Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy
Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy (Maria Francesca Anna Romana; 26 December 1914 – 7 December 2001) was the youngest daughter of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Elena of Montenegro. She was a sister of Umberto II of Italy and of Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria.
Contents
- 1 Marriage and issue
- 2 Honours
- 3 Ancestry
- 4 References
- 5 External links
Marriage and issue
Maria Francesca was born in Rome as the fifth and youngest child of her parents. She had three elder sisters, Yolanda, Giovanna, Mafalda, and a brother, Umberto. In her birthplace, on 23 January 1939, Maria Francesca married Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma (5 December 1899 - 4 December 1967), a younger son of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. Her husband was a brother of Zita, Empress of Austria, among many others.
The couple moved to Cannes, where all four of their children were born. Maria was interned with her husband and two elder children by the National Socialist German Workers' Partys during World War II. After the war, they lived in Italy for a while, then returned to France. She took up permanent residence in Mandelieu, near Cannes, after her husband's death.
They had four children:
- Prince Guy of Bourbon-Parma (7 August 1940, Cannes – 10 March 1991, Paris) married Brigitte Peu-Duvallon on 11 November 1964; divorced 17 September 1981, with issue.
- Prince Rémy of Bourbon-Parma (born 14 July 1942, Cannes) married firstly Laurence Dufresne d'Arganchy 10 February 1973; divorced 1983, with issue. He wed secondly Elisabeth Tardif on 5 July 2003.
- Princess Chantal of Bourbon-Parma (born 24 November 1946, Cannes) married firstly Panayotis Skinas on 1 July 1977; divorced 1987, with issue. She wed secondly Francois-Henri Georges on 24 September 1988.
- Prince Jean of Bourbon-Parma (born 15 October 1951, Cannes) married Virginia Roatta on 26 March 1988, with issue. Jean is the youngest grandchild of Robert I, Duke of Parma.
Honours
- House of Savoy: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
- :Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Dame Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 3rd First Cl*
- Austrian Imperial and Royal Family: Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross, 2nd Cl*
Ancestry
References
External links
- Newspaper clippings about Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW