The
May Queen
Queen Marie-José of Italy (b.1907)
By Art Beéche
Surprising,
non-conformist, original and above all royal. Her Majesty Queen Marie-José
of Italy
has not
changed. Installed for some years now at her villa in Cuernavaca, Mexico,
the former
Italian
sovereign demonstrates today the same curiosity that has characterized
her throughout life.
Her white
villa and the surrounding garden, vibrant with bougainvilleas and exotic
vegetation, are
filled
with charm.
Marie-José
discovered Mexico in the company of Princess Marie-Beatrice of Italy, her
youngest
daughter.
Together they have visited many of the country's archaeological sites,
among them the
ruins
at Tajin, only recently opened to the public. The former Queen of Italy
chose Mexico to be
near her
daughter and grandchildren. She acquired her villa, which is close to that
of her family,
because
it has excellent acoustics which allow Marie-José to play piano
concerts for her family
and friends.
The Queen has brought along her Bechstein piano, an excellent instrument
presented to
her by
her music-loving parents, King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium
in 1930.
Music has
always played an important role in the Queen's life. "I'm a musician, my
parents were
musicians,
I have been able to meet the greatest virtuosos and composers. To encourage
creativity
I created
the International Prize Queen Marie-José for musical composition
in 1960. I'm currently
helping
a young Mexican who is studying music in Germany." The Queen assiduously
attends
musical
performances at the Palace of Beaux Arts in Mexico City, and is constantly
visited by
young
Mexican musicians.
Yet the
Queen's days are not just dedicated to music. History, her other passion,
has always played
an important
role in the life of Marie-José. She recently read a biography of
her great-aunt, Queen
Marie
of Naples, wife of King Francis II of the Two-Sicilies. "As a child I remember
visiting my
old aunt,
whose husband was dethroned by the Savoys in 1860 during Italian unification.
After
greeting
her...she pointed her finger at me and said...And you, I do hope you will
never marry that
little
Umberto of Savoy!" Curiously enough, Princess Marie-José of Belgium
married prince
Umberto
of Savoy in 1930. Her Aunt Marie was the last Queen of the Two-Sicilies,
Marie-José
was the
last Queen of Italy.
Queen Marie-José
is also recognized as one of the world's leading specialists in the history
of the
House
of Savoy. She has published several works on her husband's family and is
currently writing
a biography
of Prince Emmanuel-Philibert, ancestor of her children.
The
Savoys: left to right: Princess Maria-Pia; Prince Victor-Emmanuel; Crown
Princess Marie-José; Crown prince
Umberto of Italy. c. 1940.
Marie-José
celebrated her ninety-first birthday this year. Her life, after a happy
childhood and
youth
in Belgium, has been filled with challenges, suffering and tragedy. Her
marriage to Prince
Umberto
was not a happy one, for neither royal spouse was much interested in the
other. The first
four years
of marriage were filled with constant bickering and a growing separation
between
Umberto
and Marie-José. Their children caused the royal couple several headaches
during much
of the
1960's. One of her grandsons died in mysterious circumstances by falling
off a window just
a few
years ago. Marie-José's father died tragically as a result of a
climbing accident. One of her
sisters-in-law,
Princess Mafalda of Hesse, died while in a concentration camp. Another
sister-in-law,
Queen Astrid of Belgium, died in a car accident. In the midst of all these
family
tragedies,
Marie-José has retained hope for her last years and the eventual
closing of the many rifts
which
have divided the Savoy family.
Throughout
all these years, Marie-José has remained close to her royal nephews
in Belgium. She
never
abandoned her Belgian roots. In 1993 she attended the funeral of King Baudouin
I in
Brussels.
She has been visited by her other nephew, King Albert II, while in Cuernavaca.
Marie-José
is no longer barred from entering Italy. She and her husband, King Umberto
II were
ousted
by popular plebiscite in May, 1946. For decades, the Italian Republic banned
the return of
the Savoys.
In exile, Umberto II and Marie-José separated. He settled in Cascais,
Portugal; she in
Switzerland.
Umberto never again set foot in Italy.
In 1929
the Royal Court of Belgium solemnly announced the engagement of Princess
Marie-José to
Crown
Prince Umberto of Italy. Inside the palace walls, Marie-José did
not share the enthusiasm
of both
families and the populace in general. Still, as a daughter of kings and
a royal princess, she
felt obligated
to fulfill her public duties. In 1930 she married the Italian royal heir
and became the
Princess
of Piedmont. The first years of marriage were a challenge to the vastly
divergent couple.
At times
it seemed that their union was close to reaching a complete collapse. Umberto
was a
playboy
with particular sexual tastes which did not discriminate between the sexes.
Marie-José
was a
tremendously talented young woman with deep artistic and intellectual inclinations.
Their
first
child, Princess Maria-Pia was born in 1934. In 1937 an heir was born when
Marie-José gave
birth
to Prince Victor-Emmanuel, who was followed by Marie-Gabrielle in 1940
and finally
Marie-Beatrice
in 1943.
At the
time of Marie-José's marriage to Umberto, Italy was under the political
dictatorship of
Benito
Mussolini. Marie-José, raised in the very democratic atmosphere
of Brussels, felt a deep
aversion
to the fascist undercurrent expanding throughout Europe. She clashed constantly
with
Italy's
government, and even confronted Adolf Hitler during the Second World War.
She vainly
tried
to obtain the freedom of Belgian prisoners of war.
The long
Mussolini dictatorship, as well as the German alliance during the Second
World War,
doomed
the future of the Savoy monarchy. After the Allied invasion of Italy, old
King
Victor-Emmanuel
III abdicated in his son's favor in a last effort to safe the Italian monarchy.
On 9
May 1946,
Umberto II and Marie-José became the new Italian monarchs. Their
opposition to
Mussolini
had gained them vast popularity, yet the crown's cooperation with the fascist
dictator
had raised
widespread opposition among many Italians. The house of Savoy had tainted
itself by
allowing,
and contributing, to Mussolini's ascendancy to absolute power in Italy.
Even though
Umberto
and Marie-José tried to restore the tarnished image of the Savoys,
there efforts were too
late.
Barely one month after ascending the throne, Umberto II called for a referendum
to decide the
future
of the Italian monarchy. The Savoys lost by a small margin.
The referendum
of 1946 gave the republican sectors a marginal majority. Many politicians
close to
the Savoys
tried to convince Umberto II to fight the results. Fraud seemed to have
been
widespread.
The monarchy could have had a chance, yet taking this action would have
plunged the
country
into civil war. Italy, already devastated by the Second World War, could
hardly afford any
more civil
and political strife. Faced with these choices, Umberto II refused to plunge
the country
into any
more political violence. He and Marie-José, accompanied by their
family, left Italy
without
abdicating the crown. The exiled monarchs joined Umberto's parents in Egypt.
Some time
later,
Umberto settled in Cascais, Portugal. Marie-José found it impossible
to live with her
husband
any longer, eventually settling in Switzerland.
From exile
in Portugal, Umberto II unsuccessfully tried to convince the Italian government
to
abrogate
the law of exile imposed in 1947. This law singled out male members of
the House of
Savoy
from ever entering Italian territory. As their life in exile continued
without the hope of a
royal
restoration, Umberto II and Marie-José separated. The children were
deeply affected by the
collapse
of family life and began to provide their parents with much grief and embarrassment.
Divorces,
drug-addiction, love scandals and court proceedings became commonplace
among the
younger
generation of Savoys.
Umberto
II died in 1983. He was never able to return to his beloved Italy. His
body was interred
in Portugal,
where it remains to this day. Marie-José has remained a constant
presence in the life
of her
children, most of which seem to have encountered some degree of inner peace.
The Italian
law of
exile remains in place, Victor-Emmanuel and his son, Emmanuel-Philibert
continue to live
in exile.
Italy is no longer barred from old Queen Marie-José. She has visited
the country several
times,
usually in the company of her daughter Marie-Gabrielle, another accomplished
historian and
Savoy
expert. Yet, Marie-José refused to settle in Italy because the Law
of Exile still applies to
her son
and grandson. The last Queen of Italy prefers to ignore the past and avoid
nostalgic
reminiscences,
instead she much prefers to look at the future and the possibilities life
may provide.
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