Margaret of Savoy (28 April 1589 – 26 June 1655) was the last Habsburg Vicereine of Portugal from 1634 to 1640. In Portuguese she is known as Duquesa de Mântua, being by marriage the Duchess of Mantua and Montferrat. She was also regent of Montferrat during the minority of her daughter from 1612.
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Biography
Duchess of Montferrat
Margaret was born in Turin, as the fourth child and eldest daughter of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (1562–1630) and Infanta Catalina Micaela of Spain (1567–1597), the daughter of Philip II of Spain. She was married to the future Francis IV, Duke of Mantua (1586–1612) and Montferrat on 22 February 1608. The wedding was celebrated in Turin. In 1612 Margaret's husband succeeded his father, Vincent I, as Duke of Mantua. Their marriage produced three children, but only one daughter, Maria, survived childhood. Francis died in 1612.
Regent of Montferrat
As the couple had no surviving male issue, Duke Francis' brother Ferdinand succeeded him in the Duchy of Mantua, whereas in the Duchy of Montferrat he was succeeded by his three-year-old daughter Maria, because it had been historically inherited by females, as it was a margraviate of Aleramici origin following a different rule of succession. Indeed, it had been brought to the Mantuan princely dynasty (the House of Gonzaga) by the marriage of Margherita Paleologa, Margravine of Montferrat, in 1531. Accordingly, Maria's claims were asserted and Dowager Duchess Margaret required to be made her regent in Montferrat.