Adelaide of Austria

Maria Adelaide (3 June 1822 - 20 January, 1855) was the first wife of Vittorio Emanuele II and as such became Queen of Sardinia from 1849 until her death.

She was born in Milan to Archduke Rainer of Austria, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and to the Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignano, sister of Vittorio Emanuele’s father (and predecessor as King of Sardinia) King of Sardinia Carlo Alberto.

On 12 April, 1842 at Stupinigi she married her cousin Vittorio Emanuele who would become the first post-unification King of Italy in 1861, half a dozen years after her death.

The marriage lasted thirteen years. Maria Adelaide died in Turin at the age of 33, two days after giving birth to her eighth child.

The children were:

• Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy, born at Turin, 2 March, 1843. She married Napoleon Joseph (the Prince Napoleon); their grandson Louis was the pretender of Bonaparte from 1926. She died at Moncalieri Castle, 25 June, 1911.
• Prince Umberto, born at Turin, 14 March, 1844. He was Prince of Piedmont (1849-1878), and King of Italy from 1878 until his assassination at Monza on 29 July, 1900.
• Prince Amedeo, born at Turin, 30 May, 1845. Duke of Aosta (1845-1890) and King of Spain (1871-1873). His second wife, Leticia, was the daughter of his sister Maria Clotilde. He died in Turin on 18 January, 1890.
• Prince Oddone Eugenio, born at Turin, 11 July 1846, Duke of Montferrat. He died in Turin on 22 January, 1866.
• Princess Maria Pia of Savoy, born at Turin, 14 February, 1847. She married Luís I of Portugal in 1862, becoming Queen Dowager on his death in 1889. After the 5 October 1910 revolution she returned to Italy and died at Stupinigi on 5 July, 1911.
• Prince Carlo Alberto, born at Moncalieri Castle, 2 June 1851. Duke of Chablais, he died at Stupinigi on 22 June, 1854, shortly after his third birthday.
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele, born and died at Turin, 6 July, 1852.
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele, born at Turin, 18 January, 1855. His mother died two days later. He survived for four months, being made Count of Genoa. He died Turin, on 17 May, 1855.

References

• The original version of this article was based principally on its equivalent in the Italian Wikipedia, in the version retrieved on 2007-03-12.
• Genealogical data largely from the Savoia page of the Genealogie delle famiglie nobili italiane website.