Margherita of Savoy

For other uses, see Margaret of Savoy.

Margherita of Savoy
Queen of Italy
Tenure	9 January 1878 – 29 July 1900
Spouse	Umberto I of Italy
Issue
Victor Emmanuel III
Full name
Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna di Savoia
Father	Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa
Mother	Princess Elisabeth of Saxony
Born	20 November 1851(1851-11-20) Palazzo Chiablese, Turin
Died	4 January 1926(1926-01-04) (aged 74) Bordighera
Burial	Pantheon, Rome

Margherita of Savoy (Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926), was the Queen consort of the Kingdom of Italy during the reign (1878–1900) of her husband, Umberto I.

Family

She was a daughter of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabeth of Saxony. Her paternal grandparents were Charles Albert, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria. Her maternal grandparents were John, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste, Princess of Bavaria.

Marriage and child

She married her first cousin Umberto, Prince of Piedmont on 21 April 1868. On 11 November 1869, Margherita gave birth to Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, afterwards Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. He was their only child.

Queen consort

On 9 January 1878, Umberto succeeded as the new King of Italy. She became his Queen consort and remained by his side for the rest of his reign. Umberto was assassinated by anarchist Gaetano Bresci on 29 July 1900.

Margherita encouraged artists and writers and founded cultural institutions, notably the Società del Quartetto, and the Casa di Dante. She was a benefactor of many charities, especially the Red Cross.

In 1889, the Margherita pizza, whose red tomatoes, green basil, and white cheese represent the Italian flag, was named after her. Her name means "daisy" in Italian. In 1906, the Queen mother’s nephew Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi made the first ascent of the highest summit of Mount Stanley (the third highest mountain in Africa) and named it Margherita Peak in her honour.^[1]

On 18 August 1893, in the company of various guides, porters, Alpini, politicians and aristocrats, she climbed the Punta Gnifetti (or Signalkuppe), a peak of the Monte Rosa massif on the Swiss-Italian border, for the inauguration of the mountain hut named after her.^[2] At 4,554 metres the Capanna Regina Margherita, remains the highest hut in Europe.

Politically she leant towards Fascism—in October 1922 the quadrumvirs (Emilio De Bono, Italo Balbo, Michele Bianchi and Cesare Maria de Vecchi) visited her at Bordighera to pay their respects prior to the March on Rome^{[citation needed]}.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 20 November 1851 – 21 April 1868 Her Royal Highness Princess Margherita of Savoy
• 21 April 1868 – 9 January 1878 Her Royal Highness The Princess of Piedmont
• 9 January 1878 – 29 July 1900 Her Majesty The Queen of Italy
• 29 July 1900 – 4 January 1926 Her Majesty The Queen Mother

Ancestry

Notes

1. ^ Peter Bridges, ‘A Prince of Climbers’, Virginia Quarterly Review, 76-1 (Winter 2000), 38–51.
2. ^ ‘Rifugio Regina Margherita alla Punta Gnifetti’, varasc.it. The official opening ceremony took place a fortnight later on 4 September.

Margherita of Savoy House of Savoy Born: 20 November 1851 Died: 4 January 1926
Italian royalty
Vacant Title last held by Marie Louise of Austria	Queen consort of Italy 9 January 1878–29 July 1900	Succeeded by Elena of Montenegro

Persondata
Name	Margherita Of Savoy
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	20 November 1851
Place of birth	Palazzo Chiablese, Turin
Date of death	4 January 1926
Place of death	Bordighera