Religion Roman Catholicism | Name Princess of | |
 | ||
Issue Margherita, Queen of ItalyThomas, Duke of Genoa Spouse Niccolo, Marchese Rapallo (m. 1856), Prince Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa (m. 1850) Children Margherita of Savoy, Prince Thomas, Duke of Genoa Parents Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, John of Saxony Similar People Margherita of Savoy, Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Princess Sophie of Saxony, Albert of Saxony, Caroline of Baden | ||
Elisabeth of Saxony (German: Prinzessin Elisabeth von Sachsen, Herzogin zu Sachsen; 4 February 1830 – 14 August 1912) was a Princess of Saxony who married the second son of the King of Sardinia. She was the mother of Margherita, Queen of Italy.
Contents
Early life and family
She was born in Dresden, capital of Saxony, as daughter of King John of Saxony and his wife Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Prince Maximilian of Saxony and Carolina of Parma. Her maternal grandparents were King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Karoline of Baden.
Marriages and issue
On 22 April 1850, she married, in Dresden Cathedral, Prince Ferdinand, 1st Duke of Genoa, second son of King Charles Albert of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria and Tuscany. Their marriage was a dynastic arrangement, and it was generally held to be loveless.
The couple had two children:
On 10 February 1855 her husband died in Turin, leaving Elizabeth a widow at the age of 25.
Before her second year of widowhood had ended, she remarried on 4 October 1856 with her chamberlain Niccolò, Marchese Rapallo. They married secretly, before her period of official mourning was over. This act so infuriated her brother-in-law Victor Emmanuel II of Italy that he ordered her into virtual exile and disallowed her from seeing her two children. They were later reunited however.
In 1882, her second husband committed suicide. Court gossip had often hinted that their marriage was unhappy, and his suicide added fuel to these stories. Elisabeth had no children from her second marriage.
Death
Elisabeth suffered an attack of apoplexy in 1910, which caused her health to quickly deteriorate. She died on 14 August 1912.