| 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 | |||||
| Issue | Marie Louise, Princess of Koháry Simeon II of Bulgaria | ||||
| |||||
| 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 theHouse of Savoy who later became theTsaritsa of Bulgaria by marriage toBoris III of Bulgaria.
Giovanna was born inRome, the third daughter and the fourth of five children of KingVictor Emmanuel III of Italy andQueen Elena, former Princess ofMontenegro. Upon her Roman Catholic christening, she was given the names Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria. Her older brother was the future (and last) Italian kingUmberto II of Italy.
Giovanna married TsarBoris III of Bulgaria in the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi,Assisi on 25 October 1930, in a Roman Catholic ceremony, attended by Italian dictatorBenito Mussolini. Bulgarians deemed her a good match, partly because her mother,Elena of Montenegro, was ofSlavic ethnicity. At a second ceremony inSofia, Giovanna (who herself was daughter of a Roman Catholic father and a formerly Orthodox mother) was married in anEastern 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'sApostolic Visitor to Bulgaria, ArchbishopAngelo Roncalli, the future PopeJohn XXIII, who was able to help her. She and Boris had two children:Marie Louise of Bulgaria, born on 13 January 1933,[citation needed] andSimeon II of Bulgaria, born on 16 June 1937.[citation needed]
In the years prior toWorld 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 theAxis by obtaining transit visas to enable a number of Jews to escape toArgentina. Tsar Boris also proved less malleable thanHitler had hoped, and following a meeting inBerlin 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 unclePrince Kyril, who was considered more pliable by the Germans.
In the dying days of theSecond 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 atVrana 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 aftera referendum, although the queen wanted to leave Bulgaria after the execution of Prince Kiril on 1 February 1945.[1]
After initially fleeing toAlexandria in theKingdom of Egypt, to join her father, King Victor Emmanuel III, Giovanna and her son Simeon II moved on toMadrid. In 1962 Simeon II married and Queen Giovanna moved toEstoril, on thePortuguese 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 ofAssisi, Italy, where she had married King Boris III in 1930.
House of Savoy: Dame of theOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarus[2][unreliable source?]
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Dame Grand CrossHonour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 3rd First Class[2][3]
Royal Family of Two Sicilies: Dame Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of Francis I[4]
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry: Dame Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of Saint Alexander, in Diamonds,1933[2]
Austrian Imperial and Royal Family: Dame of theImperial and Royal Order of the Starry Cross[2]
Bavarian Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of Theresa[2]
Russian Imperial Family: Dame Grand Cordon of theImperial Order of Saint Catherine[5]
Yugoslavian Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of Saint Sava[citation needed]| Styles of Tsaritsa (Queen) Giovanna of Bulgaria | |
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| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Coat of Arms of Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria |
Bulgaria: Patron of the10th Cavalry regiment of Queen Ioanna[6]| Ancestors of Giovanna of Savoy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Giovanna of Savoy Born: 13 November 1907 Died: 26 February 2000 | ||
| Royal titles | ||
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| Vacant Title last held by Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz | Tsaritsa of Bulgaria 25 October 1930 – 28 August 1943 | Vacant |
