by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016
Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia – source: Wikipedia
Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, Queen of Sardinia
Archduchess Adelheid of Austria was the first wife of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia (the future King of Italy). She was born Adelheid Franziska Marie Rainera Elisabeth Clotilde on June 3, 1822, at the Royal Palace of Milan, the daughter of Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. Adelheid’s father was the Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, a constituent land of the Austrian Empire.
Adelheid had seven siblings:
- Archduchess Maria Karolina (1821 – 1844) – unmarried
- Archduke Leopold Ludwig (1823 – 1898) – unmarried
- Archduke Ernst Karl (1824 – 1899) – married morganatically Laura Skublics de Velike et Bessenyö, had issue
- Archduke Sigismund (1826 – 1891) – unmarried, no issue
- Archduke Rainer (1827 – 1913) – married Archduchess Maria Karoline of Austria, no issue
- Archduke Heinrich (1828 – 1891) – married morganatically to Leopoldine Hoffman, had issue
- Archduke Maximilian (1830 – 1839) – died as a child
Adelheid and Vittorio with their six oldest children, c1854. source: Wikipedia
On April 12, 1842, at the Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi in Italy, she married Vittorio Emanuele, the son of King Carlo Alberto I of Sardinia and Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria. The two were first cousins (her mother and his father were siblings), and also first cousins once removed through their mutual descent from Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. At the time of their marriage, Vittorio Emanuele was heir to the Sardinian throne and held the title Duke of Savoy. The couple had eight children:
- Marie Clotilde (1843 – 1911) – married Prince Napoléon Joseph Bonaparte, had issue
- King Umberto I of Italy (1844 – 1900) – married Princess Margherita of Savoy, had issue
- Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (1845 – 1890) – later King Amadeo I of Spain – married (1) Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, had issue; (2) Princess Maria Letizia Bonaparte, had issue
- Prince Oddone, Duke of Montferrat (1846 – 1866) – unmarried
- Princess Maria Pia (1847 – 1911) – married King Luís I of Portugal, had issue
- Prince Carlo Alberto, Duke of Chablais (1851 – 1854) – died as a child
- Prince Vittorio Emanuele (born and died 1852) – died at birth
- Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Geneva (born and died 1855) – died as an infant
Adelheid with her son, Umberto, c1850. Source: Wikipedia
Adelheid became Queen of Sardinia on March 23, 1849, following her father-in-law’s abdication and her husband’s accession to the throne. However, she never lived to become the Queen of Italy. Just days after giving birth to her last child, Adelheid fell ill after attending the funeral of her mother-in-law in Turin. Adelheid herself died four days later, on January 20, 1855, at the Royal Palace of Turin in the Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy. She was interred at the Royal Basilica of Superga in Turin.
The Royal Basilica of Superga. Source: Wikipedia, photo by Rolopack
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