Princess Margaret Yolande of Savoy
Encyclopedia
Margaret Yolande of Savoy (15 November 1635 – 29 April 1663) was Princess of Savoy from birth and later Duchess consort of Parma. A proposed bride for her first cousin Louis XIV of France
, she later married Ranuccio Farnese
, son of the late Odoardo Farnese and Margherita de' Medici
. She died in childbirth in 1663.
and his wife Christine Marie of France
, daughter of Henry IV of France
and Marie de' Medici
. She was born at the Castello del Valentino
in the Duchy of Savoy which had been ruled by her family since 1416.
Her father died in October 1637, when she was just two years old. As such, her oldest surviving brother Prince Francis Hyacinth
succeeded as Duke of Savoy. Her mother was thus Regent of Savoy.
Margherita Violante grew up at a time when her two uncles Prince Maurice
and his younger brother Prince Thomas of Savoy
disputed the power of their sister-in-law, and her French entourage.
The first of her siblings to marry was her youngest sister Princess Henriette Adelaide who was married the Electoral Prince of Bavaria
(later Elector). Margherita Violante's mother the French born Christine Marie started communicating with France in order to secure a marriage between Margherita Violante and the young Louis XIV of France
, first cousin of Margherita Violante; Louis XIV's father Louis XIII was the oldest brother of Christine Marie.
Margherita Violante was in competition with the Spanish court who had presented the Infanta Maria Teresa of Austria
as another proposed bride. Maria Teresa was a daughter of Elisabeth of France, another sister of Louis XIII and Christine. Maria Teresa's father Philip IV of Spain
was also the brother of Anne of Austria
, mother of Louis XIV and was eager to bring about peace between France and Spain with the marriage of Louis and Maria Teresa.
Negotiations with France and Savoy went as far as Louis XIV and Margherita Violante, known to the French as Marguerite Yolande de Savoie, meeting at Lyon
on the French Royals leaving Paris on October 26, 1658. The French entourage included the Dowager Queen
, Louis XIV, Philippe d'Anjou
, la Grande Mademoiselle and Marie Mancini
.
The French were impressed by her appearance despite saying her skin was too tanned. They also said she was a quiet girl. Upon hearing of this meeting at Lyon, Philip IV is said to have said the marriage would not happen..
Prior to the proposed Franco-Savoyard match, Antoine Pimentel marquis de Tábara, Spanish ambassador had had secret talks with
Cardinal Mazarin which later led the French to say to the Savoyard's ...the Savoyard marriage is not for the King of France, Philip IV
King of Spain proposes his daughter, the Infanta Maria Teresa who has all the qualities of being the wife of Louis XIV...
The match, great for Savoy, was never to be; Louis XIV married Maria Teresa, the two were the parents of le Grand Dauphin. Margherita Violante herself would remain unmarried till 1660. Her chosen husband would be the reigning Duke of Parma Ranuccio Farnese
. The two would marry in Turin on 29 April 1660.
The couple had two children who both died; the first was a stillborn son; the second was a son who died after two days.
Margherita Violante and her husband started to reconstruct the Ducal Palace of Colorno
, the main residence of the Ducal family. It was at the Ducal Palace that she died giving birth to her second son. She was buried at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata
in the centre of Parma
.
After her death, her husband married two princesses of Modena Isabella d'Este
(1635–1666) and then her sister Maria d'Este
. The only surviving child of Isabella was Odoardo Farnese, father of the future Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain. The son born to Maria Francesco Farnese
, later Duke of Parma, continued the work at Colorno dying in 1727.
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, she later married Ranuccio Farnese
Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ranuccio II Farnese was the sixth Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1646 until his death nearly 50 years later.-Birth and Succession:...
, son of the late Odoardo Farnese and Margherita de' Medici
Margherita de' Medici
Margherita de' Medici was Duchess of Parma and Piacenza by her marriage to Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma...
. She died in childbirth in 1663.
Biography
Margherita Violante was the fifth child born to Victor Amadeus I, Duke of SavoyVictor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy
Victor Amadeus I was the Duke of Savoy from 1630 to 1637. He was also titular King of Cyprus and Jerusalem. He was also known as the Lion of Susa-Biography:...
and his wife Christine Marie of France
Christine Marie of France
Christine of France was the sister of Louis XIII and the Duchess of Savoy by marriage. At the death of her husband Victor Amadeus I in 1637, she acted as regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1648....
, daughter of Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
and Marie de' Medici
Marie de' Medici
Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...
. She was born at the Castello del Valentino
Castello del Valentino
The Castle of Valentino is an historic building in the north-west Italian city of Turin. It is located in Valentino Park, and is the seat of the Architecture Faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin...
in the Duchy of Savoy which had been ruled by her family since 1416.
Her father died in October 1637, when she was just two years old. As such, her oldest surviving brother Prince Francis Hyacinth
Francis Hyacinth, Duke of Savoy
Francis Hyacinth was the Duke of Savoy from 1637 to 1638 under regency of his mother Marie Christine.-Biography:...
succeeded as Duke of Savoy. Her mother was thus Regent of Savoy.
Margherita Violante grew up at a time when her two uncles Prince Maurice
Maurice of Savoy
Maurice of Savoy was a Prince of Savoy and an 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 cardinal and bishop of Vercelli...
and his younger brother Prince Thomas of Savoy
Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano
Thomas Francis of Savoy was an Italian military commander, the founder of the Savoy-Carignano branch of the House of Savoy which reigned as kings of Sardinia from 1831 to 1861, and as kings of Italy from 1861 until the...
disputed the power of their sister-in-law, and her French entourage.
The first of her siblings to marry was her youngest sister Princess Henriette Adelaide who was married the Electoral Prince of Bavaria
Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679.-Biography:He was born in Munich...
(later Elector). Margherita Violante's mother the French born Christine Marie started communicating with France in order to secure a marriage between Margherita Violante and the young Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, first cousin of Margherita Violante; Louis XIV's father Louis XIII was the oldest brother of Christine Marie.
Margherita Violante was in competition with the Spanish court who had presented the Infanta Maria Teresa of Austria
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
as another proposed bride. Maria Teresa was a daughter of Elisabeth of France, another sister of Louis XIII and Christine. Maria Teresa's father Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
was also the brother of Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
, mother of Louis XIV and was eager to bring about peace between France and Spain with the marriage of Louis and Maria Teresa.
Negotiations with France and Savoy went as far as Louis XIV and Margherita Violante, known to the French as Marguerite Yolande de Savoie, meeting at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
on the French Royals leaving Paris on October 26, 1658. The French entourage included the Dowager Queen
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
, Louis XIV, Philippe d'Anjou
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
, la Grande Mademoiselle and Marie Mancini
Marie Mancini
Anna Maria Mancini was the third of the five Mancini sisters; nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously...
.
The French were impressed by her appearance despite saying her skin was too tanned. They also said she was a quiet girl. Upon hearing of this meeting at Lyon, Philip IV is said to have said the marriage would not happen..
Prior to the proposed Franco-Savoyard match, Antoine Pimentel marquis de Tábara, Spanish ambassador had had secret talks with
Cardinal Mazarin which later led the French to say to the Savoyard's ...the Savoyard marriage is not for the King of France, Philip IV
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
King of Spain proposes his daughter, the Infanta Maria Teresa who has all the qualities of being the wife of Louis XIV...
The match, great for Savoy, was never to be; Louis XIV married Maria Teresa, the two were the parents of le Grand Dauphin. Margherita Violante herself would remain unmarried till 1660. Her chosen husband would be the reigning Duke of Parma Ranuccio Farnese
Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ranuccio II Farnese was the sixth Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1646 until his death nearly 50 years later.-Birth and Succession:...
. The two would marry in Turin on 29 April 1660.
The couple had two children who both died; the first was a stillborn son; the second was a son who died after two days.
Margherita Violante and her husband started to reconstruct the Ducal Palace of Colorno
Ducal Palace of Colorno
The Ducal Palace, also known as Reggia di Colorno, is an edifice in the territory of Colorno , Emilia Romagna, Italy. It was built by Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma in the early 18th century on the remains of a former castle.-History:...
, the main residence of the Ducal family. It was at the Ducal Palace that she died giving birth to her second son. She was buried at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata
Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata
The Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy.-History:By 1392, the site held a small oratory to shelter a miraculous image of St. John the Baptist and was neighboring a religious confraternity that had an equally miraculous image of the...
in the centre of Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
.
After her death, her husband married two princesses of Modena Isabella d'Este
Isabella of Modena
Isabella d'Este was Duchess of Parma, and second wife of Duke Ranuccio II Farnese. She was the paternal grandmother of Elisabetta Farnese.-Princess of Modena:...
(1635–1666) and then her sister Maria d'Este
Maria d'Este
Maria d'Este was a Modenese princess and Duchess of Parma as the wife of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma. She was a daughter of Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena and Maria Caterina Farnese.-Family:...
. The only surviving child of Isabella was Odoardo Farnese, father of the future Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain. The son born to Maria Francesco Farnese
Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma
Francesco Farnese reigned as the seventh and penultimate Farnese Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1694 until his death...
, later Duke of Parma, continued the work at Colorno dying in 1727.
Issue
- NN Farnese [stillborn son] (Ducal Palace of Colorno, 14 December 1661)
- NN Farnese [son] (Ducal Palace of Colorno, 27 April 1663 – Ducal Palace of Colorno, 30 April 1663)