Eugenio Giovanni Francesco di Savoia-Soissons

Prince Eugene Jean of Savoy (Eugene Jean François; 23 September 1714 – 23 November 1734) was the last

Count of Soissons This is a list of those who bore the title Count of 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 actual Soissonnais. Carolingia ...

and by birth a member of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

Life

The only son of Emmanuel Thomas, Count of Soissons (a member of the

House of Savoy-Carignano The House of Savoy-Carignano (; ) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. It was founded by Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano (1596–1656), an Italian military commander who was the fifth son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. ...

), and

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 pe ...

Duchess of Troppau The Principality of Opava (; ) or Duchy of Troppau () was a historic territory split off from the Margraviate of Moravia before 1269 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia to provide for his natural son, Nicholas I, Duke of Troppau, Nicholas I. The Opav ...

, he succeeded his father on his death in 1729, while remaining his mother's

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

and being often also styled "Duke of Troppau". In the same year 1729, the

King of Sardinia Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthagians, Carthaginians, and occupied by the Ancient Rome, Romans for around a thousand years, ...

Victor Amadeus II Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King o ...

granted him the title of knight of the

Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation () is a Catholic order of chivalry, originating in County of Savoy, Savoy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Italy#The Kingdom of Italy, honours system in the ...

, the highest Savoy distinction. In 1731, at the instigation of his grand-uncle,

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

, a famous general and eminent personality in the imperial court, he was made, like his father before him, knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

by the

Emperor Charles VI Charles VI (; ; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully claimed the throne of Spain follow ...

. With the aim of establishing a second

Savoy Savoy (; )  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 and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

state in central Italy, Prince Eugene of Savoy, particularly attached to his grand-nephew, who was his last living male heir, requested for him the hand of

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina (29 June 1725 29 December 1790) was sovereign Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara from 1731 until her death in 1790. From 1780, she also formally held the title of Duchess consort of Modena and Reggio as the wi ...

, Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara, obtaining the approval of

and the

Charles Emmanuel III Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, List of monarchs of Sardinia, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his Victor Amadeus II, father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death ...

, whom he looked to as the head of the extended House of Savoy. The duchess was then only seven years old and was under the regency of her mother . Matrimonial agreements were signed in Vienna, where the prince resided, on 2 May 1732, and, in the month of October, the eighteen-year-old betrothed visited Massa to pay homage to his little fiancée and future mother-in-law. The marriage, however, could not take place due to the young count's premature death in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, where he was serving the emperor in the military, on 23 November 1734. Maria Teresa would later be married to Ercole Rinaldo d'Este, heir 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 ...

(and future duke under the name Ercole III). With Eugene Jean's death, the title "Count of Soissons" became extinct and reverted to the French crown. The huge inheritance of Prince Eugene, who died intestate two years later, fell to his closest surviving relative, Eugene Jean's aunt, Anna Victoria of Savoy. His cousin Victor Amadeus of Carignan, the son of his father's eldest brother, was also still alive, but Anna Victoria was preferred. In 1772, upon the death of Eugene Jean's mother, the duchy of Troppau returned to the possession of the

princes of Liechtenstein There have been 16 monarchs of the Principality of Liechtenstein since 1608. The current Prince of Liechtenstein is Hans-Adam II, since 13 November 1989. The current Hereditary Prince and Regent of Liechtenstein is Alois, since 15 August 2004.

, in the person of

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

Ancestry

Notes

{{Princes of Savoy 1714 births 1734 deaths Princes of Savoy Eugene Jean of Savoy-Carignan Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Generals of the Holy Roman Empire People from the Kingdom of Sardinia