Prince Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano, Count of Villafranca (Paris, 14 April 1816 – Turin, 15 December 1888) was a statesman and military leader for Piedmont–Sardinia and later for the Kingdom of Italy.
Contents
Biography
He was a son of Joseph Marie de Savoie-Carignan (1783–1825), a close relative of King Charles Albert of Sardinia, and his wife, Pauline Antoinette de Quélen de Stuer de Caussade (1783–1829), daughter of French Ambassador Paul François de Quélen de Stuer de Caussade and Antoinette de Pons. His elder sister was Princess Maria Filiberta of Savoy and his grandfather was Prince Eugenio, Count of Villafranca.
He graduated from the Royal Naval School in Genoa, after which he joined the navy as an officer. In the summer of 1834, with the rank of lieutenant, he transferred from the navy to the army, initially to the Piedmont cavalry. By 1836 he had become a colonel, and in 1844, a lieutenant general. In parallel, he continued to be listed in the navy, and was eventually promoted to admiral.
Somewhat earlier, in 1842, the prince tried to marry Brazilian Princess Januária of Brazil, but was refused. In 1843, he tried to marry the Austrian princess Maria Carolina, daughter of Archduke Rainer of Austria, but she died the following year, before the marriage was concluded. The loss of his future bride plunged the prince into complete despair, and for many years after that, he did not want to marry, even when the King offered him advantageous matches.
However, twenty years later he finally married a 19-year-old ballerina of relatively simple origin, named Felicite Crosio (1844–1911). From this marriage, eight children were born, who were granted all rights to the lands and titles (but not the princely title and rank) of their father by decision of King Umberto, despite the fact that their parents' marriage was morganatic.