Giovanna of Savoy

Tsaritsa of Bulgaria from 1930 to 1943

Not to be confused with Joan of Savoy.

Giovanna of Savoy

Giovanna in 1937

Tsaritsa consort of Bulgaria
Tenure| 25 October 1930 – 28 August 1943

Born| (1907-11-13)13 November 1907
Rome, Kingdom of Italy
Died| 26 February 2000(2000-02-26) (aged 92)
Estoril, Portugal
Burial|

Communal Cemetery of Assisi

Spouse|

Boris III of Bulgaria

(m. 1930; died 1943)​

Issue| Marie Louise, Princess of Koháry
Simeon II of Bulgaria
| Names

Italian: Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria
House| Savoy
Father| Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Mother| Elena of Montenegro

Giovanna of Savoy (Bulgarian: Йоанна Савойска, Joanna Savoiska, Italian: Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria; 13 November 1907 – 26 February 2000) was an Italian princess of the House of Savoy who later became the Tsaritsa of Bulgaria by marriage to Boris III of Bulgaria.

## Early life

[edit]

Princess Giovanna of Savoy as a child

Giovanna was born in Rome, the third daughter and the fourth of five children of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Queen Elena, former Princess of Montenegro. Upon her Roman Catholic christening, she was given the names Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria. Her older brother was the future (and last) Italian king Umberto II of Italy.

## Tsaritsa of Bulgaria

[edit]

Royal Monogram of Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria

Giovanna married Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria in the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, Assisi on 25 October 1930, in a Roman Catholic ceremony, attended by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Bulgarians deemed her a good match, partly because her mother, Elena of Montenegro, was of Slavic ethnicity. At a second ceremony in Sofia, Giovanna (who herself was daughter of a Roman Catholic father and a formerly Orthodox mother) was married in an Eastern Orthodox Church ceremony, bringing her into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. Giovanna adopted the Bulgarian version of her name, Ioanna. Giovanna knew the Pope's Apostolic Visitor to Bulgaria, Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, who was able to help her. She and Boris had two children: Marie Louise of Bulgaria, born on 13 January 1933,[citation needed] and Simeon II of Bulgaria, born on 16 June 1937.[citation needed]

In the years prior to World War II, Tsaritsa Ioanna became heavily involved in charities, including the financing of a children's hospital. During the war she counterbalanced her husband consigning Bulgaria to the Axis by obtaining transit visas to enable a number of Jews to escape to Argentina. Tsar Boris also proved less malleable than Hitler had hoped, and following a meeting in Berlin in August 1943, the Tsar became seriously ill and died, aged 49. Stress and a heart condition were the official reasons for his death.[citation needed]

Ioanna's son, Simeon, became the new tsar and a regency was established, led by his uncle Prince Kyril, who was considered more pliable by the Germans.

In the dying days of the Second World War, Bulgaria was occupied by the Soviet Union. Prince Kiril was tried by a People's Court and subsequently executed. Ioanna and her son Simeon remained under house arrest at Vrana Palace, near Sofia, until 15 September 1946, when the new Communist government gave them 48 hours to leave the country because the state was declared republic after a referendum, although the queen wanted to leave Bulgaria after the execution of Prince Kiril on 1 February 1945.[1]

## Late years

[edit]

After initially fleeing to Alexandria in the Kingdom of Egypt, to join her father, King Victor Emmanuel III, Giovanna and her son Simeon II moved on to Madrid. In 1962 Simeon II married and Queen Giovanna moved to Estoril, on the Portuguese Riviera, where she lived for the rest of her life, apart from a brief return to Bulgaria in 1993, when she visited the site of Boris's grave and was present at the reburial of his heart.[citation needed]

She is buried in the Communal Cemetery of Assisi, Italy, where she had married King Boris III in 1930.

## Honours, styles and arms

[edit]

### Honours

[edit]

#### National

[edit]

* House of Savoy: Dame of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus[2][unreliable source?]
* Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Dame Grand Cross Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 3rd First Class[2][3]
* Royal Family of Two Sicilies: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I[4]
* House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saint Alexander, in Diamonds, 1933[2]

#### Foreign

[edit]

* Austrian Imperial and Royal Family: Dame of the Imperial and Royal Order of the Starry Cross[2]
* Bavarian Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Theresa[2]
* Russian Imperial Family: Dame Grand Cordon of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine[5]
* Yugoslavian Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saint Sava[citation needed]

### Styles

[edit]

Styles of
Tsaritsa (Queen) Giovanna of Bulgaria

Reference style| Her Majesty
Spoken style| Your Majesty

### Arms

[edit]

| Coat of Arms of Queen Giovanna
of Bulgaria

|

## Patronage

[edit]

* Bulgaria: Patron of the 10th Cavalry regiment of Queen Ioanna[6]

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Giovanna of Savoy

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Victor Emmanuel II of Italy

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Umberto I of Italy|

|  |  |
| 9\. Archduchess Adelaide of Austria

| 2\. Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa

| 5\. Princess Margherita of Savoy|

|  |  |
| 11\. Princess Elizabeth of Saxony

| 1\. Giovanna of Savoy|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Mirko Petrović-Njegoš, Grand Voivode of Grahovo

| 6\. Nicholas I of Montenegro|

|  |  |
| 13\. Anastasija Martinović

| 3\. Princess Elena of Montenegro|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Voivode Petar Vukotić

| 7\. Milena Vukotić|

|  |  |
| 15\. Jelena Voivodić

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## Sources

[edit]

* Boris III of Bulgaria 1894–1943, by Pashanko Dimitroff, London, 1986, ISBN 0-86332-140-2
* Crown of Thorns by Stephane Groueff, Lanham MD., and London, 1987, ISBN 0-8191-5778-3
* The Daily Telegraph, Obituary for "HM Queen Ioanna of the Bulgarians", London, 28 February 2000.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1946: Истинският референдум". Duma. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
2. ^ a b c d e genmarenostrum.com, page with the Italian Royal family members' honours
3. ^ "The Royal family attended the reception on the occasion of the Day of St. John the Baptist, patron of the Order of Malta | H.M. King Simeon II".
4. ^ "In living memory of Her Majesty Giovanna, Queen of Bulgaria and Princess of Savoy | H.M. King Simeon II".
5. ^ "SAINTANNA.RU | Св. Екатерины". www.saintanna.ru. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
6. ^ "Н.В. Цар Симеон II | Шефски полкове". Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

Giovanna of Savoy

House of Savoy

Born: 13 November 1907 Died: 26 February 2000

Royal titles
Vacant

Title last held by

Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz |  Tsaritsa of Bulgaria
25 October 1930 – 28 August 1943  | Vacant

Monarchy abolished

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Savoy

1st generation|

* None

2nd generation|

* Margherita, Duchess of Anjou

3rd generation|

* Margherita, Countess of Saint-Pol
* Charlotte, Queen of France
* Bona, Duchess of Milan

4th generation|

* Princess Louise
* Louise, Duchess of Nemours

5th generation|

* None

6th generation|

* None

7th generation|

* Margherita, Vicereine of Portugal
* Isabella, Hereditary Princess of Modena

8th generation|

* Luisa Cristina, Princess Maurice of Savoy
* Margherita Violante, Duchess of Parma
* Henriette Adelaide, Electress of Bavaria
* Princess Catherine Beatrice
* Louise, Hereditary Princess of Baden-Baden
* Marie Jeanne, Duchess of Savoy
* Marie Françoise, Queen of Portugal

9th generation|

* None

10th generation|

* Maria Adelaide, Dauphine of France
* Maria Luisa, Queen of Spain
* Anne Thérèse, Princess of Soubise

11th generation|

* Princess Eleonora
* Princess Maria Luisa
* Princess Maria Felicita
* Princess Maria Vittoria Margherita
* Leopoldina, Princess of Melfi
* Maria Luisa, Princess of Lamballe*
* Maria Anna Victoria, Duchess in Saxony

12th generation|

* Princess Maria Elisabetta Carlotta
* Marie Joséphine, Countess of Provence
* Maria Teresa, Countess of Artois
* Maria Anna, Duchess of Chablais
* Maria Carolina, Electoral Princess of Saxony

13th generation|

* Maria Beatrice, Duchess of Modena
* Maria Anna, Empress of Austria
* Maria Teresa, Duchess of Parma
* Maria Cristina, Queen of the Two Sicilies
* Elisabeth, Archduchess of Austria
* Maria Filiberta, Countess of Syracuse

14th generation|

* None

15th generation|

* Maria Clotilde, Princess Napoléon
* Maria Pia, Queen of Portugal
* Margherita, Queen of Italy*

16th generation|

* Bona Margherita, Princess Konrad of Bavaria*
* Adelaide, Princess Leone Massimo*

17th generation|

* Princess Yolanda, Countess of Bergolo
* Mafalda, Landgravine of Hesse
* Giovanna, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria
* Maria Francesca, Princess Luis of Parma

18th generation|

* Maria Pia, Princess Michael of Parma
* Princess Maria Gabriella, Mrs Zellinger de Balkany
* Princess Maria Beatrice, Mrs Reyna-Corvalán y Dillon
* Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este**

20th generation|

* Princess Vittoria of Savoy

* Princess of Savoy-Genoa
** Princess of Savoy-Aosta

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by marriage

1st generation|

* Princess Maria Antonia Koháry of Csábrág and Szitnya*
* Princess Louise of Orléans

2nd generation|

* Princess Alexandrine of Baden
* Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom
* Maria II, Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
* Princess Clémentine of Orléans
* Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria**
* Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen**

3rd generation|

* Princess Alexandra of Denmark***
* Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia***
* Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia***
* Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont***
* Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
* Princess Maria Pia of Savoy
* Princess Louise of Belgium
* Princess Leopoldina of Brazil
* Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma
* Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz
* Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria**

4th generation|

* Princess Victoria Mary of Teck***
* Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife***
* Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg***
* Princess Amélie of Orléans
* Archduchess Karoline Marie of Austria
* Princess Mathilde of Bavaria
* Princess Giovanna of Savoy
* Princess Astrid of Sweden**
* Lilian Baels**

5th generation|

* Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth
* Princess Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern
* Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela
* Fabiola de Mora y Aragón
* Paola Ruffo di Calabria**
* Léa Wolman**

6th generation|

* Miriam Ungría y López
* María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdórfila
* Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz**
* Claire Coombs**

7th generation|

* Kelly Rondestvedt^

* *princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld by marriage until 1826
* **also a princess of Belgium by marriage
* ***also a British princess by marriage
* ^did not have a royal or noble title by birth

* v
* t
* e

Bulgarian royal consorts

First Empire (681–1018)|

* Maria
* Irene Lekapene
* Agatha
* Margaret of Hungary
* Irene of Larissa
* Maria

Second Empire (1186–1396)|

* Elena-Evgenia
* Kumankata
* Elisabeth of Courtenay
* Anna Maria of Hungary
* Irene Komnene Doukaina
* Anna of Halych
* Maria Asenina of Bulgaria
* Irene Doukaina Laskarina
* Maria Palaiologina Kantakouzene
* Irene Palaiologina
* Kira Maria Asenina of Bulgaria
* Smiltsena Palaiologina
* Euphrosyne of Bulgaria
* Theodora Palaiologina
* Ana-Neda
* Theodora of Wallachia
* Sarah-Theodora
* Kira Maria
* Dragana of Serbia
* Anna of Wallachia

Principality (1878–1908) and
Kingdom (1908–1946)|

* Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma
* Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz
* Giovanna of Savoy

Consorts to Pretenders (1946–present)|

* Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
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* Vatican

People|

* DDB

Other|

* IdRef

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