Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy
Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (17 September 1688 – 14 February 1714), nicknamed La Savoyana, was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V.[1] She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influence as a political adviser during the War of the Spanish Succession. Because of her effectiveness, she was well-loved in her adoptive country.
Not to be confused with Princess Marie Louise of Savoy.Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy
2 November 1701 – 14 February 1714
17 September 1688
Royal Palace of Turin, Savoy
14 February 1714 (aged 25)
Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain
- Louis I
- Infante Philip
- Infante Philip Peter
- Ferdinand VI
Early life[edit]
Childhood[edit]
María Luisa Gabriella was born on 17 September 1688, at the Royal Palace of Turin, Savoy. She was the third daughter and second surviving child of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy and Anne Marie of Orléans, the youngest daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and Princess Henrietta of England. In her youth, Maria Luisa Gabriella was described as "intelligent, playful, and fun-loving" and had received an excellent education. She remained close to her older sister Maria Adelaide, who later married Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the eldest grandson of Louis XIV.[2]
Engagement[edit]
French Prince Philippe, Duke of Anjou recently ascended to the Spanish crown upon the death of his great-uncle, the childless Charles II of Spain. In order to enforce his shaky authority over Spain due to his French birth, Philip V decided to maintain ties with the Duke of Savoy by marrying his daughter Maria Luisa Gabriella, his second cousin through King Louis XIII of France. In mid-1701, Philip V asked for her hand with the permission of his grandfather, King Louis XIV.[3] They were wed by proxy on 12 September 1701, five days before Maria Luisa Gabriella's thirteenth birthday. She arrived to Nice on 18 September and was greeted by Pope Clement XI, who gave her the Golden Rose on 20 September as a ritualistic gift. Within a week, she sailed from Nice for Antibes and was taken to Barcelona.[2]
Death[edit]
Towards the end of her life, Maria Luisa Gabriella became ill with tuberculosis. She eventually died in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid, on 14 February 1714 at the age of 25. The Queen was buried at San Lorenzo de El Escorial. On 16 September 1714, just months after her death, her widower remarried by proxy, to Elisabeth Farnese, the heiress of the Duke of Parma.[1] Her niece, Princess Maria Luisa was named after her.