This article is reproduced from the WeChat public account: East East and West (ID: eastandwest2015)
Dongdong and Xixi have written about 、、、 the last empress, one by one amazing time, a life of upheaval and displacement, and no good ending.
This month, royal ins fans commemorate the last queen of Italy, not only has the appearance, but also the wisdom, is an extraordinary queen, but the fate is tragic. Her reign lasted only 34 days, and before the throne could sit hot or enjoy the honor, she went into exile.↓↓
Maria José, the last queen of Italy
Her story was made into the movie Maria Josè, l'ultima regina, which was widely circulated.
Movie stills
Maria José Marie-José was born on 4 August 1906 in the Belgian royal family to the son of King Albert I of Belgium and queen Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian dynasty. His parents lived in a low-key life, holding on to their territory and serving the country in World War I, winning the love of their subjects.
East and West wrote about Maria's eldest brother Leopold III, who was very unreliable as heir to the throne. During World War II, he announced his surrender and was actually busy marrying
Leopold III with the second princess Lillian
Maria is a spoiled little princess, beautiful and cute, with blond hair and round eyes, like a live-action Barbie doll ↓↓
This lion woman has a strong personality, is a bit maverick, and often has her own opinion when traveling with her parents.
Develop favorite painting and music and learn violin under the guidance of "King of Violin Eugène Ysaÿe".↓↓
Court life was boring, but she was free, skiing with her parents in the Alps ↓↓
It was the time of royal marriage, she was a blue-blooded princess with a noble status and full talent, and people kept speculating about who she would marry.
In fact, the Italian and Belgian royal families have already set up doll kisses, and the two male and female protagonists who should have been married have mutual affection, and they have their own fate in the dark ↓↓
The royal couple of the Italian royal family had five siblings, and Umberto II was the only male son, whom Maria met as a child.
Because of the severe situation in World War I, in 1917, Maria was sent to Italy by her father. In the Savoy Palace, the teenage princess and Prince Umberto meet.
At that time, the royal family was autocratic and militaristic, and the crown prince's most important thing was to receive military education and consolidate the royal power. Umberto looks like a heroic boy, two years older than the princess ↓↓
The two spend their days and nights together, playing together, Maria easily falls in love with Umberto, and the prince is also very fond of her.
Later, forced by the war situation, Maria moved to England, studied at a boarding girls' school, and returned to Belgium after the war. At this time, she has grown into a young girl, never forgotten her sweetheart Umberto, and has always written to him ↓↓
Unfortunately, men always have big pig trotters. Umberto, though also writing to her, has become entangled with a singer named Don Giovanni.
After that, Maria went to the Accademia in Florence, Italy, and met Umberto II again at a carefully arranged banquet, officially opening the curtain of marriage. What she didn't know was that the "brave" prince she met at a young age lacked political knowledge and talent, and was even less loyal to marriage.↓↓
For reasons of state and royal image, Umberto severed ties with the singers. In 1930, he went to Belgium to marry a princess and held a wedding ceremony in the Royal Palace of Rome, which was romantic and eye-catching.
The Crown Prince personally participated in the design of the bride's wedding dress, maria José chose to wear a super giant and gorgeous diamond crown, which once belonged to Umberto's grandmother, the Queen Margarita of Italy, and a diamond bow, which was used as a ribbon on state occasions, dazzling ↓↓
However, the wedding did not go well at all. Umberto was very nervous and had to meet the bride on the eve of the wedding to check that the wedding dress he had designed met the requirements.
Finding that the sleeve was sewn wrong, he ordered it to be replaced, but the big day was postponed, but it still did not meet his wishes. Finally, part of the sleeve was cut off, and the princess had to wear white gloves to cover her arms ↓↓
Maria was crowned Princess of Piedmont, and the marriage was extremely wealthy. In addition to the wedding crown and the queen crown of the husband's family, the jewelry collection passed down to her by the mother's family is very weighty and tasteful.
The hollow double-layer diamond crown, with hundreds of diamonds, was carefully crafted by the famous Russian jeweler Faberger for a year, and was a gift from Maria's mother ↓↓
The classically elegant headband crown, a wedding gift received by Maria, was customised by Boucheron in 1911. Wearing the method is very special, can be worn as a headband, can also be worn separately, the design is very exquisite and advanced, and now I don't know where to lose ↓↓
Turquoise ornaments were one of the adult gifts from her parents, and Maria brought into the Italian royal family. It can be used as a headdress, or it can be added to the base to become a crown, and two bracelets can also be connected to form a popular choker↓↓
This inlaid pearl gold crown, one of Maria's dowries, once belonged to Napoleon's granddaughter, was passed down to the Belgian royal family, and the antique crown is even more special.
A necklace of 50 cabochon emerald diamonds and matching earrings signed by the Van Cleef & Arpels family was later auctioned off (to pay inheritance tax) by Maria's daughter after inheritance
Unfortunately, this political marriage did not work well. Can a husband who plays with singers and wedding dresses have the heart to engage in politics?
The Italian prime minister at the time, Mussolini, had already established a fascist regime.
Under the arrangement of fascism, Umberto made a visit to a South American country to contact the interests of local Italians and the mother country regime
Overseas have little interest in him, the royal family is weakening, another name that everyone knows: Benito Mussolini established fascist rule, and the royal family dreams of supporting each other.
Marriage doesn't work well either. A year after their marriage, Umberto was promoted to commander of the Confederate Army as planned, and Maria followed him to Naples, far from the political center.
Maybe he was busy with the military, maybe he had different interests, or maybe Umberto had no feelings for political marriage, and his care for Maria was fading quickly.
Although they have had four children in 10 years (the second is the little prince), Maria says she and her husband have never been happy, "it's not a family, it's a fridge". In the first few years of their marriage, the court circulated the problem of Umberto's sexual orientation.
The queen holds the only little prince
Lonely Maria came out of the royal family to do something and quickly became the most popular person.
She worked in the Belgian Red Cross, came to the Italian military camp to do nursing work, had a strong appeal among the people, and had a strong interest in politics↓↓
Before she got married, she said she would not bow to fascism. Mussolini asked her to change her name to Maria Giuseppa, who resembled the local name, but she refused.
Her father-in-law and husband commanded the Italian army, and none of them had the guts to do so.
Maria became the only voice openly opposed to fascist rule, with other members supporting Mussolini. A British diplomat in Rome commented: "[The Princess of Piedmont] is the only member of the Italian royal family with good political judgment." ↓↓
At the beginning of World War II, Maria's mother's family, Belgium, was occupied by Nazi Germany, and her eldest brother (King Leopold III) was so frightened to death that she immediately announced her surrender.
Maria was so fat that she quickly organized negotiations with the Nazis to ask for better treatment of her brother and her people.
Hitler flatly refused, but he was impressed by her beauty and wisdom, praising her eyes as "the color of the German sky." Maria didn't say anything nice, "If I had a pistol, I would have the power to kill him." ”
During World War II, Mussolini came to power to fight the Allies, and Maria became a channel of communication between Italy and other countries. She conspired with Mussolini's opponents to negotiate with a number of countries to provide funds and weapons to the Italian resistance.
Dealings with anti-fascists worsened her relationship with her father-in-law. Maria wasn't afraid, and she said to the media, "You know, I have nothing to do with the Savoys."
After World War II, the Italian monarchy was facing collapse, and Umberto's father still refused to abdicate. It was not until the eve of the 1946 referendum that it became clear that he was the most unpopular and announced his abdication to his son.
Mr. and Mrs. Umberto held a coronation ceremony, and the two traveled everywhere to save the hearts and minds of the people.
But the tide is over, with 52 percent of the referendum supporting the abolition of the crown and the establishment of a republic. Umberto had to abdicate, and Maria José was queen for only 34 days, from May 9 to June 12, 1946, known as the "May Queen".
They went into exile in Portugal, never hid their marital problems anymore, and separated. Only because of the limitations of Catholics, never divorced, and occasionally appeared together on important occasions.
At the time, the eldest daughter was 12 years old and the youngest was only 3 years old. Maria settled in Geneva, Switzerland, with her children, and became President of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Although in exile, there is still a rallying cry to establish foundations in its own name to advocate for the rights of women and children.
She has always loved music and painting, founding the foundation du Prix de Composition Reine Marie-José, which still presents awards today.
Maria's second daughter, Gabriela (first from left), inherits her beauty
After the death of her husband, she was allowed to return to Italy, publishing several memoirs in her later years. I have also traveled all the way to China.
She died of cancer in Geneva at the age of 94, living nearly 30 years longer than her husband. Italy was saddened and paved the way for other members of the royal family to return home.
Descendants of the royal family are quite active, Maria's grandson's family is returning to China to live, and a TV series about Maria is scheduled to start this year, and the great-granddaughter is an internet celebrity on social media.
old age
The beautiful and extraordinary last queen reigned for only 34 days, but she was famous for working in a war camp, plotting against Mussolini, and trying to kill Hitler.
His life was so legendary that Mussolini's son also rubbed his reputation, telling Oggi that "my mother said that my father had a brief intimate relationship with the Princess of Piedmont".
Rumors were close to Mussolini
Asked about these rumors, she said: He is a lion, I am also a lion, only afraid of each other and fighting.
This Leo queen has been too tough all her life...