Maria Pia of Italy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maria Pia of Savoy (14 February 1847 - 5 July 1911) was a daughter of Victor Emmanuel II the first King of Italy and his Queen consort Adelaide of Austria.
Her paternal grandparents were Charles Albert of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria and Tuscany. Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Rainer of Austria and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignano. Charles Albert and Elisabeth were siblings.
[edit] Marriage
Maria was married to Luís I of Portugal on the 6 October 1862 in Lisbon, they had two children:
[edit] Queen Dowager
Luís died on 19 October 1889 and Maria Pia became Queen Dowager. The Queen started to show signs of mental instability, after the assassination of her son, King Carlos I of Portugal and grandson Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza on 1st February 1908.
Her mental state worsened following 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.
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.
Maria Pia of Savoy was known in Portugal as "angel of charity" or "mother of the poor" for her compassion and work done on social causes.
| Preceded by Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen |
Queen consort of Portugal 6 October 1862 - 19 October 1889 |
Succeeded by Amélie of Orléans |
This biography of a member of a European royal house is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
