he was imprisoned in Moncalieri Castle.


He had recently been dismissed from the naval academy in Livorno for what was apparently incorrigible behavior and amorous attentions to some young women in the town. Maria Letizia, worried over what she considered her son's harsh sentence, wrote to Queen Elena and asked her to intercede for her son. The King remained adamant, however, and only reduced the sentence slightly due to the recent death of his aunt Princess Maria Clotilde, Maria Letizia's mother.


During her widowhood, Maria Letizia maintained an open and scandalous relationship with a military man twenty years her junior, who later wed the opera singer Vina Bovy. Upon Maria Letizia's death on 25 October 1926, he was named in her will as her sole heir.


Charlotte of Savoy (c. 1441/3 – 1 December 1483) was queen of France as the second spouse of Louis XI. She served as regent during the king's absence in 1465, and was a member of the royal regency council during her son's minority in 1483.


She was a daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne of Cyprus. Her maternal grandparents were Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte de Bourbon-La Marche. Her maternal grandmother, for whom she was probably named, was a daughter of John I, Count of La Marche, and Catherine de Vendôme. She was one of 19 children, 14 of whom survived infancy.


On 11 March 1443, when Charlotte was just over a year old, she was betrothed to Frederick of Saxony (28 August 1439- 23 December 1451), eldest son of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony. For reasons unknown, the betrothal was annulled. Less than eight years later on 14 February 1451, Charlotte married Louis, Dauphin of France (future Louis XI), eldest son of Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou. The bride was nine years old and the groom twenty-seven. The marriage, which had taken place without the consent of the French king, was Louis' second; his first spouse, Margaret of Scotland, had died childless in 1445. Upon her marriage, Charlotte became Dauphine of France.


Louis reportedly neglected her. When the news upon his succession to the throne of France reached the couple at the Burgundian court, he immediately abandoned her in Burgundy to secure his inheritance, leaving her dependent upon Isabella of Bourbon to borrow the carts and entourage necessary to travel to France to join him.


On 22 July 1461, Charlotte became Queen of France. The following year, she became seriously ill and was close to death by August 1462. Although she recovered, her health was weakened.


Charlotte was regarded as virtuous. A contemporary noted that "while she was an excellent Princess in other respects, she was not a person in whom a man could take any great delight"; However, after the birth of her last child in 1472, Louis swore that he would no longer be unfaithful, and according to the chronicler Phillip de Commynes, he kept this vow.


Charlotte served as regent in September 1465.


Charlotte was widowed on August 30, 1483, upon which Louis XI was succeeded by their son Charles VIII, who was still a minor.


Louis XI did not make Charlotte regent if his son should succeed him while still a minor; he did in fact not formally appoint a regent at all, but he did leave instructions for a royal council to govern during such a minority, in which Charlotte, alongside Duke Jean de Bourbon II and their two sons-in-law Louis d'Orleans (married to their daughter Jeanne) and Peter II, Duke of Bourbon (married to their daughter Anne), were made members. In practice, her daughter Anne took control over France as regent during the minority of Charles.


Charlotte died on 1 December 1483 in Amboise, just a few months after her spouse's death. She is buried with him in the Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica in Cléry-Saint-André (Loiret) in the arrondissement of Orléans.


Charlotte became the mother of eight children, but only three survived infancy. These were Charles VIII, who became king of France, Anne, who acted as regent of France for Charles, and Joan, who became queen of France as the spouse of Louis XII.


Upon the death of her daughter, Anne, Charlotte's line became extinct; her granddaughter, Suzanne having died in 1521 without surviving issue.


Dona Maria Pia (16 October 1847 – 5 July 1911) was a Portuguese Queen consort, spouse of King Luís I of Portugal. She was a member of the House of Savoy. On the day of her baptism, Pope Pius IX, her godfather, gave her a Golden Rose. Maria Pia was married to Luís on the 6 October 1862 in Lisbon. She was the grand mistress of the Order of Saint Isabel.


Maria Pia was the daughter of Victor Emmanuel II, the first King of Italy, by his wife Adelaide of Austria. Her sister Maria Clotilde was the "princesse Napoléon" as wife of Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, and her brothers were King Umberto I of Italy and King Amadeo of Spain


Maria Pia married King Luís I of Portugal on 6 October 1862 at the age of 14 in the São Domingos Church in Lisbon, therefore she instantly became Queen consort of Portugal.


One year after the wedding, Maria Pia gave birth to her first son and heir, Carlos, Duke of Braganza. In 1865 she had another son, Afonso, Duke of Porto.


As Queen, Maria Pia was considered by some as extravagant, but far more for her many charitable works in aid of the Portuguese people. She was known by the Portuguese people as an "angel of charity" and "mother of the poor" for her compassion and work on social causes. At a masquerade ball in 1865, she changed her costume three times. When the Portuguese parliament discussed her expenses, she replied saying "if you want a Queen, you have to pay for her". As Queen, she was largely responsible for the interiors of the Ajuda Royal Palace in Lisbon, still used to this day for banquets during state visits by foreign heads of state.


Maria Pia did not involve herself in politics, but at a conflict with João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha in 1870, she stated: "If I were the king, I would have you shot!"


King Luís died on 19 October 1889 and Maria Pia became queen dowager. She remained very active and continued with her social projects while holding a dominating position at court. She served as regent during the absence of the king and queen abroad.


The queen dowager was devastated after the assassination of her son King Carlos I of Portugal and grandson Crown Prince Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza, on 1 February 1908 on the Praça do Comércio in Lisbon. During her last years in Portugal, she withdrew from the public eye. She was deeply saddened after the military coup that deposed her remaining grandson, King Manuel II of Portugal by the 5 October 1910 Revolution.


Due to the 1910 coup that deposed Maria Pia’s grandson, Manuel II, and established the republic in Portugal, the whole Portuguese royal family was exiled. King Manuel and Queen Amelie went to England, while Maria Pia and Infante Afonso went to her native Italy, where she died on the 5th of July of the very next year in Stupinigi, and was interred in the Basilica of Superga.


Margherita, Dowager Archduchess of Austria-Este ("née" Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta; born 7 April 1930) is the first-born child of the late Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, and Princess Anne d'Orléans. Margherita is the rightful heir to the British crown, if we follow the royal lineage from James I of England.


The couple took up residence in Paris, where Robert was a bank clerk. They had five children:


Princess Mafalda of Savoy (19 November 1902 – 27 August 1944) was the second daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and his wife Elena of Montenegro. The future King Umberto II of Italy was her younger brother.


Mafalda was born in Rome. In childhood she was close to her mother, from whom she inherited a love for music and the arts. During World War I, she accompanied her mother on her visits to Italian military hospitals.


On 23 September 1925, at Racconigi Castle, Mafalda married Prince Philipp of Hesse, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and grandson of German Emperor Frederick III. Prince Philipp and his brother Christoph were members of the National Socialist (Nazi) party.


Prince Philipp's marriage to Princess Mafalda put him in position to act as intermediary between the National Socialist government in Germany and the Fascist government in Italy. On the evening of the 26 March 1935 she was present at an informal diplomatic dinner given by Adolf Hitler in the Reich President's House in Berlin. She sat next to Anthony Eden.


However, during World War II, Adolf Hitler believed Princess Mafalda was working against the war effort; he called her the "blackest carrion in the Italian royal house". So did Hitler's Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, who called her "the biggest bitch "(grösste Rabenaas)" in the entire Italian royal house".


Early in September 1943, Princess Mafalda travelled to Bulgaria to attend the funeral of her brother-in-law, King Boris III. While there, she was informed of Italy's surrender to the Allied Powers, that her husband was being held under house arrest in Bavaria, and that her children had been given sanctuary in the Vatican. The Gestapo ordered her arrest, and on 23 September she received a telephone call from Hauptsturmführer Karl Hass at the German High Command, who told her that he had an important message from her husband. On her arrival at the German embassy, Mafalda was arrested, ostensibly for subversive activities. Princess Mafalda was transported to Munich for questioning, then to Berlin, and finally to Buchenwald concentration camp.


On 24 August 1944, the Allies bombed an ammunition factory inside Buchenwald. Some four hundred prisoners were killed and Princess Mafalda was seriously wounded: she had been housed in a unit adjacent to the bombed factory, and when the attack occurred she was buried up to her neck in debris and suffered severe burns to her arm. The conditions of the labour camp caused her arm to become infected as a result, and the medical staff at the facility amputated it; she bled profusely during the operation and never regained consciousness. She died during the night of 26–27 August 1944; her body was reburied after the war at Kronberg Castle in Hesse.


In 1997, the Italian government honored Princess Mafalda with her image on a postal stamp. "Mafaldine" ("little Mafaldas"), a variety of flat pasta, are named after her.


Princess Mafalda married Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse on 23 September 1925 (civilly & religiously) at Racconigi Castle near Turin.


Maria Cristina of Savoy (Maria Cristina Carlotta Giuseppa Gaetana Efisia; 14 November 1812 – 21 January 1836) was the first Queen consort of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. She died as a result of childbirth. She is venerated in the Catholic Church, having been beatified as Blessed by Pope Francis.


Maria Cristina was the youngest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia and Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este.


Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este. Ferdinand was the fourteenth child and third son born to Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Theresa of Austria. Maria Beatrice was the eldest daughter of Ercole III d'Este and Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara.


On 21 November 1832, Maria Cristina married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. The bride was twenty years old and the groom twenty-two.


Maria Cristina was described as beautiful but also timid and shy: modest and reserved, she was never comfortable at the royal court. Her relationship to Ferdinand was not happy, and he had little patience for her nervous modesty.


She died at the age of 23, after having given birth 5 days before to her only child, Francis II of the Two Sicilies.


On 10 July 1872 she was declared to be a Servant of God, on 6 May 1937 a Venerable Servant of God, and on 3 May 2013 Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession, a further stage on her process to beatification. Her beatification took place on 25 January 2014 at the Basilica of Santa Chiara (Naples), where she is buried, making her Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy.


Giovanna of Italy (, "Ioanna Savoiska", ) (13 November 1907 – 26 February 2000) was an Italian princess of the House of Savoy who later became the Tsaritsa of Bulgaria by marriage to Boris III of Bulgaria.


Giovanna was born in Rome, the third daughter and fourth child of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Queen Elena, former Princess of Montenegro. Upon her Roman Catholic christening, she was given the names Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria. Her older brother was the future Italian king Umberto II of Italy.


In the years prior to World War II, Tsaritsa Ioanna became heavily involved in charities, including the financing of a children's hospital. During the war she counterbalanced her husband consigning Bulgaria to the Axis by obtaining transit visas to enable a number of Jews to escape to Argentina. Tsar Boris also proved less malleable than Hitler had hoped, and following a meeting in Berlin in August 1943, the Tsar became seriously ill and died, aged 49. Stress and a heart condition were the official reasons for his death.


Ioanna's son, Simeon, became the new tsar and a regency was established, led by his uncle Prince Kyril, who was considered more pliable by the Germans.


In the dying days of the Second World War, Bulgaria was invaded by the Soviet Union. Prince Kyril was tried by a People's Court and subsequently executed. Giovanna and her son Simeon remained under house arrest at Vrana Palace, near Sofia, until 1946, when the new Communist government gave them 48 hours to leave the country.


After initially fleeing to Alexandria in the Kingdom of Egypt, to join her father, King Victor Emmanuel III, they moved on to Madrid. In 1962 Simeon II married and Queen Giovanna moved to Estoril, on the Portuguese Riviera, where she lived for the rest of her life, apart from a brief return to Bulgaria in 1993, when she visited the site of Boris's grave and was present at the reburial of his heart. During this last visit to Bulgaria she received a cordial welcome, and thousands of people went on the streets to greet her.


She is buried in the Communal Cemetery of Assisi, Italy, where she had married King Boris III in 1930.


Elisabeth of Savoy (Maria Francesca Elisabetta Carlotta Giuseppina; 13 April 1800 – 25 December 1856) was the Vicereine of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia by marriage to Archduke Rainer of Austria. She was the aunt and mother-in-law of Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of a united Italy.


Maria Francesca Elisabetta Carlotta Giuseppina was born in Paris to Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano (1770–1800), and Princess Maria Cristina of Saxony (1770–1851). She had an elder brother, Charles Albert, future King of Sardinia.


On 28 May 1820 she was married in Prague to Archduke Rainer of Austria, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.


Elisabeth died of tuberculosis in Bolzano on Christmas Day, 1856.


Louise of Savoy (Louise Christine; 1 August 1627 – 7 July 1689) was a Savoyard Princess by birth. She was the mother of Louis, Margrave of Baden-Baden, the famous chief commander of the Imperial army.


Louise was born at the Hôtel de Soissons in Paris. The Hôtel was the birthplace of her mother, a granddaughter of Louis de Bourbon, an uncle of Henry IV of France. Her father was Prince Thomas Francis of Savoy, the younger son of the Duke of Savoy and his Spanish wife, Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain.


She married Margrave Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden-Baden (1625–1669) on 15 March 1653 at the Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris, France. The church was near the Hôtel de Soissons. The marriage contract was signed on the same day and is today preserved in the Parisian Institut de France. This marriage was negotiated by none other than the famous Cardinal Mazarin and the Ambassador of the Margrave of Baden-Baden one Monsieur "Krebs". Her husband was the Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden, this meant that he was the Heir apparent of his father Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden.


Marriages between German and Savoyard nobles were common in an era when many Savoyard nobles lived in German states notably Baden itself, due to official charges in the country.


The marriage was not successful. Louise Christine of Savoy refused to leave the refined French court and follow her husband to Baden-Baden. Louise Christine gave birth to a son on April 8, 1655 named Louis William of Baden-Baden. He was named after the French King Louis XIV, who was his godfather.


Ferdinand Maximilian then abducted his son from Paris and brought him to Baden-Baden. Ferdinand ordered a Savoyard man named Charles Maurice de Lassolaye, who had access to the Hôtel de Soissons, to smuggle his three-month-old son out of Paris and take him to be raised in Baden-Baden. As a consequence Louis William was not raised by his mother, but by his grandfather's second wife Maria Magdalena of Oettingen-Baldern.


When it was clear that Louise Christine would not leave Paris, some said due to the influence of her mother, Louise Christine and her husband decided to separate and let her son be raised in Baden-Baden.


Her descendants included the present Henri d'Orléans, French pretender; the Prince Napoléon; Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and his distant cousin Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza. She is also an ancestor of the ruling Felipe VI of Spain, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Albert II of Belgium.


Margaret of Savoy (7 August 1420 – 30 September 1479), was a daughter of Amadeus VIII of Savoy and Mary of Burgundy. By her three illustrious marriages, she held a number of titles, including "Duchess of Anjou", "Duchess of Calabria", "Countess of Maine", "Countess of the Palatinate", and "Countess of Württemberg".


Margaret was one of seven children born to Amadeus VIII, Count of Savoy and his wife Mary of Burgundy. A few of her siblings included Louis, Duke of Savoy and Mary, Duchess of Milan.


Her paternal grandparents were Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. Her maternal grandparents were Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and Margaret III, Countess of Flanders.


Margaret married firstly Louis, Duke of Anjou, the titular King of Naples. He was a son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon. Their first marriage contract is dated on 31 Mar 1431. She became known as the Duchess of Anjou. They had no children, and he died in 1434.


In 1445, Margaret next married Louis IV, Count Palatine of the Rhine. He was a son of Louis III, Elector Palatine and his second wife Matilda of Savoy. Margaret became Countess of the Palatinate through this alliance. Their marriage lasted only four years, as Louis died on 13 August 1449. They had one son:


Thirdly, she married in Stuttgart 11 November 1453 Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg. They were both the other's third spouses. She added the title Countess of Württemberg to her many titles through this alliance. From this marriage they had the following children:


Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy (born 2 February 1943) is the youngest daughter of Italy's last King, Umberto II, and his wife, Queen Marie José.


Born Principessa Maria Beatrice Elena Margherita Ludovica Caterina Romana di Savoia, she was the third daughter as well as the fourth and last child of the Prince and Princess of Piedmont, known as "Titi" to family and friends. When she was three years old, her father ruled Italy as Umberto II for slightly over a month, from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946. The family was then exiled and briefly gathered in Portugal, where her parents decided to separate. She and her siblings went with their mother to Switzerland while their father remained in the Portuguese Riviera.


Princess Maria Beatrice attempted to marry Italian actor Maurizio Arena in 1967 but was prevented by her family, who filed a lawsuit claiming that she was mentally unfit to marry. The lawsuit was dropped in early 1968 when the relationship ended.


Titi married Luis Rafael Reyna-Corvalán y Dillon (born 18 April 1939 in Córdoba, Argentina – died 17 February 1999 in Cuernavaca, Mexico), son of Cesar Augusto Reyna-Corvalán and Amalia Maria Dillon Calvo, on 1 April 1970 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. They were also married in a religious ceremony on January 1971 in Córdoba, Argentina. They separated in 1995 and were divorced in 1998.


For some time, her mother lived with her and her children in Mexico.


Her eldest son died, aged 23, on 29 April 1994 in Boston, Massachusetts, falling from the terrace of the building where he lived.


Her ex-husband was murdered on 17 February 1999 in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The Princess did not attend his funeral.


Margherita of Savoy ("Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna"; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926) was the Queen consort of the Kingdom of Italy by marriage to Umberto I.


Margherita was born to Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabeth of Saxony. Her father died in 1855, and her mother remarried morganatically to Major Nicholas Bernoud, Marchese di Rapallo.


She was educated by countess Clelia Monticelli di Casalrosso and her Austrian governess Rosa Arbesser. Reportedly, she was given a more advanced education than most princesses at the time, and displayed a great deal of intellectual curiosity. As a person, she was described as sensitive, proud and with a strong force of will without being hard, as well as having the ability to be charming when she chose to. As to her appearance, she was described as a tall, stately blonde, but she was not regarded as a beauty.


Initially, she was suggested to marry Prince Charles of Romania. In 1867, however, the president of the royal council, L.F. Menabrea, pressed the king to arrange a marriage between Margherita and her cousin, the heir to the Italian throne.


Margherita signed the wedding contract with her first cousin, Umberto, Prince of Piedmont, on 21 April 1868 in the ballroom of the royal palace in Turin, followed the next day by one civilian and one religious wedding ceremony. After the wedding, the crown prince couple settled in Naples. On 11 November 1869, Margherita gave birth to Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, later Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, in Capodimonte in Naples.


The relationship between Margherita and Umberto was not a success in regards to personal feelings; before their wedding, Umberto was already involved in an affair with his long-term lover, Eugenia Attendolo Bolognini, and two years after their wedding, the couple reportedly discontinued their marital relations. Their son was therefore to remain their only child. However, they never made their personal separation known to the public, and their relationship was in other aspects quite amiable: Margherita and Umberto worked together harmoniously as colleagues, Umberto even relying on her politically.


In January 1871, after the final unification of Italy and the proclamation of Rome as the capital of Italy, the crown prince and crown princess settled in Rome. There, Margherita successfully continued her task by making her receptions at the royal court the center of Roman high society in her effort to subdue the opposition toward unification within the Roman aristocracy. She eventually succeeded in making her salon one of the most exclusive and famous in contemporary Europe.


Margherita became Queen of Italy upon the succession of Umberto to the throne on 9 January 1878. In the critical situation that year, with the king and the pope, as well as an assassination attempt against the new king, Umberto reportedly asked Margherita for political advice.


The attempted assassination of the king by Giovanni Passannante in November 1878 reportedly made her work even more forcefully to strengthen the prestige of the crown and build loyalty to the institution by gathering followers and making connections. As when she was a crown princess, she was actively assisted in this networking and image building by her favorite courtiers, marchioness Paola Pes di Villamarina and marquis Emanuele Pes di Villamarina, who were appointed her "dama d’onore" (senior lady in waiting) and "cavaliere d’onore" (senior lord in waiting) respectively.


As queen, Margherita worked to protect the monarchy against republicans and socialists, and she gathered a circle of conservative intellectuals and artists known as the "Circolo della regina" (Circle of the Queen) in her famous literary salon known as "giovedì della regina" (Queen's Thursdays), where she benefited artists and writers. Among her circle of artists were the notoriously democratic and republican poet Giosuè Carducci, who famously wrote an ode to her when she became queen, and Marco Minghetti, who functioned somewhat as her guide in cultural circles, as well as her confidant. She founded cultural institutions, notably the Società del Quartetto, and the Casa di Dante.


Queen Margherita also fostered loyalty toward the monarchy by social and charitable work. She frequently visited and acted as the benefactor of hospitals, schools and institutions for children and the blind, founding the first library for the blind in Florence (1892). Her work was effective and already during the 1880s, she had become the center of a personal cult as a popular symbol of the Italian monarchy and celebrated by poets and authors, as well as by the press, as a symbol of moral reform.


King Umberto, by contrast, had love affairs with the so-called "contessa fatale" (Vincenza Publicola-Santacroce, contessa di Santa Fiora), besides duchess Litta, whom he reportedly also asked for political advice, which exposed the court to scandal. The queen, however, was close to her son and strengthened her relations to him even further after his wedding. Queen Margherita was also involved in state affairs: viewing democracy as a potential threat to the monarchy, she supported F. Crispi against parliament.


As a nationalist, she did not hesitate to support the First Italo-Ethiopian War in 1896, in contrast to Umberto, who was hesitant. As a central figure of the conservative forces, she supported the repressive actions toward the rioters in Milan in 1898, which lead to the Bava Beccaris massacre.


On 18 August 1893, in the company of various guides, porters, Alpini, politicians and aristocrats, Margherita climbed the Punta Gnifetti (or Signalkuppe), a peak of the Monte Rosa massif on the Swiss-Italian border, for the inauguration of the mountain hut named after her. At 4,554 metres, the "Capanna Regina Margherita" remains the highest hut in Europe. Margherita later accepted the position of Honorary President of the Ladies' Alpine Club.


Umberto I, who had already survived in the past two attempted murders by the anarchists Giovanni Passannante and Pietro Acciarito, was killed on 29 July 1900 by another anarchist, Gaetano Bresci. As the widow of a murdered monarch, Margherita found an enormous amount of sympathy, which created a veritable myth around her as the mourning widow. She was aware of this mythology and acted accordingly in this part to benefit the prestige of the monarchy.


As queen dowager, Margherita took a step back and allowed her daughter-in-law to take precedence, as this was a part of the monarchical system which was her ideal. However, this did not mean that she retired from public life, and she remained a dominant public figure, performing what she regarded as her dynastic duties by making official visits to hospitals and churches until her death.


She disliked the tolerance of democracy displayed by her son, the king, which she viewed as a form of socialist monarchy, and worked to ensure the monarchic traditions as much as she could against democratic tendencies. Her son did not wish to allow her any influence in state affairs, but she remained involved in politics through her connections and remained a political figure. In contrast to most nationalists, however, Margherita opposed World War I. During the war, she made one of her residences into a hospital and engaged actively within the Red Cross.


After the end of World War I, Margherita feared a socialist revolution and the end of the monarchy. This, combined with her nationalism and social conservatism, led her to support Fascism under Benito Mussolini, for which she felt a personal regard, though she never explicitly expressed her support. In October 1922 the quadrumvirs (Emilio De Bono, Italo Balbo, Michele Bianchi and Cesare Maria de Vecchi) visited her at Bordighera to pay their respects prior to the March on Rome.


In 1879, the town of Margherita di Savoia, in Apulia, Italy, near Barletta, was named after her. In 1881, the mining town of Margherita in Assam, India, was named after her.


Also in 1881, a large glass-window was made of her by Studio Moretti Caselli in Perugia, which was then shown around Italy and Europe before returning.


According to legend, in 1889, the Margherita pizza, whose red tomatoes, green basil, and white cheese represent the Italian flag, was named after her.


In 1906, the Queen mother's nephew, Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, made the first ascent of the highest summit of Mount Stanley (the third highest mountain in Africa) and named it Margherita Peak in her honour.


In 2011, some of the Queen's jewellery was auctioned at Christies.


Marina Ricolfi-Doria (born 1935) is a Swiss former water skier. She is the Princess of Naples as the wife of Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, the son of the last king and queen of Italy, Umberto II and Marie José.


Ricolfi-Doria was born in Geneva in 1935; her parents were Iris Benvenuti and René Ricolfi-Doria, an industrialist.


In 1955 she became a water-skiing performer at Cypress Gardens, in Florida in the United States. She competed three times in the Water Ski World Championships; in 1953, in 1955 and in 1957. In 1955 she took the Tricks gold medal, and in 1957 she took gold in both Slalom and Tricks, thus becoming the overall women's world champion. She won the overall title in the European Championships every year from 1953 to 1956, and took five or more overall Swiss national titles. In 1991 Ricolfi-Doria was included in the Hall of Fame of the International Water Ski Federation, as the "finest female skier from Europe of the first decade of international competition". She continued to compete until 1960.


Ricolfi-Doria met Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia in 1960 at the Société Nautique de Genève, where both were water-skiing. They were married in a Roman Catholic church in Teheran in the autumn of 1971; their wedding had been announced during the 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire in Persepolis. They have one son, Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia.


Maria Anna of Savoy (; 19 September 1803 – 4 May 1884) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (see Grand title of the Empress of Austria) by marriage to Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria.


Maria Anna was born in Palazzo Colonna in Rome, the daughter of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia and of his wife, Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este. She had a twin sister Maria Teresa. The two princesses were baptised by Pope Pius VII. Their godparents were their maternal grandparents, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and his wife Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este. In the Museo di Roma can be seen a painting of the baptism.


On 12 February 1831 Maria Anna was married by procuration in Turin to King Ferdinand V of Hungary (later Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria). On 27 February the couple were married in person in Vienna in the Hofburg chapel by the Cardinal Archbishop of Olmütz. Maria Anna was selected to marry the future Emperor at the age of 27, which was very late for a princess to marry in this time period. However, her age was seen as a sign that she would be more settled, religious and easier to manage.


Maria Anna and Ferdinand had no children.


Ferdinand succeeded as Emperor of Austria on 2 March 1835; Maria Anna became "Empress of Austria". On 12 September 1836 she was crowned as "Queen of Bohemia" at Prague.


Maria Anna never learned to speak German during her tenure as Empress, but preferred to speak French. She enjoyed some popularity as an Empress, and a festival was celebrated on her name day 26 July each year. Minister Metternich managed the Government during the reign of her spouse. Unlike her sister-in-law Sophie of Bavaria, Maria Anna had no influence upon policy. She supported Emperor Ferdinand, who was unable to manage state affairs because of his health, was respected for this, and referred to herself as his nurse.


During the 1848 Revolution, Maria Anna retracted her support from the Metternich Policy with support from Sophie of Bavaria. However, she did voice her opinion that stronger measures should be taken against the revolution. She influenced her spouse's decision to abdicate.


On 2 December 1848 Ferdinand abdicated as Emperor of Austria, but retaining his imperial rank; Maria Anna was henceforward titled "Empress Maria Anna". They lived in retirement together, spending the winters at Prague Castle and the summers at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) or at Ploschkowitz (now Ploskovice). Maria Anna was popular in Prague, where she was engaged in local charity.


Maria Anna died in Prague. She is buried next to her husband in tomb number 63 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.


Olympia Mancini, Countess of Soissons (French: "Olympe Mancini"; 11 July 1638 – 9 October 1708) was the second-eldest of the five celebrated Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes because their uncle was Louis XIV's chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin. Olympia was later to become the mother of the famous Austrian general Prince Eugene of Savoy. She also involved herself in various court intrigues including the notorious Poison Affair, which led to her expulsion from France.


Olympia Mancini was born on 11 July 1638 and grew up in Rome. Her father was Baron Lorenzo Mancini, an Italian aristocrat who was also a necromancer and astrologer. After his death in 1650, her mother, Geronima Mazzarini, brought her daughters from Rome to Paris in the hope of using the influence of her brother, Cardinal Mazarin, to gain them advantageous marriages.


The Mancinis were not the only female family members that Cardinal Mazarin brought to the French court. The others were Olympia's first cousins, daughters of Mazarin's eldest sister. The elder, Laura Martinozzi, married Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena and was the mother of Mary of Modena, second wife of James II of England. The younger, Anne Marie Martinozzi, married Armand, Prince de Conti.


The Mancini also had three brothers: Paul, Philippe, and Alphonse.


Olympia was married on 24 February 1657 to Prince Eugène-Maurice of Savoy (1633–1673), by whom she had eight children, amongst whom was the famous soldier Prince Eugene of Savoy. At court, the Count of Soissons ("comte Soissons") was addressed as "Monsieur le Comte". As his wife, Olympia was referred to at court as "Madame la comtesse".


Soon after her sister Marie's marriage to Prince Colonna, Olympia was appointed Superintendent of the Queen's Household which gave her authority over and above that of all of the other ladies at Court with the exception of the Princesses of The Blood.


Olympia was, by nature, an intrigante. Shortly after her marriage, she became involved in various intrigues at Court. There were rumours that prior to her marriage, she was briefly the mistress of Louis XIV. While not exactly beautiful, Olympia was described as possessing great charm and indisputable fascination. Her hair was dark, her complexion brilliant, her eyes black and vivacious, and her figure plump and rounded.


After her marriage, she allied herself with Louis' sister-in-law, Henriette, Duchess of Orléans, who was known at court as "Madame", and with whom he had (allegedly) fallen deeply in love. Their relationship is highly unlikely to have been sexual, although the Queen Mother was deeply concerned about it. When Henriette and Louis sought to hide their relationship from others, Olympia is said to have introduced one of Henriette's ladies-in-waiting, "Louise, Mademoiselle de La Vallière", to the King so that he might claim that his attendance upon Henriette and her ladies was based on his affection for Louise and not Henriette. Olympia turned against Louise, however, after the King fell in love with the latter at the expense of Henrietta Anne.


Olympia was accused in 1679 in the "Affaire des Poisons" of having plotted with La Voisin to poison Louise de La Vallière, of having poisoned her husband, three servants, as well as the king's former sister-in-law Henrietta of England. She was even said to have threatened the King himself with the words, "come back to me, or you will be sorry".


She was asked to leave the court in January 1680 and immediately left France for Brussels, thereby avoiding arrest and being put to trial for involvement in the Affaire des Poisons.


She applied in 1682 for permission of returning to France, but was not allowed.


She continued from Brussels to Spain, were she was well received and lived from 1686 to 1689, being celebrated by Spanish high society and receiving French guests in her salon. In 1680 she was suspected of having poisoned Queen Maria Luisa of Spain, the daughter of Henriette and niece of Louis XIV whose confidence she had gained after having taken up residence in Spain following her expulsion from France as a result of the Poison Affair.


On 23 January 1690 she was ordered to leave the Spanish court; she moved back to Brussels, claiming her innocence. Occasionally she travelled to England with her two sisters Marie and Hortense. In Brussels she gave her patronage to musicians Pietro Antonio Fiocco and Henry Desmarest. She died in Brussels on 9 October 1708 just three months after her son Eugene's victory at The Battle of Oudenarde on 11 July 1708 which was her 70th birthday.


She is portrayed in a novel by Judith Merkle Riley: "The Oracle Glass" (1994).


Clotilde Marie Pascale Courau (born 3 April 1969) is a French actress. She is married to Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, a member of the House of Savoy and the grandson of Umberto II, the last king of Italy.


Clotilde Courau was born on 3 April 1969 in Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France, the daughter of Jean-Claude Courau (b. 1942) and French noblewoman Catherine du (b. 1948), daughter of Count Pierre Francoise Marie Antoine du (b. 1926), whose family can be traced back to 13th century. She has three sisters named Christine, Camille, and Capucine Courau.


Clotilde was brought up in the Roman Catholic religion.


She had a featured role in Deterrence, an American film about nuclear war that marked the directing debut of Rod Lurie.


Clotilde Courau announced her engagement on 10 July, and on 25 September 2003 at the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome, she married Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice. At the ceremony she wore a wedding gown designed by Valentino. Six months pregnant at the time of the wedding, she was seen as a controversial bride because of her left-wing views.


In 2009, her name was given to a rose created by the rose grower Fabien Ducher to mark the 500,000th visitor to the "Jardins de l'Imaginaire", Terrasson.


Elisabeth of Saxony (4 February 1830 – 14 August 1912) was a Princess of Saxony who married the second son of the King of Sardinia. She was the mother of Margherita, Queen of Italy.


She was born in Dresden, capital of Saxony, as daughter of King John of Saxony and his wife Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Prince Maximilian of Saxony and Carolina of Parma. Her maternal grandparents were King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Karoline of Baden.


On 22 April 1850, she married, in Dresden Cathedral, Prince Ferdinand, 1st Duke of Genoa, second son of King Charles Albert of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria and Tuscany. Their marriage was a dynastic arrangement, and it was generally held to be loveless.


On 10 February 1855 her husband died in Turin, leaving Elizabeth a widow at the age of 25.


Before her second year of widowhood had ended, she remarried on 4 October 1856 with her chamberlain Niccolò Bernoud, Marchese di Rapallo. They married secretly, before her period of official mourning was over. This act so infuriated her brother-in-law Victor Emmanuel II of Italy that he ordered her into virtual exile and disallowed her from seeing her two children. They were later reunited however.


In 1882, her second husband committed suicide. Court gossip had often hinted that their marriage was unhappy, and his suicide added fuel to these stories. Elisabeth had no children from her second marriage.


Elisabeth suffered an attack of apoplexy in 1910, which caused her health to quickly deteriorate. She died on 14 August 1912.


Margaret Yolande of Savoy (15 November 1635 – 29 April 1663) was Princess of Savoy from birth and later Duchess consort of Parma. A proposed bride for her first cousin Louis XIV of France, she later married Ranuccio Farnese, son of the late Odoardo Farnese and Margherita de' Medici. She died in childbirth in 1663.


"Margherita Violante" was the fifth child born to Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and his wife Christine Marie of France, daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. She was born at the Castello del Valentino in the Duchy of Savoy which had been ruled by her family since 1416.


Her father died in October 1637, when she was just two years old. As such, her oldest surviving brother Prince Francis Hyacinth succeeded as Duke of Savoy. Her mother was thus Regent of Savoy.


Margherita Violante grew up at a time when her two uncles Prince Maurice and his younger brother Prince Thomas of Savoy disputed the power of their sister-in-law, and her French entourage.


The first of her siblings to marry was her eldest sister Princess Luisa Cristina who was married their uncle Maurice of Savoy in 1642. Her younger sister, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy married in 1650 to Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria. Margherita Violante's mother the French born Christine Marie started communicating with France in order to secure a marriage between Margherita Violante and the young Louis XIV of France, first cousin of Margherita Violante; Louis XIV's father Louis XIII was the oldest brother of Christine Marie.


Margherita Violante was in competition with the Spanish court who had presented the Infanta Maria Teresa of Austria as another proposed bride. Maria Teresa was a daughter of Elisabeth of France, another sister of Louis XIII and Christine. Maria Teresa's father Philip IV of Spain was also the brother of Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV and was eager to bring about peace between France and Spain with the marriage of Louis and Maria Teresa.


Negotiations with France and Savoy went as far as Louis XIV and Margherita Violante, known to the French as "Marguerite Yolande de Savoie", meeting at Lyon on the French royal family leaving Paris on October 26, 1658. The French entourage included the Dowager Queen, Louis XIV, Philippe d'Anjou, "la Grande Mademoiselle" and Marie Mancini.


The French were impressed by her appearance despite saying her skin was too tanned. They also said she was a quiet girl. Upon hearing of this meeting at Lyon, Philip IV is said to have said the marriage would not happen..


Prior to the proposed Franco-Savoyard match, "Antoine Pimentel marquis de Tábara", Spanish ambassador had had secret talks with


Cardinal Mazarin which later led the French to say to the Savoyard's "...the Savoyard marriage is not for the King of France, Philip IV King of Spain proposes his daughter, the Infanta Maria Teresa who has all the qualities of being the wife of Louis XIV..."


The match, great for Savoy, was never to be; Louis XIV married Maria Teresa, the two were the parents of "le Grand Dauphin". Margherita Violante herself would remain unmarried till 1660. Her chosen husband would be the reigning Duke of Parma Ranuccio Farnese. The two would marry in Turin on 29 April 1660. The couple had two children who both died; the first was a stillborn daughter; the second was a son who live only one day.


Margherita Violante and her husband started to reconstruct the Ducal Palace of Colorno, the main residence of the Ducal family. It was at the Ducal Palace that she died giving birth to her second son. She was buried at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata in the centre of Parma.


After her death, her husband married two princesses of Modena Isabella d'Este (1635–1666) and then her sister Maria d'Este. The only surviving child of Isabella was Odoardo Farnese, father of the future Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain. The son born to Maria Francesco Farnese, later Duke of Parma, continued the work at Colorno dying in 1727.


Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy (Maria Gabriella Giuseppa Aldegonda Adelaide Ludovica Felicita Gennara; born 24 February 1940) is the middle daughter of Italy's last king, Umberto II, and Marie José of Belgium, the "May Queen", and a sister of a pretender to their father's throne, Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples. She is an historical writer.


Educated in Switzerland, Maria Gabriella also took courses at a school associated with the Louvre in Paris. After her father's death, and with her brother's approval, she launched the King Umberto II Foundation in Lausanne, dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of the House of Savoy. She participated in numerous cultural presentations and organized an exhibit in Albertville during the 1992 Olympics. At the beginning of the 21st century she co-authored a number of books, mostly with Stefano Papi.


Suggested marriage to the Shah of Iran.


In the 1950s, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, then divorced from his second wife, indicated his interest in marrying Princess Maria Gabriella. Pope John XXIII reportedly vetoed the suggestion. In an editorial about the rumors surrounding the marriage of "a Muslim sovereign and a Catholic princess", the Vatican newspaper, "L'Osservatore Romano", wrote that the match constituted "a grave danger."


She married Robert Zellinger de Balkany (4 August 1931 in Iclod, Romania - 19 September 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland) on 12 February 1969 in Sainte-Mesme. The religious wedding was celebrated later on 21 June 1969 at Eze-sur-Mer, at Château Balsan. The couple separated in 1976 and divorced in November 1990. They had one child:


Anne Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont


Anne Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont (Anne "Christine" Louise; 5 February 1704 – 12 March 1723), also called Christine of the Palatinate, was a princess of the Bavarian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire and first wife of Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, heir to the throne of the kingdom of Sardinia. She died during childbirth at the age of 19.


Anne Christine Louise was born a Countess Palatine of Sulzbach. She was the daughter of Theodore Eustace, Prince Palatine of Sulzbach (1659–1732), the head of a Roman Catholic cadet branch of Bavaria's Wittelsbach dynasty, and Princess Eleonore of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg (1675-1720), daughter of William, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg. Her parents had married in 1692, Anne Christine being their eighth child.


Christine's older brother John Christian (1700-1733) succeeded their father as Prince Palatine, also becoming Margrave "jure uxoris" of Berg-op-Zoom: His son, Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, was the last of the senior branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Her older sister Francisca Christina became Princes-Abbess of Thorn and, later, of the more important immediate convent of Essen. Christine was a first cousin of her husband's subsequent wife Polyxena of Hesse, Queen consort of Sardinia, of Caroline of Hesse, Princess de Condé, and of Christine of Hesse, Princess di Carignano.


Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess "suo jure" of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours, and the mother of King Francis I. She was politically active and served as the regent of France in 1515, in 1525–1526 and in 1529.


Louise of Savoy was born at Pont-d'Ain, the eldest daughter of Philip II, Duke of Savoy and his first wife, Margaret of Bourbon. Her brother, Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, succeeded her father as ruler of the duchy and head of the House of Savoy. He was, in turn, succeeded by their half-brother Charles III, Duke of Savoy.


Because her mother died when she was only seven, she was brought up by Anne de Beaujeu, who was regent of France for her brother Charles VIII. At Amboise she met Margaret of Austria, who was betrothed to the young king and with whom Louise would negotiate peace several decades later.


At age eleven, Louise married Charles of Orléans, Count of Angoulême, on 16 February 1488 in Paris. She only began living with him when she was fifteen, though. Despite her husband having two mistresses, the marriage was not unhappy and they shared a love for books.


The household of Charles was presided over by his châtelaine Antoinette de Polignac, Dame de Combronde, by whom he had two illegitimate daughters, Jeanne of Angoulême and Madeleine. Antoinette became Louise's lady-in-waiting and confidante. Her children were raised alongside Louise's own. Charles had another illegitimate daughter, Souveraine, by Jeanne le Conte, who also lived in the Angoulême chateau. She would later arrange marriages for her husband's illegitimate children.


Their first child, Marguerite, was born on 11 April 1492; their second child, Francis, was born on 12 September 1494.


When her husband fell ill after going out riding in the winter of 1495, she nursed him and suffered much grief when he died on 1 January 1496.


When she was widowed at the young age of 19, Louise deftly maneuvered her children into a position that would secure for each of them a promising future. Though they remained in Cognac for two years, she moved her family to court at the ascension of King Louis XII, her husband's cousin.


Louise had a keen awareness for the intricacies of politics and diplomacy, and was deeply interested in the advances of arts and sciences in Renaissance Italy. She made certain that her children were educated in the spirit of the Italian Renaissance, also helped by her Italian confessor, Cristoforo Numai from Forlì. She commissioned books specifically for them and she taught Francis Italian and Spanish.


When Louis XII became ill in 1505, he determined that Francis should succeed him and both Louise and his wife Anne of Brittany should be part of the regency council. He recovered and Francis became a favourite of the king, who eventually gave him his daughter Claude of France in marriage on 8 May 1514. Following the marriage, Louis XII designated Francis as his heir.


With the death of Louis XII on 1 January 1515, Francis became king of France. On 4 February 1515, Louise was named Duchess of Angoulême, and on 15 April 1524, Duchess of Anjou.


Louise of Savoy remained politically active on behalf of her son in the early years of his reign especially. During his absences, she acted as regent on his behalf. Louise served as the Regent of France in 1515, during the king's war in Italy, and again from 1525 to 1526, when the king was at war and during his time as prisoner in Spain.


In 1524, she sent one of her servants, Jean-Joachim de Passano, to London to open unofficial negotiations with Cardinal Wolsey for a peace treaty; the negotiations were not a success, although they may have prepared the ground for the Treaty of the More the following year.


She initiated friendly relations with the Ottoman Empire by sending a mission to Suleiman the Magnificent requesting assistance, but the mission was lost on its way in Bosnia. In December 1525, a second mission was sent, led by John Frangipani, which managed to reach Constantinople, the Ottoman capital, with secret letters asking for the deliverance of King Francis I and an attack on the Habsburg. Frangipani returned with a positive answer from Suleiman, on 6 February 1526, initiating the first steps of a Franco-Ottoman alliance.


She was the principal negotiator for the Treaty of Cambrai between France and the Holy Roman Empire, concluded on 3 August 1529. That treaty, called "the Ladies' Peace", put an end to the second Italian war between the head of the Valois dynasty, Francis I of France, and the head of the Habsburg dynasty, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The Treaty temporarily confirmed Habsburg hegemony in Italy.


The treaty was signed by Louise of Savoy for France and her sister-in-law, Margaret of Austria, for the Holy Roman Empire.


Louise of Savoy died on 22 September 1531, in Grez-sur-Loing. Her remains were entombed at Saint-Denis in Paris. After her death her lands, including Auvergne, merged in the crown. Through her daughter Marguerite (Queen of Navarre) and her granddaughter Jeanne d'Albret, she is the ancestress of the Bourbon kings of France, as her great-grandson, Henry of Navarre, succeeded as Henry IV of France.


Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (Maria Theresia Anna Felicitas; 11 May 1694 – 20 February 1772) was the heiress to the Silesian Duchy of Troppau (now Opava in Czech Republic). Countess of Soissons by marriage, she was the last person to hold the title. She had one son who predeceased her in 1734. Her son was engaged to Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, duchess of Massa and heiress to the Principality of Carrara.


Her father was Prince Hans-Adam I of Liechtenstein – who had purchased the counties of Vaduz and Schellenberg, which is now the modern state of Liechtenstein (although the first Prince to visit Vaduz did so only in 1844). Her mother, Erdmuthe Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein was the great-granddaughter of Adam von Dietrichstein (1527–1590), Hofmeister to the court of Emperor Rudolf II and buried in St Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle.


Maria Theresia’s father had died in 1712 – and both her brothers before that.


In Vienna on 24 October 1713 Maria Theresia married Thomas Emmanuel, Count of Soissons and Governor of Antwerp (born on 8 December 1687), second son of Louis Thomas of Savoy-Carignano and his wife Uranie de La Cropte de Beauvais. They had one son, Eugenio Giovanni.


By this marriage she also became a princess of Savoy, having married into a cadet branch of the reigning dukes of Savoy. Her husband was a descendant of the princes of Carignano, which been raised by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, into a principality as an appanage for his third son, Thomas Francis. The house of Carignano developed two junior branches, those of Soissons and Villafranca.


In 1662 the town of Yvois in the Ardennes was raised by Louis XIV of France into a duchy in his favour, its name being changed at the same time to Carignano. The famous Prince Eugene of Savoy was the second son of the first Prince of Carignano.


Prince Eugene was Thomas Emmanuel’s uncle. Eugene served under Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor – and for his leadership at the Battle of Vienna (against the Turks) in 1683 he became known as "The Atlas of the Austrian monarchy". In 1697, as Field Marshal and chief of Austrian armies, he defeated the forces of the Ottoman sultan, Mustafa II, at the decisive Battle of Zenta (now Senta in Serbia) in Hungary.


After her husband died in Vienna on 28 December 1729, Maria Theresia made Škvorec Castle her seat.


On 20 February 1772 Maria Theresia died in Vienna. She was a descendant of Georg Hartmann who had become Lutheran c. 1540, while her great-grandfather, Karl, a stattholder of Bohemia had found it wise to become a Catholic in 1599.


Maria Theresa’s son, Eugene Jean Francois, Count of Soissons and Duke of Troppau (born 23 September 1714; died at Mannheim on 24 November 1734) had died at only 20 years old, thus her estate passed to Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein – great-grandson of Prince Hartmann III of Liechtenstein (1613–1686). The title of Count of Soissons became extinct with the young son’s death and was returned to the French crown.


Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (17 September 1688 – 14 February 1714), nicknamed "La Savoyana", was Queen of Spain by marriage to Philip V. She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influence as a political adviser during the War of the Spanish Succession. Because of her effectiveness, she was well-loved in her adoptive country.


María Luisa Gabriella was born on 17 September 1688, at the Royal Palace of Turin, Savoy. She was the third daughter and second surviving child of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy and Anne Marie of Orléans, the youngest daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and Princess Henrietta of England. In her youth, Maria Luisa Gabriella was described as "intelligent, playful, and fun-loving" and had received an excellent education. She remained close to her older sister Maria Adelaide, who later married Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the eldest grandson of Louis XIV.


The official wedding took place on 2 November 1701. Philip V was deeply in love with his wife from the start: as would be the case of his next consort, he was sexually dependent on her because his religious scruples prevented him from exercising any sexual life outside of marriage. Unlike what was normal for a Spanish monarch, he usually slept in her bed the entire night, and insisted upon his conjugal rights. Already shortly after their marriage, the French ambassador, the Duke of Gramont reported to Louis XIV that Philip would be completely governed by his spouse as long as he had one, a report that led Louis XIV to warn his grandson not to allow his Queen to dominate him.


In general, the young Queen's influence was beneficial: Maria Luisa Gabriella is described as remarkably mature for her age, politically savvy, articulate and hardworking. She was praised throughout Spain for her regency and had been credited with giving the normally passive Philip V the energy he needed to participate in warfare.


In 1702, Phillip V was obliged to leave Spain to fight in Naples as part of the ongoing War of Spanish Succession. During her husband's absence, 14-years-old Maria Luisa Gabriella effectively acted as regent from Madrid, insisting upon all complaints being investigated, ordering that the reports were directly sent to her, and working for hours with ministers. She gave audiences to ambassadors and tried to prevent Savoy from joining the enemy, though this goal soon failed. However, her issues successfully encouraged the reorganization of the "Junta" and considerable monetary donations from several nobles and cities towards the war effort. Philip V was eventually recognised as King of Spain and retained most of its colonial possessions, but


ceded territories in Italy and renounced the French throne for himself and his descendants.


Towards the end of her life, Maria Luisa Gabriella became ill of tuberculosis. She eventually died in Royal Alcazar of Madrid, on 14 February 1714 at the age of 25. The Queen was buried at San Lorenzo de El Escorial. In 16 September 1714, just months after her death, her widower remarried by proxy, to Elisabeth Farnese, the heiress of the Duke of Parma. Her niece, Princess Maria Luisa was named after her.


By her husband Philip V of Spain, Maria Luisa Gabriella gave birth to the her first child in 1707. She gave birth to three more children, two of whom would survive infancy:


As all of her children were to die without issue, there are no descendants of Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy.


Maria Clotilde of Savoy (Ludovica Teresa Maria Clotilde; 2 March 1843 – 25 June 1911) was born in Turin to Vittorio Emanuele II, later King of Italy and his first wife, Adelaide of Austria. She was the wife of Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte. She is venerated in the Catholic Church, having been declared Servant of God by Pope Pius XII.


Maria Clotilde was the eldest of eight children born to Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia by his first wife and cousin, Archduchess Adelaide of Austria. Her father would later become the King of a united Italy as Victor Emmanuel II.


Maria Clotilde's paternal grandparents were Charles Albert of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Tuscany.


Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Rainer of Austria and Elisabeth of Savoy. Rainer was a younger son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.


On 30 January 1859 she was married in Turin to Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte (1822–1891). They had three children:


Her husband was unfaithful, and she was active within charities. Maria Clotilde was described as very proud, bigoted and dutiful. During a discussion of the proper way of dressing, Maria Clotide pointed out to Empress Eugenie that she should not forget that she was born and raised in a Royal Court. When Eugenie complained of the fatigue of the French Court on one occasion, Maria Clotilde replied "We do not mind; you see, we are born to it". She was also described however as "pious and modest".


The marriage was also unpopular with both the French and the Italians; the latter in particular felt that the daughter of their King had been sacrificed to an unpopular member of the House of Bonaparte and consequently regarded it as a "mésalliance". For France's part, Napoléon Joseph was ill-regarded and had been known to carry on a number of affairs both before and during his marriage. Their official reception into Paris on 4 February was greeted very coldly by Parisians, not out of disrespect for a daughter of the King of Savoy, but instead out of dislike for her new husband. Indeed, all her life, public sympathy tended to lean in her favor; she was fondly regarded as retiring, charitable, pious, and trapped in an unhappy marriage.


With her husband, she traveled to the United States in 1861 and to Egypt and the Holy Land in 1863. While in the United States, she traveled on the newly completed main line of the Illinois Central Railroad, where the village of Savoy, Illinois was named in her honor.


After the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870, Maria Clotilde had initially refused to leave Paris when the revolution broke out, because of her sense of what was suitable for a Princess from the House of Savoy, which was to stay on her post. They were forced to flee, however, and their family enjoyed a beautiful estate in the town of Prangins near Lake Geneva that they resided in.


After Maria Clotilde's father Victor Emmanuel died in 1878, she returned to Turin, Italy without her husband. During this period, their daughter (Maria Letizia) mostly resided with her mother in the Castle of Moncalieri, but her two sons stayed mainly with their father. It was in Italy that their mother withdrew herself from society to dedicate herself to religion and various charities.


After the revolution, she lived the rest of her life in Moncalieri (located outside of Turin), where she spent her days devoting herself to religion. She lived in retirement from the world for the following twenty years, until her death. Maria Clotilde died in Moncalieri at the age of 68. She was buried there, and the funeral was given regal honors. It was attended by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Queen Elena, and others.


On 1936 the cause of beatification Maria Clotilde was introduced by the Archbishop of Turin, In 10 July 1942 Pope Pius XII declared the princess a Servant of God and the cause of her beatification still continue.


Margaret of Savoy (April 1439 – 9 March 1483), also known as Marguerite de Savoie or Margherita di Savoia, was the eldest surviving daughter of Louis I, Duke of Savoy. She was the wife of Margrave John IV of Montferrat, and later the wife of Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, Marle, and Soissons.


Margaret was born in April 1439 in Turin, Italy, the eldest surviving daughter and one of the nineteen children of Louis I, Duke of Savoy and Princess Anne of Cyprus. Her paternal grandparents were Amadeus VIII of Savoy, who was also the Antipope Felix V, and Mary of Burgundy. Her maternal grandparents were King Janus of Cyprus and Armenia and Charlotte de Bourbon.


In December 1458 at Casale, she married her first husband, John IV, Margrave of Montferrat, the son of John Jacob of Montferrat and Joan of Savoy. He was a condottiere for the Republic of Venice during the Wars in Lombardy which were a series of conflicts fought between Venice and Milan, and their various allies.


Margaret brought a dowry of 100,000 scudi, and in return received Trino, Morano, Borgo San Martino, and Mombaruzzo. The marriage was childless, although John fathered several illegitimate children. He died on 19 January 1464, leaving her a widow at the age of twenty-five.


Two and a half years later, on 12 July 1466, Margaret married her second husband, Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Soissons, the second eldest son of Louis of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Brienne and Jeanne de Bar, Countess of Marle and Soissons. The marriage produced five children:


Margaret died at Bruges on 9 March 1483, less than six months after her husband Pierre, and she was buried at the Abbey of Happlaincourt. Margaret was survived by her two daughters, Marie and Françoise, her three sons having died in early infancy.


Favorito was the personal horse of Charles Albert of Savoy, King of Sardinia from 1831, and was ridden by him during the campaigns of 1848. After the Piedmontese defeat at the Battle of Novara in 1849, and the king's subsequent abdication, Favorito joined his master in exile in Porto. Following the death of Charles Albert in the July of that year, the horse was brought back to Turin and to the Royal Stables.


On Favorito's death in 1867 his pelt was mounted on a life-size wooden sculpture commissioned from Giovanni Tamone, to a design by Count Stanislao Grimaldi. The horse was equipped as for the wars of 1848–9, including the saddle used by the king in the battle of Novara, and placed along with Charles Albert's other military effects in the Royal Armoury, where he remains on display to this day.


Margaret of Savoy (June 21, 1382 or 1390 – November 23, 1464) was Marchioness of Montferrat, and a Dominican Sister.


Margaret was the eldest of the four children—all daughters—born to Amadeo of Savoy, Lord of Piedmont (and titular Prince of Achaea), and his wife Catherine of Geneva.


Her paternal grandparents were Giacomo of Savoy, titular Prince of Achaea, and his second wife Sibylle of Baux. Her maternal grandparents were Amadeus III, Count of Geneva, and Mahaut d'Auvergne. Their claim to the throne of Achaea came from her great-grandfather Philip of Savoy, eldest son of Thomas III of Piedmont and Guia of Burgundy. Philip married Isabella of Villehardouin, Princess of Achaea, and co-reigned with her from 1301 to 1307. They were both deposed by Philip I of Taranto but continued to claim the title. However Giacomo was a son of Philip by his second wife Catherine de la Tour du Pin and his claim to be the heir of Isabella of Villehardouin was disputed.


On January 17, 1403, Margaret married Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat, a member of the Palaiologos dynasty and male-line descendant of Andronikos II Palaiologos. Theodore was the widower of Jeanne of Bar, daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar, and Marie Valois. Her piety increased after she heard the preaching of Vincent Ferrer, who spent several months in Montferrat. This marriage lasted for fifteen years but was childless. Theodore died in 1418.


When she was left a widow, she decided to abandon the world. Leaving the direction of the affairs of the marquisate to Jean-Jacques, the son of her husband by his first marriage, she retired to Alba where she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic.


A little later, Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, asked her hand in marriage and begged Pope Martin V to relieve her of her vow. But Margaret opposed a formal refusal to this request and with several young women of rank, she founded a monastery and placed it under the rule of the order of St. Dominic. Redoubling her mortifications she remained a model of piety and died at Alba, 23 November 1464.


On 13 December 1464, her remains were placed in a simple tomb; in 1481 they were transferred to a different and much more beautiful sepulchre built in her monastery at the expense of William VIII of Montferrat. They are presently held in the church of Santa Maria Maddalena, Alba.


Four noble "beati" of the Savoy family are depicted on the vault of a bay in the south aisle of the church of San Michele in Pavia. Margaret is shown dressed as a nun holding three arrows.


Prince Thomas Emmanuel of Savoy, (8 December 1687 – 28 December 1729), was born a Prince of Savoy and was later Count of Soissons from 1702 till his death.


He was the son of Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy (1657–1702) and Uranie de La Cropte. The famous general Prince Eugene of Savoy was his uncle.


He married on 24 October 1713 Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (1694–1772), Duchess of Troppau and had one son. He became a Knight in the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece in 1712. He died in Vienna.


Eugene Maurice of Savoy (French: "Eugène Maurice de Savoie"; 2 March 1635 – 6 June 1673) was a Franco-Italian nobleman and general. A count of Soissons, he was the father of imperial field-marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy.


Eugene Maurice was born in Chambéry, Savoy. He was son of Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano and Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons. He was grandson of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Catherine Micaela of Austria.


On 21 February 1657 he married the "beautiful and witty" Olimpia Mancini, a niece of cardinal Mazarin, daughter of Michele Mancini and Geronima Mazarini.


He obtained high military posts through his wife's influence. He played a role in defeating the Spaniards at the battle of the Dunes in 1658. He took part in the campaigns at Flanders (1667), Franche-Comté (1668) and Holland (1672); and was present as ambassador extraordinary of France at the coronation of Charles II of England.


He died at Unna in Westphalia in 1673, out of a deadly fever, although there were voices that he had been poisoned.


The Basilica of Superga () is a church in the vicinity of Turin.


It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, designed by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga. This fulfilled a vow the duke (and future King of Sardinia) had made during the Battle of Turin, after defeating the besieging French army in the War of the Spanish Succession. The architect alluded to earlier styles while adding a baroque touch. The church contains the tombs of many princes and kings of the House of Savoy, including the "Monument to Carlo Emanuele III" (1733) by Ignazio Collino and his brother Filippo. Under the church are the tombs of the Savoy family, including most of its members, among them Charles Albert.


This church by Juvarra is considered late Baroque-Classicism. The dome was completed in 1726 and resembles some elements of Michelangelo's dome at St. Peter's Basilica. This is no coincidence as Juvarra studied and worked in Rome for ten years prior to working in Turin. The temple front protrudes from a dome structure citing the Pantheon. The temple front is larger than typical proportions because the Superga is set upon this hill. It is also believed that Victor Amadeus wanted the basilica to rest on this hill as reminder of the power of the Savoy family as well as continue a line of sight to the existing Castle of Rivoli. Later, the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi completed the triangle between the three residences of Savoy.


The Royal Crypt of Superga is the burial place of the Savoy family.


The history of the church can be traced to 2 September 1706, when Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and the Prince of Carignano, Eugene of Savoy climbed the hill to see Turin besieged by Franco-Spanish forces during the War of the Spanish Succession. Victor Amadeus, having knelt down in front of an old prop, swore that, in case of victory, he would have a monument built to our Lady (the Virgin Mary). From dawn until the early hours of the afternoon of 7 September the armies clashed in the fields at Jaya and Madonna di Campagna. Piedmontese armies achieved victory over the French. After Victor Amedeus was crowned King of Sicily he entrusted the design of this building to Filippo Juvarra.


The mountain on which the Basilica is found was the site of the Superga air disaster of Grande Torino football team in 1949.


The Royal crypt is the traditional burial place of members of the House of Savoy, successively Dukes of Savoy, Kings of Sardinia and Kings of Italy. Two kings of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I, have been interred in the Pantheon, Rome. The earlier generations of the House of Savoy as well as the last king of Italy, Umberto II, are buried in Hautecombe Abbey, the ancestral burial site of the family in Savoy.


The Pantheon (, ; , from Greek "Pantheion", "[temple] of all the gods") is a former Roman temple, now a Catholic church (Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres or Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs), in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). It was rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated 126 AD. Its date of construction is uncertain, because Hadrian chose not to inscribe the new temple but rather to retain the inscription of Agrippa's older temple, which had burned down.


The building is cylindrical with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, .


It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history and, since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been in use as a church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" () but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda". The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. The Pantheon is a state property, managed by Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism through the Polo Museale del Lazio. In 2013, it was visited by over 6 million people.