Philip II, Duke of Savoy

Philip II (February 5 1438 – November 7 1497), surnamed the Landless was the Duke of Savoy for the brief reign from 1496 to 1497. He was the granduncle of the previous duke Charles II, and the youngest surviving son of Duke Louis of Savoy and Anne of Cyprus. He however was not the heir general of the previous duke, there being several females before him in the line of succession. To ensure male inheritance to the Savoy line, his eldest son Philibert was married to his cousin, the only sister of the deceased young Duke. However, the plan did not succeed: the girl died at age 12. (Philip had already died in the meantime.) The children of the daughters of Philip's eldest brother Duke Amedeo IX of Savoy were next in line, and were entitled to the inheritance of the line of heirs-general, including Cyprus and Jerusalem. Despite of the fact that Cyprus and Jerusalem did not bar succession in female line, Philip however took those claims and used those titles as well. His male successors in Savoy also continued to do so, thus giving their ducal title a higher, royal titulary. He spent most of his life as a junior member of the ducal family. His original apanage was the district of Bresse, close to the French and Burgundian border, but it was lost and therefore Philip received his sobriquet "the Landless".

Family

Coat of Arms of the Counts of Savoy

He married:

• Margaret of Bourbon (1438-1483) and had 3 children from this marriage

1. Louise (1476-1531), married Charles of Valois-Orléans, Count of Angoulême, had children including:

Francis I of France whose daughter Margaret of Valois married to Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy.

2. Girolamo (1478)

3. Philibert II (Filiberto II) (1480-1504)

• Claudine or Claudina de Brosse of Brittany (1450-1513) and had 6 children from this marriage:

1. Carlo III (1486-1553) who succeeded his half-brother as Duke of Savoy
2. Louis (1488-1502)
3. Philip (1490-1533), duke of Nemours
4. Assolone (1494)
5. Giovanni Amedeo (1495)
6. Philiberta (1498-1524), married Julian II di Medici (1479-1516), duke of Nemours

He had also other 8 illegitimate children by 2 mistresses known as Libera Portoneri and Bona di Romagnano. One of those children was René of Savoy, known as the Grand Bastard of Savoy and father-in-law of Anne, 1st Duc de Montmorency. One of his daughters, Claudina of Savoy, by Bona di Romagnano was married to Jacob III, Count of Hornes.