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 This is a list of those who bore the title Count of Soissons (french: Comte de Soissons) and ruled Soissons and its ''civitas'' or diocese as a county in the Middle Ages. The title continued in use into modern times, but without ties to the actu ...

, and Uranie de La Cropte de Beauvais (1655-1717).

Biography

As the daughter of

Louis Thomas, Count of Soissons 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 ...

, she was styled ''Mademoiselle de Soissons'' or ''Mademoiselle de Carignan'' prior to her marriage. Her father had married at the age of twenty two far below his class and in secret Uranie de La Cropte de Beauvais, after the death of her husband Uranie retired into a monastery. Maria Anna Victoria was the niece of Prince Eugene of Savoy, the great general and statesman of imperial Austria, a patron of the arts whom she had never met. Upon Prince Eugene's sudden death in 1736, without a will or testament, Maria Anna Victoria as his closest relative inherited his immense possessions in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, which she then proceeded to quickly sell off at cut rate prices. His mansions, vast art collections (with an estimated 400 pictures), antique furniture, old masters, statues, even his wartime medals, the sword given to him by

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as ...

, for his part in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

and the portrait given to him by Emperor Joseph were sold; nothing was spared. Only his library and his favourite palace, the

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

were purchased by the Emperor, while

Schloss Hof Schloss Hof is a palace located in Marchfeld, Austria near the border of Slovakia. It once belonged to Prince Eugene of Savoy who purchased it late in his life in 1726. He had it enlarged in the Baroque style by the architect Johann Lukas von ...

and the Stadtpalais went to Maria Theresa. The bitterness of every Austrian against Maria Anna Victoria as she proceeded with the liquidation was expressed in a couplet which was pinned on her door: Embellished with her fantastic dowry, fifty-two-year-old Princess Maria Anna Victoria married on 17 April 1738 German officer and

Feldzeugmeister ''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...

of the Imperial Army

Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen Joseph Maria Frederick Wilhelm of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Duke in Saxony (german: Joseph Maria Friedrich Wilhelm Hollandinus, Prinz und Regent von Sachsen-Hildburghausen; 5 October 1702 – Hildburghausen, 4 January 1787), was a German officer, ...

, who was sixteen years younger than her, and led a life of lavish parties. The union ended in divorce in 1757 after Saxe-Hildburghausen was said to have ingloriously ran away. The couple had no children. She then lived for a time in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and eventually died in

Turin, Italy Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. T ...

, in 1763 at the age of 76.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy, Princess 1683 births 1763 deaths Nobility from Paris Princesses of Savoy House of Saxe-Hildburghausen Burials at the Basilica of Superga Princesses of Saxe-Hildburghausen Place of birth missing