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Princesse Marie-Anne de Savoie-Soissons
(1683–1763)

Other names: Marie-Anne-Victoire, Mademoiselle de Soissons

Biographical

Considered unattractive, and possessing a disagreeable personality, Marie-Anne was the heiress of her uncle, Prince Eugène, inheriting his immense possessions and wealth at the age of fifty-two. Before this, she spent her life in the shadows, passing her time at Paris, Vienna, and Turin. Once she had access to her inheritance, she began to sell and disperse her uncle's important collections, ignoring the criticism she received over her incessant squandering and deplorable behaviour. King Carlo Emanuele III was able to salvage Prince Eugène's art gallery, purchasing it in 1741; it was later housed at the Galleria Sabauda. Carignano was sold in 1751, and Belvedere Palace, at Vienna, was sold to Empress Maria Theresia in 1752. Her marriage to Duke Johann Friedrich of Saxe-Hildburghausen, for which he received a vastly sum, ended in 1752. Marie-Anne died from apoplexy.

Place of birth: Paris
Place of marriage: Paris
Place of death: Turin
Place of burial: Church of San Filippo Neri, Turin. Transferred to the Basilica of Superga in 1921

Daughter of Louis-Thomas de Savoie-Soissons and Uranie de la Cropte de Beauvais. She married Johann Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1738. They separated in 1752. (†1735).

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