Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy


Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy was the youngest daughter of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Elena of Montenegro. She was a sister of Umberto II of Italy and of Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria.

Marriage and issue

She was born in Rome as the fifth and youngest child of her parents. She had three elder sisters, Yolanda, Giovanna, Mafalda, and a brother, Umberto. In her birthplace, on 23 January 1939, Maria married Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma, a younger son of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. Her husband was a brother of Zita, Empress of Austria, among many others.
The couple moved to Cannes, where all four of their children were born. Maria was interned with her husband and two elder children by the Nazis during World War II. After the war in Italy for a while, she returned to France where they took up permanent residence in Mandelieu, near Cannes after her husband's death.
They had four children:

Titles and styles