Princess Isabella, Duchess of Genoa

Princess Isabella of Bavaria (Marie Elisabeth Luise Amalie Elvire Blanche Eleonore; 31 August 1863 – 26 February 1924) was the third child and eldest daughter of Prince Adalbert of Bavaria and his wife Infanta Amalia of Spain. By her marriage to Prince Tommaso, Duke of Genoa, she became referred to as the Duchess of Genoa.

Family

Isabella was one of five children born to Prince Adalbert of Bavaria and his wife Infanta Amalia of Spain.

Isabella's father Adalbert was the fourth son of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Her mother Amalia was a daughter of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain, a younger brother of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. Her mother was also a sister of Francis, Duke of Cádiz, the consort of Ferdinand VII's daughter Queen Isabella II.

Marriage and children On 14 April 1883, at Nymphenburg, Bavaria, Isabella married Prince Tommaso, Duke of Genoa. He was the only son of Prince Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa and his wife Princess Elisabeth of Saxony. He was also a brother-in-law through his sister Margherita of Savoy of Umberto I of Italy, and thus was an uncle of the future King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Their union was the fourth time the houses of Wittelsbach and Savoy had been united in marriage. It was attended by Pope Pius X, along with 1,000 French pilgrims and several thousand worshipers of other nationalities, as well as twenty-two Cardinals and the Papal Court. The event had nearly one million witnesses, and was also attended by dowager queens Maria Pia of Portugal and Margherita of Italy and the Duke and Duchess of Aosta. She only survived because her maid quickly smothered the flames. She had been ill for several days beforehand. Tommaso would die seven years later, in 1931.

Ancestry