Dona Maria Pia (16 October 1847 – 5 July 1911) was by birth an Italian princess of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

and by marriage

Queen of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...

as the wife of King

Luís I of Portugal Dom (title), ''Dom'' Luís I (; 31 October 1838 – 19 October 1889), known as "the Popular" (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''o Popular'') was King of Portugal from 1861 to 1889. Luís was a member of the ruling House of Braganza. The second ...

. On the day of her baptism,

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

, her godfather, gave her a Golden Rose. Maria Pia was married to Luís on 6 October 1862 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. She was the grand mistress of the Order of Saint Isabel. She was the third queen of the

on the Portuguese throne, after

Mafalda ''Mafalda'' () is an Argentina, Argentine Argentine comics, comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Quino. The strip features a six-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflects the Argentine middle class and progressive youth, is concerned abou ...

and Marie-Françoise of Savoy-Nemours.

Early life

Maria Pia was the youngest daughter of

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...

, the first

King of Italy King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

, by his wife Adelaide of Austria, a great-granddaughter of

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was the penultimate Holy Roman Emperor, as well as King of Hungary, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia, and List of rulers of Austria, Archduke of Austri ...

. Her sister Maria Clotilde was the "princesse Napoléon" as the wife of Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, and her brothers were King

Umberto I of Italy Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance (1882), Triple Alliance a ...

and King Amadeo of Spain. Additionally, she had paternal half-siblings born out of wedlock, who were never recognized as royalty despite their rich

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

. Maria Pia married King

on 6 October 1862 at the age of 14 in the São Domingos Church in Lisbon, therefore she instantly became Queen consort of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. A proxy wedding took place about a week before, on 27 September 1862, with her cousin

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

taking the role of the groom. On the 29th, Maria boarded a ship at

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

to visit her new homeland. The ship sailed into

on 5 October. Obviously Maria was smitten with Luís, as she later wrote "I like him more than his picture." One year after the wedding at age 15, Maria Pia gave birth to her first son and

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

, Carlos, Duke of Braganza. Despite her young age she proved to be a wonderful mother. She wrote "my little Charles is good. Oh, it is such a great fortune to be a mother. My little one is white and pink with the large blue eyes of his father. It seems that he has already six months instead of a few weeks. He is always, always with me!" In 1865 she had another son, Afonso, Duke of Porto. Soon after her second

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

she experienced

postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called perinatal depression, is a mood disorder which may be experienced by pregnant or postpartum women. Symptoms include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and extreme cha ...

. Despite her waning health problems both physical and mental, the queen was known to romp around with her sons and help with their studies, sometimes even studying alongside them.

Queen consort

As Queen, Maria Pia was considered by some as extravagant, but far more for her many charitable works in aid of the Portuguese people. She was known by the Portuguese people as an "angel of charity" and "mother of the poor" for her compassion and work on social causes. At a masquerade ball in 1865, she changed her costume three times. When the Portuguese parliament discussed her expenses, she replied saying "if you want a Queen, you have to pay for her". As Queen, she was largely responsible for the interiors of the Ajuda Royal Palace in Lisbon, still used to this day for banquets during state visits by foreign heads of state. Maria Pia did not involve herself in politics, but in 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 you shot!" Over the years, Luís began to indulge in several extramarital affairs. Despite her husband’s apparent wandering eye, Maria Pia remained faithful to her husband, therefore causing her a great deal of depression. It is speculated that she too had an affair with Tomás de Sousa Rosa but this was never confirmed, and may have just been some mean-spirited

gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Etymology The word is from Old English ''godsibb'', from ''god (word), god'' and ''sibb'', the term for the ...

most likely out of the mouth of Infanta Antónia of Portugal, her sister-in-law. The rumors got around to the queen and she responded indignantly “They can talk until they explode.” Maria Pia and Antónia both generally disliked each other. This hatred grew to the point where Antónia would refer to the penultimate queen of Portugal as ‘x’ in her letters to Luís. Antónia strongly believed that Maria Pia was having an affair and urged Luís to pursue a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

, which was quite the double—standard considering she was well aware of Luís’ affairs. Maria Pia also maintained a rocky relationship with her

father-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity (law), affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person i ...

Ferdinand II of Portugal ''Dom (title), Dom'' Ferdinand II (; 29 October 1816 – 15 December 1885), also known as Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and as "the King-artist" (), was King of Portugal from 16 September 1837 to 15 November 1853 as the husband and co-ruler ...

, disapproving of his morganatic marriage to an opera singer. Her son Carlos and his wife, Amélie, had a son named Luís Filipe, who was very close to his grandmother. Tragically they also conceived a

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

daughter named Maria Ana who lived for a few hours. She expressed her sympathy, describing her lost granddaughter as “Very small, but perfect and beautiful, with well-defined features.” King Luís died on 19 October 1889 and Maria Pia became

queen dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is cle ...

. She remained very active and continued with her social projects while holding a dominating position at court. She served as regent during the absence of the king and queen abroad. The queen dowager was devastated after the assassination of her son King

Carlos I of Portugal Dom (title), ''Dom'' Carlos I (; 28 September 1863 – 1 February 1908), known as "the Diplomat" (), "the Oceanographer" () among many other names, was List of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1889 until his Lisbon Regicide, assassin ...

and grandson Crown Prince Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza, on 1 February 1908 on the

Praça do Comércio The Praça do Comércio (; ) is a large, harbour-facing plaza in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, and is one of the largest in Portugal, with an area of 175 by 175 m (574 by 574 ft), that is, 30,600 m2 (329,000 ft2). Facing the Tagus () to the South, ...

in Lisbon. During her last years in Portugal, she withdrew from the public eye. She was deeply saddened when her remaining grandson, King

Manuel II of Portugal Dom (title), Dom Manuel II (Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança; 15 November 1889 – 2 July 1932), sometimes known as Manuel the Unfortunate () or ...

, was deposed by the

5 October 1910 Revolution 5 October 1910 Revolution () was the overthrow of the centuries-old List of Portuguese monarchs, Portuguese monarchy and its replacement by the First Portuguese Republic. It was the result of a ''coup d'état'' organized by the Portuguese Repub ...

. Due to the 1910 coup that deposed Maria Pia’s grandson, Manuel II, and established the republic in

, the whole Portuguese royal family was exiled. King Manuel and Queen Amélie went to England, while Maria Pia and Infante Afonso went to her native

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 ...

. She died there on 5 July the following year, in Stupinigi, and was interred in the Basilica of Superga.

Gallery

File:Portrait of Maria Pia of Savoy.jpg, Portrait of Maria Pia, by Luigi Gandolfi (1863) File:Marie Pie, Queen of Portugal, Princess of Italy (1863) - William Bambridge.png, Photograph of Maria Pia as a teenager (1863) File:Retrato da rainha D. Maria Pia (1865-68) - Michele Gordigiani (Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, Inv. 2390).png, Portrait of Maria Pia, by Michele Gordigiani (1865),

Palace of Ajuda A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

File:Carolus-Duran Retrato de D. Maria Pia.jpg, Portrait of Maria Pia, by Carolus Duran (1880),

File:A Família Real Portuguesa em Queluz.jpg, The royal family of Portugal, by Joseph Layraud (1876) File:33- Rainha D. Maria Pia - O Anjo da Caridade.jpg, Portrait of Maria Pia, by Joseph Layraud

Issue

Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Pia of Savoy 1847 births 1911 deaths Princesses of Savoy Burials at the Basilica of Superga Portuguese queen mothers Nobility from Turin House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Queens consort of Portugal Italian people of Polish descent Portuguese people of Polish descent Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel 19th-century Italian women 19th-century Portuguese people 19th-century Portuguese women Children of Victor Emmanuel II Daughters of kings People with mood disorders