Louis Victor of Savoy, 4th Prince of Carignano (25 September 1721 – 16 December 1778) headed a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the Italian dynasty which reigned over the Kingdom of Sardinia, being known as the

Prince of 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. ...

from 1741 till his death. Upon extinction of the senior line of the family, his great-grandson succeeded to the royal throne as King Charles Albert of Sardinia, while his great-great-grandson,

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...

, became King of Italy.

Early life

Louis Victor was born at the Hôtel de Soissons, the Parisian home of his ancestor

Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons Marie de Bourbon (3 May 1606 – 3 June 1692) was the wife of Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano, and thus a princess of Savoy by marriage. At the death of her brother in 1641, she became Countess of Soissons in her own right, passing the titl ...

, to

Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignano Victor Amadeus of Savoy, 3rd Prince of Carignano (1 March 1690 – 4 April 1741) was an Italian nobleman who was Prince of Carignano from 1709 to 1741. He was the son of Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Carignano and his wife, Maria Angel ...

and his wife Maria Vittoria di Savoia. His father was a grandson of

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 1 ...

and thus a descendant of

Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel I (; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 30 August 1580 until his death almost 50 years later in 1630, he was the longest-reigning Savoyard monarch ...

and

Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain Catalina Micaela of Spain (10 October 1567 – 6 November 1597) was Duchess of Savoy by marriage to Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. She ruled the duchy several times as regent in Charles Emmanuel's absence, notably during his campaign in 1594 ...

. He was doubly descended from the latter pair, as his mother was a legitimated daughter of

Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia 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 ...

and his mistress Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes. One of five children, he was the second son of his parents; his older brother Joseph Victor died an infant in 1716. Louis Victor was thus heir to the Carignano

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 ...

from birth. His older sister Anne Thérèse married the Frenchman Charles de Rohan and was

Princess of Soubise Within the French nobility, "Princess of Soubise" was the title given to the wife of the Prince of Soubise. The title was established in 1667 when the ''sire, sirerie'' of Soubise, Charente-Maritime was elevated to a principality. The title was he ...

by marriage. Anne Thérèse was the mother of Madame de Guéméné, official governess to the children of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

and

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

Career

Louis Victor grew up in Paris, where his father was both a courtier and an inveterate gambler. Heavily in debt in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, and sued by his sisters whose dowries he had gambled away, he had fled to France where he lived so luxurious a life that his son was forced to sell significant family assets in that country. He later moved to Piedmont, between

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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. The city is main ...

and

Racconigi Racconigi (; ) is a town and (municipality) in Piedmont, Italy. It is located in the province of Cuneo, south of Turin, and north of Cuneo by rail. History The town was founded in medieval times. It was a possession of the marquisses of Salu ...

. In 1741, Louis Victor's father died and he became the Prince of Carignano. The

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of Carignano had belonged to the Savoys since 1418, but the fact that it was part of

, only twenty km south of Turin, meant that it could be a "princedom" for Thomas in name only, being endowed neither with independence nor revenues of substance.

Personal life

On 4 May 1740, Louis Victor married Princess Christine of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, a sister of the Sardinian king's deceased wife Queen Polyxena (1706–1736). The couple had nine children. * Princess Carlotta (17 August 1742 – 20 September 1794), who became a nun and died unmarried. * Victor Amadeus II, Prince of Carignano (1743–1780), who married Joséphine de Lorraine. * Princess Leopoldina (1744–1807), who married Andrea IV Doria-Pamphili-Landi, 8th Prince of Melfi. * Princess Polyxena (31 October 1746 – 3 December 1762), who died unmarried. * Princess Gabrielle (27 March 1748 – 10 April 1828), who married Ferdinand Philipp Josef, Prince of Lobkowicz, son of Phillip Hyacinth, Prince of Lobkowicz. * Princess Maria Luisa Teresa (1749–1792), who married Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Prince of Lamballe. * Prince Tommaso (6 December 1751 – 10 September 1753), who died young. * Prince Eugenio, Count of Villafranca (1753–1785), who married Élisabeth Anne Magon. * Princess Caterina (4 April 1762 – 4 September 1823), who married Filippo Giuseppe Francesco Colonna, 9th Prince of Paliano; had issue, from which the current Princes di Paliano descend. The most renowned of their children, Marie Thérèse, is known to history as the Princesse de Lamballe whose close friendship with

led to her brutal death during the French Revolution. Louis Victor lost his wife in September, 1778 and died himself on 16 December 1778 at the

Palazzo Carignano Palazzo Carignano is a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy, which houses the Museum of the Risorgimento. It was a private residence of the Princes of Carignano, after whom it is named. Its rounded façade is different from other f ...

, the Turin residence of the Carignano family. Since 1835 his wife's grave has been in Turin's Basilica of Superga, as is that of Louis Victor.

Descendants

His descendants include

Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Naples (Vittorio Emanuele Alberto Carlo Teodoro Umberto Bonifacio Amedeo Damiano Bernardino Gennaro Maria di Savoia;''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Haus Italien". C.A. ...

and Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, rival claimants for the defunct throne of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

, as well as Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, head of a

of the former imperial

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

, and the current head of the House of Lobkowicz.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victor, Louis, Prince Of Carignan 18th-century Italian nobility Louis Victor Burials at the Basilica of Superga 1721 births 1778 deaths Nobility from Paris 18th-century people from the Savoyard State