Summary
Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy (Maria Francesca Anna Romana; 26 December 1914 – 4 December 2001)[1] was the youngest daughter of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Elena of Montenegro. In 1939, she married Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma. She was a sister of Umberto II of Italy and of Tsarita Giovanna of Bulgaria.
| Maria Francesca | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Louis of Bourbon-Parma | |||||
 | |||||
| Born | 26 December 1914 Rome, Kingdom of Italy | ||||
| Died | 4 December 2001 (aged 86) Mandelieu, France | ||||
| Spouse |
Prince Louis of Bourbon-Parma
(m. 1939; died 1967) | ||||
| Issue | Prince Guy Prince Rémy Princess Chantal Prince Jean | ||||
| |||||
| House | Savoy | ||||
| Father | Victor Emmanuel III of Italy | ||||
| Mother | Elena of Montenegro | ||||
Biography edit
Maria Francesca 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.
On 23 January 1939, in the Pauline Chapel of the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Maria Francesca married Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma (1899–1967), a younger son of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal.[2] Her husband was a brother of Zita, Empress of Austria,[2] the last Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary.
The couple moved to Cannes, where all four of their children were born.[3] Maria was interned with her husband and two elder children by the Nazis during World War II.[3] In 1945 the Anglo-Americans freed them and they returned to Italy. After the war, they lived in Italy for a while, then returned to France.[3] She took up permanent residence in Mandelieu, near Cannes, after her husband's death in 1967.[2]
They had four children:[2]
- Prince Guy of Bourbon-Parma (7 August 1940, Cannes – 10 March 1991, Paris); married Brigitte Peu-Duvallon on 11 November 1964, divorced 17 September 1981, with issue.
- Prince Rémy of Bourbon-Parma (born 14 July 1942, Cannes); married firstly Laurence Dufresne d'Arganchy 10 February 1973, divorced 1983, with issue.[2] He wed secondly Elisabeth Tardif on 5 July 2003.
- Princess Chantal of Bourbon-Parma (born 24 November 1946, Cannes); married firstly Panayotis Skinas on 1 July 1977, divorced 1987, with issue. She wed secondly Francois-Henri Georges on 24 September 1988.
- Prince Jean of Bourbon-Parma (born 15 October 1961, Cannes); married Virginia Roatta on 26 March 1988, with issue.[3] Jean is the youngest grandchild of Robert I, Duke of Parma.
Honours edit
House of Savoy: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus[4]
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Dame Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 3rd First Class[4]
Austrian Imperial and Royal Family: Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross, 2nd Class[4]
Ancestry edit
| Ancestors of Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References edit
- ^ "matchID - Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy". Fichier des décès (in French). Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, XII. "Haus Bourbon". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1984, p. 19. (German).
- ^ a b c d de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery. Paris. 2002. pp. 597-598, 619. (French) ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
- ^ a b c genmarenostrum.com, page with the Italian Royal family members' honours
External links edit
- Newspaper clippings about Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW