Vittoria Maria, Duchess of Saletro

## Princess Viktoria

Duchess of Saletro

**Princess Viktoria Maria of Schöffer** (Viktoria Alexandra Maria Johanna; 24 September 1892 - 6 May 1931), was an Schöfferian princess by birth and **Duchess of Saletro** by marriage as the wife of Prince Alessandro, Duke of Saletro. The second child and eldest daughter of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Schöffer, she grew up in the Schloss Leopoldshof alongside her siblings.

> When I lost my three of my babies, part of me also died with them. I don’t think I was or will ever be the same after such a traumatic experience.
>
> Viktoria to her diary in January 1927

## Biography

**Viktoria Maria** was born at the Leopold Palace on 24 September 1892, the daughter of Johann Leopold II of Schöffer and his wife Auguste, Grand Duchess of Schöffer. She was named after her grandmother, Viktoria, Grand Duchess of Schöffer.

Viktoria was particularly close throughout her whole life to her brother, Prince Leopold, as they were pretty close in age.

## Marriage and issue

In 1914, when she was twenty one, Viktoria married Prince Alessandro, Duke of Saletro, who was twenty nine. Viktoria and Alessandro had nine children, six of whom lived to adulthood:

* Princess Carlotta (10 March 1915 - 28 August 1997), who wed Prince Georgiy Mikhailovich of Vhalsky, and had issue.
* Princess Teresa (7 January 1917 - 3 May 1986), who wed Prince Ivan Andreevich of Vhalsky, and had issue.
* Prince Leopoldo, 2nd Duke of Saletro (28 August 1920 - 6 April 1978), who never married neither had issue.
* Prince Giovanni, 3rd Duke of Saletro (16 June 1921 - 5 September 2001), who wed his first cousin Princess Sofia of Cantenaro, and had issue.
* Prince Carlo Piero (7 August 1923), who born and died within the same day.
* Stillborn son at seven months (28 February 1925).
* Princess Augusta Adelaide (2 October 1926 - 30 March 1928), who died shortly before completing 18 months.
* Princess Gabriella (22 November 1927 - 18 May 2003), who wed Prince Heinrich of Lutz, and had issue.
* Princess Maria Pia (17 May 1930 - 24 June 2001), who wed Infante Luis Cristiano of Astério, Duke of Vitória, and had issue

The marriage was an arrangement between the families, and they didn’t know each other previously their engagement day, only receiving a portrait of one another months prior. Augustus chose Antonia as wife after learning about her piano skills and love for art, besides knowing five languages (portuguese, spanish, french, english and german) and coming from a family known for their fertility. He made his final decision after seeing a photo of her that was made just for him.

The engagement took place in April 1854 in Escoffier at the Royal Palace of Bloua, and the moment Augustus saw Antonia in person he was heartbroken that she was not the same as her photo and ran away from the ball. In exchange, Antonia spent the night crying in her bed saying that “The Duke hates me! He hates me, I know!”. It was necessary that Augustus younger sister, Princess Wilhelmina, went to talk to her so she could participate in others affairs that was prepared for the young couple.

Later on that week Augustus officially went to talk to his fiancée and apologized for the way he acted, and the couple started a friendship from then own. Antonia talked openly to her two sisters how she didn’t love her husband, how he had lovers once or twice a year and that she encouraged that from him as, that way, she had more free time for herself. Even though it wasn’t a love match, they were devoted to their children, and when something happened to one of them they both stopped whatever they were doing to take care of them.

## Later life

Antonia’s arrival and wedding wasn’t seen as a good one from the people of Escoffier as she was a catholic, but, with time, they realized how she kept her faith for herself and how she asked to all her children to be raised protestant, and they started to like her. However, it is most likely she only chose that so her children would be still in line of succession of the Escoffierese throne, as her brother and sister-in-law struggled with pregnancy, childbirth and how sick their surviving children were.

The death of her older brother, Infante Pedro, on March 1856, after the ship he and his family were in to travel to Escoffier to see Antonia messed with her a lot. She was unable to eat properly for weeks, and her husband was scared that she would die of sadness. She would later recover, and the birth of her eldest son, William, helped on that. She would be forever close to him and he was her favorite child, and everyone knew that.

## Death

Viktoria died in 6 May 1931, at 38, in the Saletro House, the home of the Dukes of Saletro and where she and her family lived, after suffering with tuberculosis for months, and was buried in the garden of the Saletro House. Her husband outlived her by nine years, and was buried by her side.

## Titles and Styles

* 24 September 1892 - 17 January 1914: *Her Highness* The Princess Viktoria of Schöffer
* 17 January 1914 - 6 May 1931: *Her Royal Highness* The Duchess of Saletro