| Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait byMaria Giovanna Clementi, c. 1728–1730 | |||||
| Queen consort of Sardinia | |||||
| Tenure | 3 September 1730 – 13 January 1735 | ||||
| Born | (1706-09-21)21 September 1706 Langenschwalbach,Hesse | ||||
| Died | 13 January 1735(1735-01-13) (aged 28) Royal Palace of Turin | ||||
| Burial | 1786 Basilica of Superga, Turin | ||||
| Spouse | Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia | ||||
| Issue Detail | Victor Amadeus III, King of Sardinia Princess Eleonora Princess Maria Luisa Princess Maria Felicita Prince Emanuele Filiberto | ||||
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| House | Hesse-Rotenburg | ||||
| Father | Ernest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg[1] | ||||
| Mother | Countess Eleonore of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort[2] | ||||
Princess Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg (Polyxena Christina Johanna; 21 September 1706 – 13 January 1735) was the second wife ofCharles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont whom she married in 1724. The mother of the futureVictor Amadeus III, she wasQueen of Sardinia from 1730 until her death in 1735.[3]
Polyxena was born as the eldest daughter ofErnst Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg andPrincess Eleonore of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort, daughter ofMaximilian Karl Albert, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort.
King Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia approached her family and proposed a union between Polyxena and Victor Amadeus II's son andheir, Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont. A previous match orchestrated byAgostino Steffani with a daughter ofRinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena, had come to nothing.[4] His first wife,Countess Palatine Anne Christine of Sulzbach, died on 12 March 1723, less than a year after her marriage and barely a week after giving birth to a son, Victor Amadeus, Duke of Aosta (7 March 1723 – 1 August 1725).[5]
Although only two years younger, Polyxena was a niece of Charles Emanuel's first wife,[5] and belonged to theHesse-Rotenburg line, which was the onlyRoman Catholic branch (since 1652) of thereigningHouse of Hesse.[6] She had been nominally acanoness ofThorn Abbey since 1720.[7]
The engagement was announced on 2 July 1724,[8] and she wed Charles Emmanuel byproxy on 23 July inRotenburg. The marriage was celebrated in person atThonon inChablais on 20 August 1724.[9]
Her stepson Victor Amadeus, heir after his father and grandfather to the Sardinian crown, died at the age of two, a year after Polyxena's marriage and before she had a child of her own. Nonetheless, she is said to have had a close relationship with her mother-in-law,Anne Marie d'Orléans, and the two frequented theVilla della Regina outside the capital, where the latter died in 1728.
When King Victor Amadeus announced his decision to return to the throne after having abdicated in 1730, Polyxena used her influence over her husband[10] to have his father imprisoned at theCastle of Moncalieri, where he was joined for a while by hismorganatic wife,Anna Canalis di Cumiana, Polyxena's formerlady of the bedchamber.[11]
In an 1869 history of the House of Savoy, Francesco Predari wrote that despite the fact Polyxena was praised for goodness of character and beautiful virtues, her father-in-law advised her to take care to maintain separate quarters from her husband for prudence's sake.[8] In 1732 she founded a home for young mothers in Turin,[8] redecorated theVilla della Regina,Stupinigi's hunting lodge, and the Church of Saint Joseph in Turin. She carried out various improvements withFilippo Juvarra and popularisedchinoiserie. She was also a patron ofGiovanni Battista Crosato, abaroque painter.[12]
Having been ill since June 1734, she died at theRoyal Palace of Turin, and has been buried in the RoyalBasilica of Superga since 1786. Two years after her death, herwidower married PrincessElisabeth Therese of Lorraine,[13] sister of the futureFrancis I, Holy Roman Emperor.
The senior branch of the House of Savoy ended with her grandsonCharles Felix of Sardinia. TheVilla Polissena inRome is named in her honour.[14]
| Ancestors of Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg[16] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media related toPolyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg at Wikimedia CommonsPolyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg Cadet branch of theHouse of Hesse Born: 21 September 1706 Died: 13 January 1735 | ||
| Italian royalty | ||
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| Vacant Title last held by Anne Marie d'Orléans | Queen consort of Sardinia 3 September 1730 – 13 January 1735 | Vacant Title next held by Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine |
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| People | |
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