Queen Dowager
King Luís died on 19 October 1889 and Maria Pia became Queen Dowager. She was very active as such and continued with her social projects while holding a dominating position at court. She served as regent during the absence of the king and queen.
The Queen Dowager was devastated after the assassination of her son King Carlos I of Portugal and grandson Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza, on 1 February 1908. During her last years in Portugal, she was showing signs of senility and was rarely seen in public.
Maria Pia was deeply upset by the deposition of her other grandson Manuel II of Portugal by the 5 October 1910 Revolution and the resulting establishment of the Portuguese First Republic. Maria Pia left Portugal with the rest of the royal family to exile in 1910. She returned to her native Italy, where she died on 5 July 1911. She is said to have mourned the loss of Portugal.
Her remains are interred in the royal mausoleum in the Basilica of Superga, near Turin, with most members of the House of Savoy since the 18th century.
Read more about this topic: Maria Pia Of Savoy
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