Giovanna of Italy (1907–2000)
Giovanna of Italy (1907–2000)
Queen of Bulgaria. Name variations: Giovanna of Savoy; Giovanna de Savoi; Joanna of Italy. Born Nov 13, 1907, in the Quirinale Palace, Rome, Italy; died Feb 26, 2000, in Estoril, Portugal; dau. of Victor Emmanuel III, king of Italy (r. 1900–1946), and Elena of Montenegro (1873–1952); m. Boris III (1894–1943), king of Bulgaria (r. 1918–1943), Oct 25, 1930; children: Simon II (Simeon), king of Bulgaria (r. 1943–1946); Marie Louise of Bulgaria (b. 1933).
Became involved in charitable causes and personally financed the building of a children's hospital; during WWII, after Bulgaria joined the Axis, was shocked by Nazi anti-Semitism; with husband, saved many thousands of Bulgarian Jews from concentration camps; lived her last years in exile at Estoril, visiting Sofia only in 1993.