Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy (, (); 11 September 1683 – 11 October 1763) was the daughter of Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy,

Count of Soissons This is a list of those who bore the title Count of Soissons () and ruled Soissons and its ''civitas'' or diocese as a county in the Middle Ages. The title continued in use into modern times, but without ties to the actual Soissonnais. Carolingia ...

, and his wife, Uranie de La Cropte de Beauvais (1655-1717).

Biography

As the daughter of

Louis Thomas, Count of Soissons Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy (; Italian: ''Luigi Tommaso di Savoia''; 15 December 1657 – 14 August 1702) was a Count of Soissons and Prince of Savoy. He was killed as Feldzeugmeister of the Imperial Army at the Siege of Landau at the sta ...

, she was styled ''Mademoiselle de Soissons'' or ''Mademoiselle de Carignan'' prior to her marriage. Her father had married at the age of twenty two far below his class and in secret Uranie de La Cropte de Beauvais, after the death of her husband Uranie retired into a monastery. Maria Anna Victoria was the niece of

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 ...

, the great general and statesman of imperial Austria, a patron of the arts whom she had never met. Upon Prince Eugene's sudden death in 1736, without a will or testament, Maria Anna Victoria as his closest relative inherited his immense possessions in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, which she then proceeded to quickly sell off at cut rate prices. His mansions, vast art collections (with an estimated 400 pictures), antique furniture, old masters, statues, even his wartime medals, the sword given to him by

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 8 March 1702, and List of British monarchs, Queen of Great Britain and Irel ...

, for his part in 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 ...

and the portrait given to him by Emperor Joseph were sold; nothing was spared. Only his library and his favourite palace, the

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

were purchased by the Emperor, while

Schloss Hof Schloss Hof is a palace located in Marchfeld, Austria near the border with Slovakia. It once belonged to Prince Eugene of Savoy who purchased it late in his life in 1726. He had it enlarged in the Baroque architecture, Baroque style by the archit ...

and the Stadtpalais went to

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

. The bitterness of every Austrian against Maria Anna Victoria as she proceeded with the liquidation was expressed in a couplet which was pinned on her door: Embellished with her fantastic dowry, fifty-two-year-old Princess Maria Anna Victoria married on 17 April 1738 German officer and

Feldzeugmeister General of the Artillery () was a historical military rank in some German and Austro-Hungarian armies, specifically in artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries, and survived until the beginning of the 20th century in some Euro ...

of the Imperial Army

Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fe ...

, who was sixteen years younger than her, and led a life of lavish parties. The union ended in divorce in 1757 after Saxe-Hildburghausen was said to have ingloriously ran away. The couple had no children. She then lived for a time in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and eventually died in

Turin, Italy Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, in 1763 at the age of 76.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy, Princess 1683 births 1763 deaths Nobility from Paris Princesses of Savoy House of Saxe-Hildburghausen Burials at the Basilica of Superga Princesses of Saxe-Hildburghausen Place of birth missing