Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy

Maria Clotilde of Savoy (Ludovica Teresa Maria Clotilde; 2 March 1843 – 25 June 1911) was born in Turin to Vittorio Emanuele II, later King of Italy and his first wife, Adelaide of Austria. She was the wife of Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte. She was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic and has been declared a Servant of God by Pope Pius XII.

Early life and ancestry

Maria Clotilde was the eldest of eight children born to Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia by his first wife and cousin, Archduchess Adelaide of Austria. Her father would later become the king of a united Italy as Victor Emmanuel II.

Maria Clotilde's paternal grandparents were Charles Albert, King of Sardinia and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria.

Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. Rainer was a younger son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Marriage

On 30 January 1859, she was married in Turin to Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte (1822–1891). They had three children:

Princess Napoléon

Their marriage was unhappy, particularly as Maria Clotilde preferred the quieter, more duty-filled life that she felt they should maintain, while Napoléon-Jérôme preferred the faster, more entertainment-filled lifestyle of the French Court. Another factor in their unhappy marriage was the circumstances leading up to their espousal. Maria Clotilde had been only 15 years old when they were married, while he was over 37.Vizetelly, p. 225. In the events leading up to their marriage, she had been vehemently against it and had unhappily agreed to it. The marriage had also been negotiated out of political reasons during the conference of Plombières (July 1858). As Maria Clotilde was too young at the time for marriage, Napoléon-Jérôme had to wait until the following year; many had disapproved of the speed he undertook collecting his young bride in Turin. Their marriage was often compared to that of an elephant and a gazelle; the bridegroom had strong Napoleonic features (broad, bulky, and ponderous) while the bride appeared frail, short, fair-haired, and with the characteristic nose of the House of Savoy.

Her husband was unfaithful, while she was active in charities. Maria Clotilde was described as proud, bigoted, and dutiful, yet " pious and modest." During a discussion of the proper way of dressing, Maria Clotilde pointed out to Empress Eugénie de Montijo that she should not forget that she was born and raised in a royal court. When Eugénie complained of the fatigue of the French Court on one occasion, Maria Clotilde replied, "We do not mind; you see, we are born to it".

The marriage was unpopular with both the French and the Italians; the latter in particular felt that the daughter of their king had been sacrificed to an unpopular member of the House of Bonaparte and consequently regarded it as a ''mésalliance''. For France's part, Napoléon-Jérôme was ill-regarded and had been known to carry on a number of affairs both before and during his marriage. Their official reception into Paris on 4 February was greeted very coldly by Parisians, not out of disrespect for a daughter of the king of Sardinia, but out of dislike for her new husband. Indeed, all her life, public sympathy tended to lean in her favour; she was fondly regarded as retiring, charitable, pious, and trapped in an unhappy marriage.

With her husband, she travelled to the United States in 1861 and to Egypt and the Holy Land in 1863. While in the United States, she travelled on the newly completed main line of the Illinois Central Railroad, where the village of Savoy, Illinois, was named in her honour.

Fall of French Empire

After the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870, Maria Clotilde had initially refused to leave Paris when the revolution broke out, because of her sense of what was suitable for a princess from the House of Savoy, which was to stay on her post. They were forced to flee, however, and their family enjoyed a beautiful estate in the town of Prangins near Lake Geneva that they resided in.

Turin

After Maria Clotilde's father Victor Emmanuel died in 1878, she returned to Turin, Italy without her husband. During this period, their daughter (Maria Letizia) mostly resided with her mother in the Castle of Moncalieri, but her two sons stayed mainly with their father. It was in Italy that their mother withdrew herself from society to dedicate herself to religion and various charities.

After the revolution, she lived the rest of her life in Moncalieri (located outside of Turin), where she spent her days devoting herself to religion. She lived in retirement from the world for the following 20 years until her death at the age of 68 in Moncalieri. She was buried there, and the funeral was given regal honours. It was attended by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Queen Elena, and others.

Beatification process

In 1936 the cause of beatification Maria Clotilde was introduced by Maurilio Fossati, Archbishop of Turin. Her spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 28 February 1940. On 10 July 1942 Pope Pius XII declared the princess a Servant of God.

Honours

* : Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.Mediterranean Nobility
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* : Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross.

Ancestry

References

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Clotilde Of Savoy, Princess
1843 births
1911 deaths
19th-century Italian people
20th-century Italian people
19th-century Italian women
20th-century Italian women
Italian people of Polish descent
Princesses in Italy
Princesses Napoléon
House of Bonaparte
Princesses of Savoy
Burials at the Basilica of Superga
Nobility from Turin
Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel
Italian Servants of God
Lay Dominicans
Children of Victor Emmanuel II
Daughters of kings