Maria Pia of Savoy

The name Maria Pia of Savoy may also refer to Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma.

Maria Pia of Savoy
Queen consort of Portugal
Reign	6 October 1862 - 19 October 1889
Spouse	Luís I of Portugal
Issue
Carlos I of Portugal Afonso, Prince Royal of Portugal
House	House of Savoy
Father	Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Mother	Adelaide of Austria
Born	14 February 1847 Royal Palace, Turin, Sardinia
Died	5 July 1911(1911-07-05) (aged 64) Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi, Italy
Burial	Basilica of Superga, Turin, Italy
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Maria Pia of Savoy (14 February 1847 – 5 July 1911) was a Portuguese Queen consort, spouse of King Luís I of Portugal. On the day of her baptism, Pope Pius IX, her godfather, gave her a Golden Rose. Maria Pia was married to Luís I of Portugal on the 6 October 1862 in Lisbon. She was the grand mistress of the Order of Saint Isabel.

Biography

She was the daughter of Victor Emmanuel II the first King of Italy by his first cousin Adelaide of Austria. Her sister Maria Clotilde was the princesse Napoléon and her brothers were the King of Italy and Spain.

Queen

As a queen, Maria Pia became known both for her extravagance and for her charity. She had a taste for luxury, parties, balls, fashion and masquerades; at a masquerade ball in 1865, she changed costume three times. When the Portuguese parliament discussed the queen's excessive expenses, Maria Pia replied saying "if you want a queen, you have to pay for her".

Maria Pia of Savoy was also known in Portugal as "angel of charity" or "mother of the poor" for her compassion and work on social causes.

She did not involve 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 him shot!"

Queen Dowager

Luís died on 19 October 1889 and Maria Pia became Queen Dowager. She was very active as such and continued with her social projects and held a dominating position at court. She served as regent during the absence of the king and queen.

The Queen Dowager was devastated after the assassination of her son, King Carlos I of Portugal and grandson Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza on 1 February 1908. During her last years in Portugal, she was showing signs of senility, and was rarely seen in public.

She was deeply upset by the deposition of her other grandson Manuel II of Portugal by the 5 October 1910 revolution and the resulting establishment of the Portuguese First Republic. Maria Pia left Portugal with the rest of the royal family to exile in 1910. She returned to her native Italy, where she died on 5 July 1911. She is said to have mourned the loss of Portugal.

Her remains are interred in the royal mausoleum in the Basilica of Superga, near Turin with most members of the House of Savoy since the 18th century.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Dom Carlos, Prince Royal of Portugal	September 28, 1863	February 1, 1908	Who succeeded him as Charles I, the 33rd (or according to some historians 34th, or even 35th) King of Portugal, murdered in 1908 by the Carbonária.
Dom Afonso, Prince Royal of Portugal	July 31, 1865	February 21, 1920	Infante of Portugal, Duke of Porto, Viceroy of Portuguese India , and after 1908 Prince Royal.

Ancestors

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 14 February 1847 – 6 October 1862 Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Pia of Savoy
• 6 October 1862 – 19 October 1889 Her Most Faithful Majesty the Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
• 19 October 1889 – 1 February 1908 Her Most Faithful Majesty the Dowager Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
• 1 February 1908 – 5 July 1911 Her Most Faithful Majesty Queen Maria Pia of Portugal

Portuguese royalty
Preceded by Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen	Queen consort of Portugal 6 October 1862 - 19 October 1889	Succeeded by Amélie of Orléans

See also

Media related to Maria Pia of Savoy at Wikimedia Commons

Persondata
Name	Italy, Maria Pia Of
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	14 February 1847
Place of birth	Royal Palace, Turin, Sardinia
Date of death	5 July 1911
Place of death	Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi, Italy