Maria Angela Caterina d'Este | |||||
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Princess of Carignano | |||||
Maria Angela Caterina by a follower of Rigaud
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Born | 1 March 1656 | ||||
Died | 16 July 1722 | (aged 66)||||
Spouse | Emmanuel Philibert, Prince of Carignano | ||||
Issue Detail |
Victor Amadeus, Prince of Carignano | ||||
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House |
House of Este (by bith) House of Savoy-Carignano (by marriage) |
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Father | Borso d'Este | ||||
Mother | Ippolita d'Este |
Full name | |
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Maria Angela Caterina d'Este |
Maria Angela Caterina d'Este (1 March 1656 – 16 July 1722) was an Italian born Princess of Modena who was later the Princess of Carignano by marriage. She was the wife of Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Carignano. In France she was known as Angélique Catherine d'Este and in Modena and Savoy she was known as Maria Caterina d'Este. She is an ancestor of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy and thus the whole present pretending Italian Royal Family. She is also an ancestor of the pretender of France.
Born to the General Borso d'Este and his wife Ippolita d'Este, Maria Angela Caterina was the product of a marriage between niece and uncle, her father being a son of Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena and her mother a daughter of Luigi d'Este, younger son of Cesare. As a member of the House of Este, she was a princess of Modena by birth, her father being the "founder" of a collateral line of the House of Este.
The youngest of seven children, she lost her father in 1664; it is not clear whether she knew her mother. Her first cousins included Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena, Margherita d'Este (wife of the Duke of Guastalla) and the Duke of Mirandola. She was also a cousin of Isabella and Maria d'Este, two successive Duchesses of Parma.
The unmarried princess was noted for her good looks and for having such a fine figure for one of her age at the time of her marriage.
Despite the permission of Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, Emmanuel Philibert's cousin and ruler of Savoy Emmanuel Philibert had expressed a wish to marry Maria Angela Caterina. Emmanuel Philibert was the son of the late Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano and his French born wife, the domineering Marie de Bourbon. His sister was the Dowager Hereditary Princess of Baden-Baden, mother of the famous General Türkenlouis.