Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (17 September 1688 – 14 February 1714), nicknamed ''La Savoyana'', was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influence as a political adviser during the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
, during which she was often regent while Philip fought to protect his legitimacy and his place on the throne. Despite her young age, Maria Luisa proved herself to be mature, intelligent, hard-working and resolute, and her regencies were effective, winning the respect of her subjects and becoming very popular and well-loved by her people. At the end of the War of Spanish Succession, Philip V was recognized as King of Spain, establishing the Spanish branch of the
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
, which still rules over Spain to this day. Two of her four sons, Louis I and Ferdinand VI, took their turns as King of Spain. Maria Luisa died from
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
Savoy
Savoy (; ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
.''The Gentleman's magazine, Volumes 302-303'', F. Jefferies, 1789, p 284
Engagement
French Prince Philippe, Duke of Anjou recently ascended to the Spanish crown upon the death of his great-uncle, the childless Charles II of Spain. In order to enforce his shaky authority over Spain due to his French birth, Philip V decided to maintain ties with the Duke of Savoy by marrying his daughter Maria Luisa Gabriella, his second cousin through King
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
. In mid-1701, Philip V asked for her hand with the permission of his grandfather, King
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
.''The Gentleman's magazine, Volumes 302-303'', F. Jefferies, 1789, p 286 They were wed by proxy on 12 September 1701, five days before Maria Luisa Gabriella's thirteenth birthday. She arrived to
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionPope Clement XI, who gave her the Golden Rose on 20 September as a ritualistic gift. Within a week, she sailed from Nice for Antibes and was taken to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.
Queen of Spain
The official wedding took place on 2 November 1701. Philip V was seventeen and Maria Luisa was thirteen.''The Gentleman's magazine, Volumes 302-303'', F. Jefferies, 1789, p 284 He was deeply in love with his wife from the start: as would be the case of his next consort, he was sexually dependent on her because his religious scruples prevented him from exercising any sexual life outside of marriage. Unlike what was normal for a Spanish monarch, he usually slept in her bed the entire night, and insisted upon his conjugal rights. Already shortly after their marriage, the French ambassador, the Duke of Gramont reported to Louis XIV that Philip would be completely governed by his spouse as long as he had one, a report that led Louis XIV to warn his grandson not to allow his Queen to dominate him.
In general, the young Queen's influence was beneficial: Maria Luisa Gabriella is described as remarkably mature for her age, politically savvy, articulate and hardworking. She was praised throughout Spain for her regency and had been credited with giving the normally passive Philip V the energy he needed to participate in warfare.
War of Spanish Succession
In 1702, Phillip V was obliged to leave Spain to fight in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
as part of the ongoing War of Spanish Succession. During her husband's absence, 14-year-old Maria Luisa Gabriella effectively acted as regent from
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, insisting upon all complaints being investigated, ordering that the reports were directly sent to her, and working for hours with ministers. She gave audiences to ambassadors and tried to prevent Savoy from joining the enemy, though this goal soon failed. However, her issues successfully encouraged the reorganization of the ''Junta'' and considerable monetary donations from several nobles and cities towards the war effort. In 1715, Philip V was eventually recognised as King of Spain and retained most of its colonial possessions, but
ceded territories in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and renounced the French throne for himself and his descendants.
Court Intrigue
French Courtier Marie Anne de La Trémoille, Princesse des Ursins, was a member of the Spanish Queen's household. She would maintain great influence over Maria Luisa Gabriella as her '' Camarera mayor de Palacio'', the chief lady-in-waiting of the Queen's household. Trémoille maintained strong dominance in Spain by using all the rights of proximity to the Queen Regent that her position entitled her to: she was almost constantly in Maria Luisa Gabriella's presence, accompanied her wherever she went as soon as she left her private rooms, followed her to the council meetings where she listened sitting by the side sewing, followed her back to her rooms where she was present at the most intimate personal tasks, dressing and undressing her, and controlling whoever wished to come into her presence. As Philip V actually shared a bedroom with Maria Luisa Gabriella, the Princess came to obtain enormous influence over the King. In 1704, Trémoille was exiled at the order of King Louis XIV, devastating the rulers. However, in 1705, the Princess returned to Madrid, much to the Queen's joy.
Death
Towards the end of her life, Maria Luisa Gabriella became ill with
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. She eventually died in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid, on 14 February 1714 at the age of 25. The Queen was buried at San Lorenzo de El Escorial. On 16 September 1714, just months after her death, her widower remarried by proxy, to Elisabeth Farnese, the heiress of the Duke of Parma. Her niece, Princess Maria Luisa was named after her.
Issue
# Louis (25 August 1707 – 31 August 1724): Future King Louis I of Spain. Married Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans
#Philip (2 July 1709 – 18 July 1709): Died in infancy.
#
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
(7 June 1712 – 29 December 1719): Died in childhood.
#
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
(23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759): Future King Ferdinand VI of Spain. Married Infanta Maria Barbara of Portugal
As all of her sons were to die without issue, there are no descendants of Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy.