Maria Cristina of Savoy-Aosta
Princess of Savoy-Aosta
Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Born(1933-09-12)12 September 1933
Miramare Castle, Trieste, Italy
Died18 November 2023(2023-11-18) (aged 90)
São Paulo, Brazil
Spouse
Prince Casimir of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
​
​
(m. 1967)​
Issue
  • Luis Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
  • Anna Cecilia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
  • Elena of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
  • Alejandro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Names
Maria Cristina Giusta Elena Giovanna di Savoia-Aosta
HouseSavoy
FatherPrince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta
MotherPrincess Anne of Orléans
ReligionRoman Catholic

Princess Maria Cristina of Savoy-Aosta (12 September 1933 – 18 November 2023) was an Italian princess, the second daughter of Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta and Princess Anne of Orléans.[1] Following her marriage to Prince Casimir of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, she became princess of Two Sicilies.

Biography

Born in the Miramare Castle in Trieste on 12 September 1933, Maria Cristina was the second daughter of Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta and Princess Anne of Orléans, who were first cousins and married in 1927.[2] Her older sister was Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este.[3] She was given the names Maria Cristina Giusta Elena Giovanna and baptized the day after her birth in Miramare Castle.[4] Her godparents were Prince Jean, Duke of Guise and Princess Hélène of Orléans.[5]

After her father was appointed Viceroy of Italian Ethiopia, Maria Cristina spent part of her childhood in Africa.[6] She returned to Italy with her mother and sister shortly before the outbreak of World War II. Her father was captured by the British and died of typhus in Nairobi on 3 March 1942.[7] Later that year, she received her first communion in Vatican City alongside her older sister.[8] At the start of the war, she lived in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.[9] In 1943, Germany invaded Italy, and her mother was arrested the following year alongside Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta. She was imprisoned in Kleinwalsertal.[10][11] Her cousin, Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, recounted how the Germans threatened her with a gun after she had picked up a leaflet dropped by an Allied plane.[12] In May 1945, the family was released[13] and returned to Italy on 7 July.[14] After the referendum which abolished the Italian monarchy, her family briefly moved to Belgium and then Switzerland.[9]

Maintaining her ties with the European elite, Maria Cristina became the godmother of her nephew, Prince Lorenz of Belgium on 28 December 1955.[15] On 13 May 1963, she became godmother to Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg.[16]

On 29 January 1967, Maria Cristina married Prince Casimir of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in Jacarezinho, Brazil.[17] The pair had four children: Luis Alfonso, Anna Cecilia, Elena, and Alejandro.[18][19] Following their marriage, the couple lived in Brazil before attending the 90th birthday of her maternal uncle, Henri, Count of Paris in Amboise in 1998.[20] From then until the Covid-19 pandemic, she lived with her sister, Margherita, in Sartirana Lomellina before Margherita moved to Switzerland.[21]

Maria Cristina of Savoy-Aosta died in São Paulo on 18 November 2023, at the age of 90.[22] She was survived by her husband, four children, and six grandchildren.

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Cianferoni, Andrea (18 November 2023). "E' morta la principessa Maria Cristina di Savoia, aveva 90 anni. Era la figlia del terzo duca d'Aosta". Il Giornale d'Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Tourtchine, Jean-Fred (1994). Les Manuscrits du CEDRE : Le Royaume d'Italie (in French). Clamecy: Imprimerie Laballery. p. 63.
  3. ↑ Énache, Nicolas (1999). La descendance de Marie-Thérèse de Habsburg (in French). Paris: Éditions L'intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux. p. 205-6. ISBN 978-2-908003-04-8.
  4. ↑ Van Kerrebrouck, Patrick (1987). Nouvelle Histoire généalogique de l'auguste Maison de France : La Maison de Bourbon (in French). Villeneuve d'Ascq: Patrick Van Kerrebrouck. p. 438. ISBN 978-2-9501509-1-2.
  5. ↑ Hanson, Edward (2018). The Wandering Princess : Princess Hélène of France, Duchess of Aosta (1871-1951). Fonthill. p. 464.
  6. ↑ Tourtchine, Jean-Fred (1994). Les Manuscrits du CEDRE : Le Royaume d'Italie (in French). Clamecy: Imprimerie Laballery. p. 61.
  7. ↑ Énache, Nicolas (1999). La descendance de Marie-Thérèse de Habsburg (in French). Paris: Éditions L'intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux. p. 205. ISBN 978-2-908003-04-8.
  8. ↑ "HRH Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1933-2023)". Royal Musings. 18 November 2023.
  9. 1 2 "HI & RH Archduchess Margherita of Austria, Princess of Savoy-Aosta (1930-2022)". Royal Musings. 10 January 2022.
  10. ↑ Mateos Sainz de Medrano, Ricardo (2004). La Familia de la Reina Sofía : La Dinastía griega, la Casa de Hannover y los reales primos de Europa (in Spanish). Madrid: La Esfera de los Libros. p. 210, 482. ISBN 84-9734-195-3.
  11. ↑ Hanson, Edward (2018). The Wandering Princess : Princess Hélène of France, Duchess of Aosta (1871-1951). Fonthill. p. 361. ISBN 978-1-78155-592-7.
  12. ↑ de Grèce, Michel (2004). Mémoires insolites (in French). Paris: Pocket. p. 51. ISBN 2-84563-186-3.
  13. ↑ Tourtchine, Jean-Fred (1994). Les Manuscrits du CEDRE : Le Royaume d'Italie (in French). Clamecy: Imprimerie Laballery. p. 61-2.
  14. ↑ da Rocha Carneiro, Monique (2000). La descendance de Frédéric-Eugène duc de Wurtemberg (in French). Paris: Éditions L'intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux. p. 207. ISBN 978-2-908003-17-8.
  15. ↑ da Rocha Carneiro, Monique (2000). La descendance de Frédéric-Eugène duc de Wurtemberg (in French). Paris: Éditions L'intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux. p. 76. ISBN 978-2-908003-17-8.
  16. ↑ Van Kerrebrouck, Patrick (1987). Nouvelle Histoire généalogique de l'auguste Maison de France : La Maison de Bourbon (in French). Villeneuve d'Ascq: Patrick Van Kerrebrouck. p. 503. ISBN 978-2-9501509-1-2.
  17. 1 2 Énache, Nicolas (1999). La descendance de Marie-Thérèse de Habsburg (in French). Paris: Éditions L'intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux. p. 461. ISBN 978-2-908003-04-8.
  18. ↑ Énache, Nicolas (1999). La descendance de Marie-Thérèse de Habsburg (in French). Paris: Éditions L'intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux. p. 461-2. ISBN 978-2-908003-04-8.
  19. ↑ "Padre Alessandro Enrico de Borbón". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Paulo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
  20. ↑ Salens, Régine (22 November 2023). "Décès de Marie-Christine de Savoie-Aoste, princesse Casimir de Bourbon-Deux-Siciles". Noblesse & Royautés (in French). Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  21. ↑ Fontaine, Nicolas (30 January 2022). "La famille royale belge en Suisse pour un dernier adieu à la mère du prince Lorenz : funérailles de Margherita de Savoie-Aoste en présence de deux souverains". Histoires Royales (in French). Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "SAR la Principessa Maria Cristina di Savoia Aosta Borbone due Sicilie (1933-2023)". Gothanjou (in French).
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