Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (Enrichetta Adelaide Maria; 6 November 1636 – 13 June 1676), was Electress of Bavaria by marriage to

Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria Ferdinand Maria (31 October 1636 – 26 May 1679) was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector ('' Kurfürst'') of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679. Electoral Prince of Bavaria He was born in Munich. He was the eldest son of Maximi ...

. She had much political influence in her adopted country and with her husband did much to improve the welfare of the

Electorate of Bavaria The Electorate of Bavaria (german: Kurfürstentum Bayern) was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Ba ...

Princess of Savoy

Born at the

Castello del Valentino The Valentino Castle ( it, Castello del Valentino) is a historic building in the northwestern Italian city of Turin. It is located in Parco del Valentino, and is the seat of the Architecture Faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin. It is on ...

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 ...

, she was the older of twin girls; her sister Princess Catherine Beatrice of Savoy died in Turin 26 August 1637. On 7 October 1637 she lost her father

Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy Victor Amadeus I ( it, Vittorio Amedeo I di Savoia; 8 May 1587 – 7 October 1637) was the Duke of Savoy from 1630 to 1637. He was also known as the ''Lion of Susa''.Christine of France Christine of France (10 February 1606 – 27 December 1663) was the sister of Louis XIII and Duchess of Savoy by marriage. Upon the death of her husband Victor Amadeus I in 1637, she acted as regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1648. Daughter of ...

, was the daughter of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monar ...

and

Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...

. After the death of her father, her mother served as Regent of Savoy on behalf of two of Henriette Adelaide's brothers: Francis Hyacinth (1632–1638), then Charles Emmanuel II (1634–1675) after the older brother died. Her uncles

Prince Maurice of Savoy Maurice of Savoy (10 January 1593 – 4 October 1657, Turin) was a Prince of Savoy and a 17th-century cardinal. Life He was the son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain. Aged 14, in 1607, he became c ...

and

Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano Thomas Francis of Savoy, 1st Prince of Carignano (; ; 21 December 1596 – 22 January 1656) was an Italian military commander and the founder of the Carignano branch of the House of Savoy, which reigned as kings of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 ...

, intrigued against their sister-in-law and her French entourage. When the first heir Francis Hyacinth died in 1638, the brothers Maurice and Thomas started the

Piedmontese Civil War The Piedmontese Civil War, also known as the Savoyard Civil War, was a conflict for control of the Savoyard state from 1639 to 1642. Although not formally part of the 1635 to 1659 Franco-Spanish War, Savoy's strategic importance drew in both Ha ...

with Spanish support. The two parties in the war were known as the "''principisti''" (supporters of the princes) and "''madamisti''" (supporters of "Madama Reale," the Regent Christine ). With the support of her brother, King

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...

, Marie Christine was able to defeat the challenge to her rule.

Electress of Bavaria

On 8 December 1650 Henriette married Ferdinand Maria, heir to the Electorate of Bavaria future. The next year he became Elector upon the death of his father Maximilian. Henriette Adelaide had a strong influence on Bavarian foreign affairs in favor of France, whose royal family counted her mother as a member. This led to an alliance between France and Bavaria against Austria. One of the results of the alliance was the marriage of Henriette's eldest daughter Maria Anna and her cousin Louis, Dauphin of France (''le Grand Dauphin''), in 1680. She had a leading role in the building of

Nymphenburg Palace The Nymphenburg Palace (german: Schloss Nymphenburg, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. Combined with the adjacent Nymphenburg Palace Park it cons ...

and the Theatine Church in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

. Many Italian artists were invited to Munich, and she also introduced

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...

to the court of Bavaria. Henriette died in Munich and was buried in the Theatine Church - the church she and her husband built as a gesture of thanks for the birth of the long-awaited heir to the Bavarian crown, Prince Maximilan II Emanuel, in 1662.

Issue

Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria Maria Anna Christine Victoria of Bavaria (french: Marie Anne Victoire; 28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) was Dauphine of France by marriage to Louis, Grand Dauphin, son and heir of Louis XIV. She was known as ''la Grande Dauphine''. The Da ...

(28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) married Louis, Dauphin of France, and had issue; the present

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

descends from her. *

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name "Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459– ...

(11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726); married

Maria Antonia of Austria Maria Antonia Josepha Benedicta Rosalia Petronella of Austria (18 January 1669 – 24 December 1692) was an Electress of Bavaria as the wife of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. She was the eldest daughter and only surviving child o ...

and had issue; married

Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska Theresa Kunegunda ( pl, Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska, german: Kurfürstin Therese Kunigunde) (4 March 1676 – 10 March 1730) was a Polish princess, Electress of Bavaria and of the Electorate of the Palatinate. By birth she was member of the House ...

and had issue. * Luise Margarete Antonie of Bavaria (18 September 1663 – 10 November 1665). * Ludwig Amadeus Victor of Bavaria (6 April 1665 – 11 December 1665). * Stillborn son (4 August 1666). * Kajetan Maria Franz of Bavaria (2 May 1670 – 7 December 1670). *

Joseph Clemens of Bavaria Joseph Clemens of Bavaria (german: Joseph Clemens von Bayern) (5 December 1671 – 12 November 1723) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723. Biography The third son of Ferdinand ...

(5 December 1671 – 12 November 1723) Elector and

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palat ...

. * Violante Beatrix of Bavaria (23 January 1673 – 30 May 1731) married Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany. In addition, the Electress suffered three miscarriages: in June 1661, March 1664 and 1674.

Ancestors

Notes

References

* Preuß: ''Henriette Adelheid, Kurfürstin von Baiern'' n:''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' ( ADB). vol. 50, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1905, pp. 198–200. * Roswitha von Bary: ''Henriette Adelaide. Kurfürstin von Bayern''. Pustet, Regensburg 2004, . * Cornelia Kemp: ''Das Herzkabinett der Kurfürstin Henriette Adelaide in der Münchner Residenz. Eine preziöse Liebeskonzeption und ihre Ikonographie'' n:''Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst'' 33, 1982, , pp. 131–154. * Reinhold Baumstark: ''Abbild und Überhöhung in der höfischen Malerei unter Henriette Adelaide und dem jungen Max Emanuel'' n:Hubert Glaser: ''Kurfürst Max Emanuel. Bayern und Europa um 1700''. vol. I: ''Zur Geschichte und Kunstgeschichte der Max-Emanuel-Zeit''. Hirmer, Munich 1976, , pp. 171–205. *

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Henriette Adelaide Of Savoy, Princess 1636 births 1676 deaths Nobility from Turin 17th-century Italian nobility House of Wittelsbach Italian twins Duchesses of Bavaria Electoral Princesses of Bavaria Electresses of Bavaria Princesses of Savoy Burials at the Theatine Church, Munich