She was a daughter of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabeth of

Saxony.
She married her first cousin Umberto, Prince of Piedmont, on 21 April 1868. On 1
1 November 1869, Margherita gave birth to Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, lat
er Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. He was their only child.
Queen consort[edit]
On 9 January 1878, Umberto succeeded as the new King of Italy. She became his Qu
een consort and remained by his side for the rest of his reign. Umberto, after t
he attempted murders by anarchists Giovanni Passannante and Pietro Acciarito, wa
s killed by another anarchist, Gaetano Bresci, on 29 July 1900.
Margherita encouraged artists and writers and founded cultural institutions, not
ably the Societ del Quartetto, and the Casa di Dante. She was a benefactor of man
y charities, especially the Red Cross.
On 18 August 1893, in the company of various guides, porters, Alpini, politician
s and aristocrats, Margherita climbed the Punta Gnifetti (or Signalkuppe), a pea
k of the Monte Rosa massif on the Swiss-Italian border, for the inauguration of
the mountain hut named after her.[1] At 4,554 metres the Capanna Regina Margheri
ta, remains the highest hut in Europe. Margherita later accepted the position of
Honorary President of the Ladies' Alpine Club.[2]
Politically she leant towards Fascism in October 1922 the quadrumvirs (Emilio De B
ono, Italo Balbo, Michele Bianchi and Cesare Maria de Vecchi) visited her at Bor
dighera to pay their respects prior to the March on Rome[citation needed].
Legacy[edit]
In 1881, the mining town of Margherita in Assam, India was named after her.
In 1879, the town of Margherita di Savoia, in Apulia, Italy, near Barletta, was
named after her.
According to legend, in 1889, the Margherita pizza, whose red tomatoes, green ba
sil, and white cheese represent the Italian flag, was named after her.[3]
In 1906, the Queen mother s nephew Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi made the firs
t ascent of the highest summit of Mount Stanley (the third highest mountain in A
frica) and named it Margherita Peak in her honour.[4]
In 2011, some of the Queen's jewellery was auctioned at Christies.[5]