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Adelaide of Austria
Queen consort of Sardinia
Consort	23 March 1849 – 20 January 1855
Burial	Basilica of Superga, Turin
Spouse	Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia
Issue Detail	Maria Clotilde, Princess Napoléon Umberto I, King of Italy Amadeo, King of Spain Oddone, Duke of Montferrat Maria Pia, Queen of Portugal
Names Adelheid Franziska Marie Rainera Elisabeth Clotilde
House	House of Savoy House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Rainer Joseph of Austria
Mother	Elisabeth of Savoy

Adelaide of Austria (Adelheid Franziska Marie Rainera Elisabeth Clotilde; 3 June 1822 – 20 January 1855) was the first wife of Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, future King of Italy. She was the mother of some eight children including the future Umberto I of Italy. She was the Queen of Sardinia from 1849 until 1855 when she died as a result of childbirth.

Archduchess of Austria

She was born at the Royal Palace of Milan to Rainer Joseph of Austria and his wife Elisabeth of Savoy. Named Adelaide, or known as Adele in the family, she held the title of Archduchess of Austria. Her father was the Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia and was a son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. Her mother was a member of the House of Savoy and a daughter of the Prince of Carignan, the head of the junior branch of the House of Savoy who ruled the Kingdom of Sardinia. Her younger brother Archduke Rainer Ferdinand later acted as Minister President of Austria. Both of her brothers contracted morganatic marriages.

Duchess of Savoy

On 12 April 1842 at the Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi she married Victor Emmanuel of Savoy. The marriage was used to cement relations between the House of Savoy and that of the House of Habsburg but was viewed by many people of the time to increase Austrian power in Italy.

Victor Emmanuel was her first cousin and heir apparent to the King of Sardinia. He was styled the "Duke of Savoy" prior to succession. Adelaide thus took on the style of "Duchess of Savoy". She maintained her style of Imperial & Royal Highness till she became Queen.

Her husbands mother Maria Theresa of Austria retained great influence over her son throughout his life. Her mother-in-law was also her first cousin, both she and Adelaide being grandchildren of Emperor Leopold II. Adelaide and her husband of thirteen years had eight children. Four of these went on to have further progeny. Her husband had various extramarital affairs throughout the marriage. Adelaide was a quiet and pious women and had had a strict upbringing. She was a loving wife and frequently would give to charity.

Queen of Sardinia

In March 1849 her father-in-law King Charles Albert abdicated after the events of the Revolutions of 1848. Her husband succeeded as Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia. During her tenure as queen consort she had three further children all of which died in infancy. On 8 January 1855 she gave birth to a son who was styled the Count of Genoa. Days later Queen Maria Theresa died on 12 January 1855. Adelaide went to the late queens funeral on 16 January and returning to the palace caught a cold. She died four days later at the Royal Palace of Turin having had an acute attack of Gastroenteritis. She was buried at the Royal Basilica of Superga. In 1861 her husband would become the first post-unification King of Italy. Her husband wed again to Rosa Vercellana in a morganatic marriage. The present Italian pretender is her direct great great grandson.

Issue

• Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy (2 March 1843 – 25 June 1911) married Napoleon Joseph Bonaparte and had issue.
• Umberto I of Italy (14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) married Princess Margherita of Savoy and had issue.
• Amadeo of Spain (30 May 1845 – 18 January 1890) married Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo and later Maria Letizia Bonaparte and had issue.
• Prince Oddone of Savoy (11 July 1846 – 22 January 1866) died unmarried.
• Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (14 February 1847 – 5 July 1911) married Luís I of Portugal and had issue.
• Prince Carlo Alberto of Savoy (2 June 1851 – 22 June 1854) Duke of Chablais, died in infancy.
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy (6 July 1852) died at birth.
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy (18 January 1855 – 17 May 1855) Count of Genoa, died in infancy.

Ancestry

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 3 June 1822 – 12 April 1842 Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Adelaide of Austria
• 12 April 1842 – 23 March 1849 Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Duchess of Savoy
• 23 March 1849 – 20 January 1855 Her Majesty The Queen of Sardinia

Honours

• Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross

References

1. ^ van de Pas, Leo. "Adelaide of Austria". Genealogics .org. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
2. ^ Urban. Sylvanius: The Gentleman's Magazine, 1855, p 303
3. Georgina Sarah. Godkin:Life of Victor Emmanuel II, First king of Italy, Volume I, 1879, p 44
4. Forester. C.S: Victor Emmanuel II: And the Union of Italy, Simon Publications LLC, 2001, p 216
5. The eclectic magazine of foreign literature Volume 2; Volume 35, p 556
6. Forester. C.S: Victor Emmanuel II: And the Union of Italy, Simon Publications LLC, 2001, p 210

External links

[REDACTED] Media related to Adelaide of Austria at Wikimedia Commons

See also

• Sardinian queens consort
• 1822 births
• 1855 deaths
• People from Milan
• Princesses of Savoy
• House of Savoy
• House of Habsburg-Lorraine
• Italian people of Polish descent
• Austrian Poles
• Tuscan princesses
• Archduchesses of Austria
• Deaths in childbirth
• Dames of the Order of the Starry Cross
• Duchesses of Savoy
• Burials at the Basilica of Superga