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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.

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