Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy (german: Ludwig Thomas von Savoyen, Graf von Soissons; 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 start of the War of the Spanish Succession.

Biography

Louis Thomas was the eldest son of Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons and Olympia Mancini, as well as the oldest brother of

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...

. He married Uranie de La Cropte de Beauvais, whom Saint-Simon had once described as "radiant as the glorious morn". His daughter

Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy (german: Maria Anna Victoria von Savoyen, (french: Marie Anne Victoire de Savoie); 11 September 1683 – 11 October 1763) was the daughter of Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy, Count of Soissons, and Uranie de L ...

eventually inherited Eugene's estate. His maternal cousins included the

Duke of Vendôme Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

as well as the Duke of Bouillon and Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne. His paternal cousins included Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignano and Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden. After the death of his father and the flight of his mother to Brussels due to her involvement in the notorious

Poison affair Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

, Louis Thomas and Urania were charged, along with his paternal grandmother, with the rearing of his younger brothers. Eugene was never to forget the couple's loving surrogate parentage. Louis Thomas obtained a commission as an officer in the French Army, but Louis XIV had amorous designs on his wife. Urania, however, spurned the king's romantic advances. Angered, Louis dismissed Louis Thomas from the army, and, when Louis Thomas sought a position abroad, terminated his pension and dues. In 1699, all but bankrupt, Louis Thomas sought the aid of his younger brother, Eugene, in Vienna. With Eugene's help, he obtained a commission in the Austrian Imperial Army. On 18 August Louis was killed by a French bomb at the Siege of Landau at the onset of the War of the Spanish Succession.

Issue

(1683–1763), ''Mademoiselle de Soissons''; married Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Duke in Saxony, son of Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen; had no issue. # Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy (1685–1695) # Princess Thérèse Anne Louise of Savoy (1686–1736); never married and had no issue. # Prince Emmanuel Thomas of Savoy (1687–1729); succeeded as Count of Soissons. He married

Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (Maria Theresia Anna Felicitas; 11 May 1694 – 20 February 1772) was the heiress to the Silesian Duchy of Troppau (now Opava in Czech Republic). Countess of Soissons by marriage, she was the last per ...

and had issue. # Prince Maurice of Savoy (1690–1710) # Prince Eugene of Savoy (1692–1712)

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soissons, Louis Thomas, Count of 1657 births 1702 deaths Louis Thomas Counts of Soissons Italian military personnel Burials at the Basilica of Superga Candidates for the Polish elective throne Place of birth unknown