Philip II (5 February 1438 – 7 November 1497), known as the Landless, was Duke of Savoy from 1496 until his death in 1497. A member of a junior branch of the House of Savoy, he was the son of Louis I, Duke of Savoy, and the younger brother of Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy. Philip inherited the duchy late in life, following the death of his grandnephew Charles II.
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Biography
Philip was the granduncle of the previous duke Charles II, and the youngest surviving son of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne of Cyprus. However, he was not the heir general of the previous duke, there being several females before him in the line of succession. To ensure male inheritance to the Savoy line, his eldest son Philibert was married to his cousin, the only sister of the deceased young Duke. However, the plan did not succeed: the girl died at age twelve. (Philip had already died in the meantime.) The children of the daughters of Philip's eldest brother Duke Amadeo IX were next in line, and were entitled to the inheritance of the line of heirs-general, including Cyprus and Jerusalem. Despite the fact that Cyprus and Jerusalem did not bar succession in female line, Philip took those claims and used those titles as well. His male successors in Savoy also continued to do so, thus giving their ducal title a higher, royal titulary.