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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.