Maria Johanna of Savoy
Maria Johanna von Savoyen , full name Maria Johanna Baptista von Savoyen (born April 11, 1644 in Paris , † March 15, 1724 in Turin ) was by marriage Duchess of Savoy , Countess of Geneva and regent for her son Viktor Amadeus II.
Life
Maria Johanna was the eldest daughter of Karl Amadeus of Savoy , sixth Duke of Nemours , and his wife Élisabeth de Bourbon (1614–1664), only daughter of César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme and his wife Françoise of Lorraine . Maternal great-grandfather was the French King Henry IV. Her younger sister, Maria Francisca of Savoy , was Queen of Portugal by marriage.
Since her father had not fathered any sons, she and her sister were heirs to his property and were coveted accordingly. In 1662 she was betrothed to Duke Charles V of Lorraine , but the engagement was broken off for reasons of state. On May 10, 1665, Princess Maria Baptista married Duke Karl Emanuel II of Savoy , third son of Duke Viktor Amadeus I and his wife Princess Maria Christina of France , called Madame Royal, in Paris . The marriage produced a son:
- Viktor Amadeus II. (1666–1732), Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia ⚭ 1684 Anne Marie d'Orléans
After the early death of her husband, the ambitious and energetic Dowager Duchess took over the reign of her underage son. The relationship with him was strained because she tried to keep the reins in hand even after his formal legal age in 1680. She tried to win the Portuguese throne for her son, since her sister's first marriage to King Alfonso VI. of Portugal remained childless and from their second marriage with his younger brother, King Peter II , only one daughter, Infanta Isabella Louise Josepha (1668–1690), emerged, who was to marry Viktor Amadeus. Had the Portuguese king remained without a son, Viktor Amadeus would have succeeded him after his death. Viktor Amadeus was against the project, however, because he would have had to live as a prince consort in Portugal while his mother would have continued to rule his home country. The marriage failed due to a serious illness of the heir to the throne, of which it is not known whether it was real or fake. After the remarriage of her brother-in-law and the birth of a Portuguese heir to the throne, the plan was finally ruined. In 1684 Viktor Amadeus married a French princess, Maria Johanna reluctantly retired to her widow's residence and died on March 15, 1724 in Turin.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Savoy, Maria Johanna von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Savoy, Maria Johanna Baptista von (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duchess of Savoy, Countess of Geneva and regent |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 11, 1644 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris , France |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 15, 1724 |
| Place of death | Turin , Italy |