Benedetta Maria Ernestina d'Este (18 August 1697 – 17 September 1777) was an Italian noblewoman and princess of the

Duchy of Modena and Reggio The Duchy of Modena and Reggio (; ; ) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northern Italy, Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagna. It was ruled since its establishment by the noble House of Este, and from 1814 ...

. She served as Regent of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio during the absence of her brother Francesco III in October - December 1737.

Biography

She was the first child and eldest daughter of Duke Rinaldo d'Este and Duchess Charlotte of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of the Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg. Her parents' marriage had required papal dispensation because of the close interrelationships of the ducal families of Brunswick and Modena. She was given the name Benedetta ‘blessed’ after her maternal grandmother,

Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate Princess Palatine Benedicta Henrietta (Benedicta Henrietta Philippina; 14 March 1652 – 12 August 1730) was List of consorts of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, or of Hanover, by her marriage to John Frederick, Duke of Brunswi ...

. Her cousin

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...

, then the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, paid a visit to Modena in March 1717. He quickly fell in love with Benedetta and asked her to marry him. However, their union was seen as an undesirable entanglement by Rinaldo, who wanted to maintain good relations with George I. Rinaldo first insisted that the betrothal remain secret, and then definitively refused his consent to it in September 1717, while James was living in

Urbino Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...

. After the death of her father in October 1737, her brother Francesco succeeded him as Duke of Modena in his absence. Since her brother was absent from Modena fighting in the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

, Benedetta and her younger sister Amalia assumed the regency of the duchies until the return of their brother in December. Benedetta never married and had no children. She died on 16 September 1777 at Modena at the age of 80.

Notes

References

* * {{Princesses of Modena House of Este 1697 births 1777 deaths 18th-century Italian nobility 18th-century Italian women Daughters of dukes 18th-century women regents 18th-century regents