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Her father decided that Maria Carolina would marry Prince Anthony of Saxony, who at the time was the Electoral Prince of Saxony, the heir to the Electorate. He was the fifth but third surviving son of Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony, and Maria Antonia of Bavaria. Anthony's first cousins included the future Louis XVIII of France and Charles X of France, Maria Carolina's brothers-in-law. The couple also were joint first cousins of Charles IV of Spain and Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Maria Carolina through her Spanish mother and Anthony through his father. Another first cousin of Maria Carolina was the famous "princesse de Lamballe"
Despite the pleas of Maria Carolina, she was married by proxy at the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi on 29 September 1781 followed by another ceremony in Dresden on 24 October 1781 with her actual groom. The celebrations in Savoy were lavish with parties at the Royal Palace of her birth and at the Palazzo Gontieri.
Maria Carolina left her home reluctantly in September 1781. Her family accompanied her as far as Vercelli when she had to be pushed out of the carriage to depart. She arrived at Augsburg, modern-day Germany on 14 October. Upon her arrival, she ranked as one of the highest females at the Saxon court, Anthony's mother Maria Antonia of Bavaria died in 1780. The highest-ranking female was Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, wife of Frederick Augustus III, then the ruler Elector of Saxony.
Not happy with her adopted home, she caught Smallpox and died in Dresden 28 December 1782. Popular in her native land, she was remembered in an old folk song composed in her honor after her early death:
After her death, Anthony married Maria Theresa of Austria and had four children all of whom died in infancy. Her husband succeeded as King of Saxony in 1827 at the age of 71. She is buried at crypt number 30 at the Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden.
Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma (née Princess Maria Pia of Savoy; born 24 September 1934) is the eldest daughter of Umberto II of Italy and Marie-José of Belgium. She is the older sister of Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, and Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy.
Maria Pia Elena Elisabetta Margherita Milena Mafalda Ludovica Tecla Gennara di Savoia was the first-born child of the Prince and Princess of Piedmont, born in Naples, Italy in 1934. Her parents, married since 1930, were unhappy together, as her mother confessed in an interview many years later ("On n'a jamais été heureux", "We were never happy"), and separated after the Italian monarchy was abolished by plebiscite on 2 June 1946. Exiled, the family gathered briefly in Portugal, and she and her three younger siblings soon went with their mother to Switzerland while their father remained in the Portuguese Riviera. Being devout Catholics, her parents never divorced.
She lives in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, and Palm Beach, Florida.
On the royal cruise of the yacht, "Agamemnon", hosted by Queen Frederica of Greece on 22 August 1954, she met and later married Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (1924–2016), son of Prince Paul of Yugoslavia and Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark. The two were married on 12 February 1955 at Cascais in Portugal, where Maria Pia's father was living in exile.
Not long after their wedding, Maria Pia gave birth to the couple's set of fraternal twin sons. Another set of twins was born to Maria Pia during the marriage five years later, this time a girl and boy:
In 2003, Maria Pia was married to Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma (1926–2018), son of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margaret of Denmark, whose marriage with Princess Yolande de Broglie-Revel had been annulled and with whom he has five dynastic children, also being the father of a child born out of wedlock in 1977, Amélie de Bourbon de Parme (wed in 2009 to Igor Bogdanoff). Through him she was a sister-in-law of Queen Anne of Romania. Maria Pia's ex-husband, Prince Alexander was also remarried, to Princess Barbara of Liechtenstein, a cousin of that principality's monarch, and they had one son, Prince Dušan Paul.
Marie "Clotilde" of France (Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière; 23 September 1759 – 7 March 1802), known as Clotilda in Italy, was Queen of Sardinia by marriage to Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia. She was the younger sister of Louis XVI of France. She was politically active and acted as the de facto first minister of her spouse during his reign. She is venerated in the Catholic Church, having been declared Venerable by Pope Pius VII.
Born in Versailles, Clotilde was the elder daughter of Louis, Dauphin of France, the only son of King Louis XV, and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony. As the granddaughter of the king, she was a "Petite-Fille de France". Upon the death of their grandfather in May 1774, Clotilde's oldest brother, Louis Auguste, became king Louis XVI of France.
While Clothilde was described as a docile pupil, "who made herself loved by all who approached her", Élisabeth long refused to study, stating that "there were always people at hand whose duty it was to think for Princes", and treated her staff with impatience. Because of their difference, Madame de Marsan, who was not able to handle Elisabeth, preferred Clothilde, which made Elisabeth jealous and created a rift between the sisters. Their relationship improved when Elisabeth fell ill and Clothilde insisted upon nursing her; during that time, Clothilde taught Elisabeth the alphabet and gave her an interest in religion. Clothilde came to be Elizabeth's good friend, tutor and counselor.
Clothilde did not have a good relationship with her sister-in-law Marie Antoinette, who reportedly demonstrated too openly that she preferred her sister Elisabeth, which caused some offense at court.
Clotilde adapted herself to strict Catholic devotion early on and had the wish to follow the example of her aunt, Madame Louise, and join the Order of the Carmelites.
On 12 June 1775, Clothilde attended the coronation of her brother Louis XVI in Reims. On 8 August, the ambassador of Sardinia, count de Viry, presented the official proposal to Clothilde from Charles Emmanuel, and on the 16th, the official engagement was announced to the royal court. On 21 August 1775, Louis XVI had his sister Clotilde married in Versailles by procuration to Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont, eldest son of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain, with her second eldest brother the count of Provence as proxy for the groom, and with Cardinal de la Roche-Aymon officiating at the ceremony.
In Lyon, Clotilde made herself popular by her successful request to grant an amnesty to the imprisoned deserters in the town prison, before finally arriving at the border at Pont-de-Beauvoisin on 5 September. There, she was separated from her French entourage and ceremoniously transferred by count de Clermont-Tonnerre to count de Viry and her new Italian household, notably her new lady-in-waiting Madama Theresa Balbi, who was to become her favourite until her death. Having crossed the border with her new court, she was introduced to Charles Emmanuel.
Accompanied by her brother the Count of Provence and her husband, she was introduced to her father-in-law at Les Echelles and to her mother-in-law and the rest of the Sardinian court at Chambéry, before making her formal entrance in Turin the 30 September. The official wedding took place in Turin. At the occasion of her marriage, there were comments in the French court that her groom had been given two brides instead of one, in reference to her weight. Her father-in-law was concerned that her weight might affect her ability to bear children. The groom reportedly commented that he had been given "more to worship".
Her first years in Savoy, she enjoyed fashion and entertainment and, despite her saintly reputation, her spouse himself said that it was in fact not her nature to be humble and submissive, and that she had to struggle to achieve this.
Although the union was arranged for political reasons, Clotilde and Charles Emmanuel became devoted to each other, united in their piety and a strong belief in the Catholic faith. She played the guitar to his singing, they studied religious texts together, and enjoyed spending time at the Moncalieri and La Venaria to relax from the court etiquette.
The marriage was to be childless. Concerns was raised that her difficulty to conceive was due to her weight, and during the course of her first years of marriage, she was subjected to a number of fertility treatments, among those being a diet that caused her to lose a great deal of weight. In 1779, there was a sign of pregnancy that proved to be false, and in 1783, after eight years of attempts to have issue, Clothilde asked Charles Emanuel to end sexual relations and live in chastity as "uti frater et soror", a request he willingly agreed to.
Charles Emmanuel, being of passive character, leaned on Clothilde as a stronger personality, and she came to have a great influence upon him as a stabilizing factor and adviser, and she acted as a mediator during his conflicts with his father the King, often caused by Charles Emmanuel's nervous difficulties, a condition Clothilde took it upon herself to hide from others and stabilize.
In the 1790s, Clothilde was described by the exiled Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun as remarkably changed in her appearance as well as personality. As Vigée Le Brun's stay in Italy occurred between 1789 and 1792, and was granted audience to Clothilde by letters of introduction by the "Mesdames de France", the meeting likely took place in 1791 or 1792, despite the fact that Vigée Le Brun - perhaps in retrospect - referred to Clothilde and her spouse as king and queen, while they were in fact still Prince and Princess of Piedmont at this point:
During their reign in Turin, one of the most important affairs was the confiscation of church property, which was necessary for state economy, but Clothilde insisted on a lengthy (and successful) procedure of obtaining permission and blessings from the Pope for religious reasons before proceeding.
During their reign in exile from mainland Sardinia, the couple traveled between the Italian states as well as their own provinces and upheld diplomatic relations with the hope of being restored to Turin. They traveled from Parma, Bologna and Florence to Sardinia, where they arrived to Cagliari on 3 March 1799, welcomed with a Te Deum and settled in the Royal Palace of Cagliari, where they held a reception for the local nobility.
Clothilde was not well during their stay on Sardinia, as the woolen penitence clothing she insisted on wearing was not healthy in the hot climate of Sardinia.
During their exile, Clotilde served as the spokesperson, de facto chief Councillor and first minister of Charles Emmanuel and in fact handled the Sardinian government in exile, demonstrating both diplomatic skill and a steady support for Charles Emmanuel, who refused to abdicate his office as long as she was alive, despite the demands of his brothers to do so. Despite her political activity, however, Clothilde always played down her personality, both publicly and privately, as this was considered more befitting of her pietas. On one occasion in 1801, she persuaded her husband's governor in Sardinia, the count of Genevois, not to resign.
Clotilde died on 7 March 1802. Charles Emmanuel was so moved by her death that he abdicated on 4 June 1802 in favour of his younger brother, Victor Emmanuel. Queen Clotilde was buried in Santa Caterina a Chiaia in Naples. Pope Pius VII, who had personally known Clotilde, declared her venerable on 10 April 1808, the first step to her beatification.
Marie de Bourbon (3 May 1606 – 3 June 1692) was the wife of Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano, and thus a princess of Savoy by marriage. At the death of her brother in 1641, she became Countess of Soissons in her own right, passing the title down three generations of the House of Savoy.
Marie de Bourbon, born at the "Hôtel de Soissons" in Paris, was the second daughter and youngest child of Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons, and his wife Anne de Montafié. At the court of Louis XIII, who was her second cousin, Marie enjoyed the rank of "princesse du sang". She was a sister of Louise de Bourbon, Duchess of Longueville. Originally placed in the Abbey of Fontevraud in Anjou, she took the habit on 10 April 1610 aged just four.
On 6 January 1625, Marie was married to Thomas Francis, ninth child of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and his wife Catherine Michelle of Austria. It was arranged that Thomas, as son of a reigning monarch, would hold the rank of first among the "princes étrangers" at the French court – taking precedence even before the formerly all-powerful House of Guise, whose kinship to the sovereign Duke of Lorraine was more remote. He was appointed Grand Master of France of the king's household, briefly replacing the traitorous Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. He engaged the services of the distinguished grammarian and courtier Claude Favre de Vaugelas as tutor for his children.
After Thomas, the senior branch of his descendants repatriated to Savoy, alternately marrying French, Italian and German princesses.
After the Bourbons obtained the French crown and the Princes de Condé and their heirs apparent became known (by right of their rank as "First Prince of the Blood"), respectively, as "Monsieur le Prince" and "Monsieur le Duc", Charles came to be styled "Monsieur le Comte" at court. That honorific was borne also by his son Louis and, subsequently, by the Savoy-Carignano counts of Soissons, who inherited the countship from Charles's daughter, Marie, princesse de Carignano, even though they ranked as "princes étrangers" in France rather than as "princes du sang".
At the death of her older brother Louis de Bourbon (6 July 1641), Marie was named his heir and became the Countess of Soissons "suo jure". She lived in her native France with her husband and resided at the Hôtel de Soissons where she was born. It was Marie who built the small "Château de Bagnolet" in Paris; at her death the building was acquired by the "Ferme générale" François Le Juge. In 1719 it became the property of Françoise Marie de Bourbon. Marie and her daughter helped to raise the famous soldier Prince Eugene of Savoy. She died in Paris.
Princess Isabella of Bavaria (Marie Elisabeth Luise Amalie Elvire Blanche Eleonore; 31 August 1863 – 26 February 1924) was the third child and eldest daughter of Prince Adalbert of Bavaria and his wife Infanta Amalia of Spain. By her marriage to Prince Thomas, Duke of Genoa, she became referred to as the Duchess of Genoa.
Isabella was one of five children born to Prince Adalbert of Bavaria and his wife Infanta Amalia of Spain.
Isabella's father Adalbert was the fourth son of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Her mother Amalia was a daughter of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain, a younger brother of Ferdinand VII of Spain. Her mother was also a sister of Francis, Duke of Cádiz, the consort of Ferdinand VII's daughter Isabella II of Spain.
On April 14, 1883 at Nymphenburg, Bavaria, Isabella married Prince Thomas, Duke of Genoa. He was the only son of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa and his wife Princess Elisabeth of Saxony. He was also a brother-in-law through his sister Margherita of Savoy of Umberto I of Italy, and thus was an uncle of the future King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Their union was the fourth time the houses of Wittelsbach and Savoy had been united in marriage.
The wedding was regarded by one spectator as "remarkable for good taste and simplicity". Ludwig II of Bavaria (Isabella's cousin) did not attend, as he rarely went to public events. His absence, observed one attendee, meant that the wedding guests "could enjoy themselves in an atmosphere of conviviality which is rarely found in Court festivities".
Isabella and Thomas had the following children:
In 1905, Isabella and her husband, as well as other members of the House of Savoy attended a ceremony in honor of the beatification of a French priest. It was attended by Pope Pius X, along with 1,000 French pilgrims and several thousand worshipers of other nationalities, as well as twenty-two Cardinals and the Papal Court. The event was notable as it was the first time members of the House of Savoy had assisted at a religious function in the presence of the Pope.
As Duke and Duchess of Genoa, Isabella and her husband often attended other royal functions as representatives of the House of Savoy. For instance, in 1911 they attended the unveiling of a large monument of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy in Rome. The event had nearly one million witnesses, and was also attended by dowager queens Maria Pia of Portugal and Margherita of Italy and the Duke and Duchess of Aosta.
In 1913, Isabella had a near escape from death. While anointing her arms and neck with a preparation for rheumatism, she became too close to a lamp, causing the preparation to ignite. She only survived because her maid quickly smothered the flames.
On 26 February 1924, Isabella died of bronchial pneumonia in Rome. She had been ill for several days beforehand. Thomas would die seven years later, in 1931.
Adelaide of Austria (Adelheid Franziska Marie Rainera Elisabeth Clotilde; 3 June 1822 – 20 January 1855) was the Queen of Sardinia by marriage to Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, future King of Italy, from 1849 until 1855 when she died as a result of gastroenteritis. She was the mother of Umberto I of Italy.
She was born at the Royal Palace of Milan to Archduke Rainer of Austria and his wife Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. Named "Adelaide", or known as "Adele" in the family, she held the title of Archduchess of Austria. Her father was the Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia and was a son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Louisa of Spain. Her mother was a member of the House of Savoy and a daughter of the Prince of Carignano, the head of the junior branch of the House of Savoy, who ruled the Kingdom of Sardinia. Her younger brother Archduke Rainer Ferdinand later acted as Minister President of Austria. Both of her brothers contracted morganatic marriages.
On 12 April 1842, at the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi, she married Victor Emmanuel of Savoy. The marriage was used to cement relations between the House of Savoy and that of the House of Habsburg but was viewed by many people of the time to increase Austrian power in Italy.
Victor Emmanuel was her first cousin and heir apparent to the King of Sardinia. He was styled the ""Duke of Savoy" prior to succession. Adelaide thus took on the style of "Duchess of Savoy."" She maintained her style of "Imperial and Royal Highness" until she became Queen.
Her husband's mother, Maria Theresa of Austria, retained great influence over her son throughout his life. Her mother-in-law was also her first cousin, both she and Adelaide being grandchildren of Emperor Leopold II. Adelaide and her husband of thirteen years had eight children. Four of these went on to have further progeny. Her husband had various extramarital affairs throughout the marriage. Adelaide was a quiet and pious woman and had a strict upbringing. She was a loving wife and frequently would give to charity.
Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (Enrichetta Adelaide Maria; 6 November 1636 – 13 June 1676), was Electress of Bavaria by marriage to Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria. She had much political influence in her adopted country and with her husband did much to improve the welfare of the Electorate of Bavaria.
Born at the Castello del Valentino in Turin, she was the older of twin girls; her sister Princess Catherine Beatrice of Savoy died in Turin 26 August 1637. On 7 October 1637 she lost her father Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, when she was just one year old. Her mother, Christine of France, was the daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. After the death of her father, her mother served as Regent of Savoy on behalf of two of Henriette Adelaide's brothers: Francis Hyacinth (1632–1638), then Charles Emmanuel II (1634–1675) after the older brother died. Her uncles Prince Maurice of Savoy and Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano, intrigued against their sister-in-law and her French entourage.
When the first heir Francis Hyacinth died in 1638, the brothers Maurice and Thomas started the Piedmontese Civil War with Spanish support. The two parties in the war were known as the ""principisti" (supporters of the princes) and "madamisti"" (supporters of "Madama Reale," the Regent Christine ). With the support of her brother, King Louis XIII of France, Marie Christine was able to defeat the challenge to her rule.
On 8 December 1650 Henriette married Ferdinand Maria, heir to the Electorate of Bavaria future. The next year he became Elector upon the death of his father Maximilian.
Henriette Adelaide had a strong influence on Bavarian foreign affairs in favor of France, whose royal family counted her mother as a member. This led to an alliance between France and Bavaria against Austria. One of the results of the alliance was the marriage of Henriette's eldest daughter Maria Anna and her cousin Louis, Dauphin of France ("le Grand Dauphin"), in 1680.
She had a leading role in the building of Nymphenburg Palace and the Theatine Church in Munich. Many Italian artists were invited to Munich, and she also introduced Italian opera to the court of Bavaria.
Henriette died in Munich and was buried in the Theatine Church - the church she and her husband built as a gesture of thanks for the birth of the long-awaited heir to the Bavarian crown, Prince Maximilan II Emanuel, in 1662.
In addition, the Electress suffered three miscarriages: in June 1661, March 1664 and 1674.
Dona Maria Francisca of Savoy (Marie Françoise Élisabeth; 21 June 1646 – 27 December 1683) was twice queen consort of Portugal as the spouse of two Portuguese kings: Afonso VI and Peter II of Portugal. She first became queen of Portugal at the age of 20 on the day of her marriage to Afonso VI; because the marriage was never consummated, she was able to obtain an annulment. On 28 March 1668, she married Afonso's brother, the Infante Peter, Duke of Beja, who was appointed prince regent the same year due to Afonso's perceived incompetence. Maria Francisca became queen of Portugal for the second time when Peter succeeded his brother as Peter II in 1683 but died herself later that year.
Maria Francisca was born in Paris as the younger daughter of Charles Amadeus, Duke of Nemours, and Élisabeth de Bourbon. Elisabeth was a granddaughter of Henry IV of France and his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées. Her only surviving sibling was Marie Jeanne of Savoy. Prior to marriage she was styled "Mademoiselle d'Aumale", a title derived from the duchy of Aumale which was a property of her father.
In 1581, Portugal and Spain had been united under Philip II, but domestic opposition led to the 1640 to 1668 Portuguese Restoration War. By the end of 1665, Spanish attempts to reconquer Portugal had clearly failed, while their finances had collapsed, the Crown declaring bankruptcy no less than nine times between 1557 and 1666.
This allowed Portuguese chief minister, Castelo Melhor, to focus on securing his own position. Afonso VI succeeded his father in 1653 but he was physically impaired and mentally unstable, with government controlled by his mother, Luisa de Guzmán. Guided by Castelo Melhor, Alfonso sent her to a convent in 1662, where she died in February 1666.
The Portuguese government was split between pro-French and pro-English factions, respectively led by Castelo Melhor and Alfonso's younger brother, Pedro. In 1662, Charles II of England married Alfonso's sister Catherine; Castelo Melhor and Louis XIV saw a marriage between Maria Francisca and Alfonso as a way to offset that. Louis persuaded Charles to agree by providing him with the unpaid portion of Catherine's dowry; Maria arrived in Portugal on 2 August 1666 and the wedding took place the same day.
From then on, she became known as Maria Francisca Isabel de Sabóia, although the marriage proved a disappointment. Alfonso abandoned the festivities early, leaving his new bride in charge, and reportedly displayed a similar lack of interest in consummating it. More importantly, Maria was an intelligent and resolute individual, who wanted to serve French interests but also rule; she soon discovered Alfonso was controlled by Castelo Melhor, who had no intention of sharing power. This drove her to first co-operate with her brother-in-law Pedro, then allegedly begin an affair with him.
Although Castelo Melhor considered the marriage and the March 1667 Treaty of Lisbon with France as confirming his position, in fact they undermined it. Despite being financially exhausted, the treaty required Portugal to provide military support against Spain, while Maria persuaded Louis that Pedro was a better way to further French interests. In September, Castelo Melhor was forced into exile and in late November, Pedro deposed his brother, sending him to Terceira in the Azores. Maria retired to a convent and asked her marriage be annulled on the grounds of non-consummation; this was approved by her relative, French Cardinal Vendôme, and she married Pedro in September 1668.
Months after her annulment, Maria Francisca married the Infante Peter, now the Prince Regent of Portugal. In 1669 she gave birth to a daughter, Isabel Luísa Josefa of Portugal, Princess of Beira. The Braganza dynasty was at the brink of extinction, and Peter needed heirs, yet Maria Francisca was unable to produce further issue.
When Afonso died in 1683, Peter succeeded him as Peter II of Portugal and Maria Francisca became queen again—but died in December of the same year. Maria Francisca's only child, the Infanta Isabel Luísa, died unmarried at age 21. Peter remarried to Maria Sofia of the Palatinate, who produced the much-needed heir, the future John V of Portugal.
She was first buried at the Convent of the Francesinhas, then moved in 1912 to the Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.
Princess Yolanda of Savoy (1 June 1901 – 16 October 1986) was the eldest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.
She was born Principessa Iolanda Margherita Milena Elisabetta Romana Maria di Savoia () in Rome, Italy. As a young woman she was a great sportswoman, particularly interested in swimming and riding.
During the Great War, newspapers published reports of her engagement to the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, who was serving in Italy in 1918. There was no basis for these rumors, but they were resurrected in 1919 when Yolanda joined her mother Elena of Montenegro, sister Princess Mafalda of Savoy, and the Duchess of Aosta (Princess Hélène of Orléans) on a visit to Paris, where the prince happened to be at the same time.
After her marriage Yolanda lived in the town of Pinerolo, southwest of Turin.
In 1946, Yolanda and her family went into voluntary exile with her father in Alexandria, Egypt. After King Victor Emmanuel's death, Yolanda and her family returned to Italy, where they lived at Castelporziano.
Yolanda died in a hospital in Rome and is buried in Turin.
On 9 April 1923 at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, she married Giorgio Carlo Calvi, Conte di Bergolo (15 March 1887, Athens – 25 February 1977, Rome). They had five children:.
Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia
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.

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