Prince Tommaso of Savoy, 2nd Duke of Genoa (Tommaso Alberto Vittorio; 6 February 1854 – 15 April 1931), who is also known as ''Thomas Albert Victor of

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Sa ...

'', was an Italian royal prince,Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. p. 207. (French). ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XVI. "Haus Bayern". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2001, p. 13. . nephew of Victor Emmanuel at the time the King of Sardinia, who on 18 February 1861 became the first King of a united Italy. His cousin and brother-in-law Umberto I and his nephew Victor Emmanuel III became subsequent kings of Italy.

Biography

Prince Thomas was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

as the second child and only son of Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, 1st Duke of Genoa, the second son of Charles Albert,

King of Sardinia The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861. Early history Owing to the absence of written sources, litt ...

(1798–1849, abdicated 1848) and his wife Maria Theresa of Austria-Tuscany (1801–55). Prince Thomas' mother was

Princess Elisabeth of Saxony Elisabeth of Saxony (4 February 1830 – 14 August 1912) was a Princess of Saxony who married the second son of the King of Sardinia. She was the mother of Margherita, Queen of Italy. Early life and family She was born in Dresden, capital of ...

(1830–1912), daughter of King John I of Saxony (1801–73) and Princess Amalie of Bavaria (1801–77). Barely a year after his birth, on 10 February 1855, his father died and Prince Thomas inherited his title, becoming the 2nd Duke of Genoa. He was educated at Harrow. With the accession of Victor Emmanuel II to the throne of Italy in 1861, Prince Tommaso, in common with all of the family members, became a prince of Italy. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

the king,

Victor Emanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and K ...

, assumed the duties of ''Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces'' and named the Duke of Genoa as

Luogotenente The Italian word ''luogotenente'' (; plural ''luogotenenti'') is an etymological parallel to lieutenant, deriving from the Latin ''locum tenens'' "holding a place", i.e. someone who fills a position instead of another, as a substitute, deputy, et ce ...

, in which position he managed the civil affairs of the kingdom throughout the war. Prince Thomas' elder sister Princess Margherita of Savoy-Genoa (1851–1926) married King Umberto I of Italy. Her only child was King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, who reigned starting from his father's murder in 1900. Prince Thomas died in 1931, leaving six adult children. He was the last surviving grandchild of

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Statuto Albertino, Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian ...

Family and children

In 1883 at Nymphenburg, Bavaria, he was married to Princess Maria Isabella of Bavaria (1863–1924), the eldest daughter of the late Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (1828–1875) and Infanta Amalia of Spain (1834–1905), daughter of the Duke of Cadiz. Their marriage produced the following children:

Honours

* : Knight of the Order of the Rue Crown, ''1871'' * : ** Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, ''2 June 1872'' ** Grand Cross of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the ...

, ''2 June 1872'' ** Grand Cross of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

, ''2 June 1872'' * : Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, ''1875'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

: ** Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King i ...

, ''22 October 1875'' ** Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, ''17 May 1893'' * : Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, ''8 December 1879'' * : Knight of the Order of St. Hubert, ''1883'' * : ** Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III, ''5 September 1887''; with Collar, ''15 May 1902'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriag ...

, ''6 February 1888'' *

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

: Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri, ''14 May 1897'' * : Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

, ''30 April 1903''Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', I, London
p. 426
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Ancestry

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tommaso, Prince, Duke of Genoa 1854 births 1931 deaths People educated at Harrow School Nobility from Turin Princes of Savoy Italian people of Polish descent Italian people of German descent Dukes of Genoa Italian princes Italian admirals Burials at the Basilica of Superga Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary