Louise of Savoy (Louise Christine; 1 August 1627 – 7 July 1689) was a Savoyard Princess by birth. She became by marriage Margravine of Baden-Baden, consort to Ferdinand Maximilian, heir apparent of Baden-Baden, and the mother of Louis, Margrave of Baden-Baden, the famous chief commander of the Imperial army.

Biography

Louise was born at the Hôtel de Soissons in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The Hôtel was the birthplace of her mother, a granddaughter of Louis de Bourbon, an uncle of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

. Her father was Prince Thomas Francis of Savoy, the younger son of the

Duke of Savoy The titles of the count of Savoy, and then duke of Savoy, are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the House of Savoy held the county. Several of these rulers ruled as kings at ...

and his

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

wife,

Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain Catalina Micaela of Spain (10 October 1567 – 6 November 1597) was Duchess of Savoy by marriage to Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. She ruled the duchy several times as regent in Charles Emmanuel's absence, notably during his campaign in 1594 ...

. She married Margrave

Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden-Baden Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden-Baden, ''Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden'' (23 September 1625 – 4 November 1669) was the father of the famous general Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden. Born in Baden-Baden, he was the oldest son of Wil ...

(1625–1669) on 15 March 1653 at the Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris, France. The church was near the Hôtel de Soissons. The marriage contract was signed on the same day and is today preserved in the Parisian

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. This marriage was negotiated by none other than the famous

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

and the Ambassador of the Margrave of Baden-Baden one Monsieur ''Krebs''. Her husband was the Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden, this meant that he was the

Heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

of his father Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden. Marriages between German and Savoyard nobles were common in an era when many Savoyard nobles lived in German states notably

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

itself, due to official charges in the country. The marriage was not successful. Louise Christine of Savoy refused to leave the refined French court and follow her husband to Baden-Baden. Louise Christine gave birth to a son on April 8, 1655 named Louis William of Baden-Baden. He was named after the French 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 ...

, who was his godfather. Ferdinand Maximilian then abducted his son from Paris and brought him to Baden-Baden. Ferdinand ordered a Savoyard man named Charles Maurice de Lassolaye, who had access to the Hôtel de Soissons, to smuggle his three-month-old son out of Paris and take him to be raised in Baden-Baden. As a consequence Louis William was not raised by his mother, but by his grandfather's second wife Maria Magdalena of Oettingen-Baldern. When it was clear that Louise Christine would not leave Paris, some said due to the influence of her mother, Louise Christine and her husband decided to separate and let her son be raised in Baden-Baden. She died in Paris aged 61. Her descendants included the present Henri d'Orléans, French pretender; the Prince Napoléon;

Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza '' Dom'' Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (, born 15 May 1945), commonly known simply as Dom Duarte, is the current Duke of Braganza and a claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as the head of the House of Braganza. The Miguelist Braganzas, to w ...

and his distant cousin Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza. She is also an ancestor of the ruling

Felipe VI of Spain Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri (; , ; born 16 April 1955) is Grand Duke of Luxembourg, reigning since 2000. He is the eldest son of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium, Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, a ...

and

Albert II of Belgium Albert II (born 6 June 1934) is a member of the Belgian royal family who reigned as King of the Belgians from 9 August 1993 until his abdication on 21 July 2013. Albert II is the son of King Leopold III and the last living child of Queen As ...

Ancestors

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louise Christine Of Savoy-Carignan, Princess 1627 births 1689 deaths Nobility from Paris Princesses of Savoy Hereditary princesses of Baden-Baden House of Zähringen French people of Spanish descent French people of Italian descent French people of Portuguese descent French people of English descent French people of Polish descent French people of Austrian descent House of Savoy-Carignano Mothers of German monarchs