Editing Prince Eugene of Savoy (section)

== Personal life ==
Being an Italian by descent, a Frenchman by birth, and a German by adoption, Prince Eugene signed his name using the trilingual form “Eugenio von Savoye” (Italian: Eugenio, German: von, French: Savoye).{{sfn | Pope | Pattison | 1878 | p=118}}

Eugene never married. He was reported to have said that a woman was a hindrance in war and that a soldier should not marry. Some contemporaries attributed his defeat at the 1712 [[Battle of Denain]] to the presence of an Italian lady accompanying him on campaign, a claim repeated by [[Voltaire]], who said he had met the woman in question.{{sfn|The Edinburgh Review|1862|p=546}} He was sometimes described as "Mars without Venus" for his lifelong bachelorhood.{{sfn|Henderson|1964|p=239}} [[Winston Churchill]], in his biography of the [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough]], wrote that Eugene was "a bachelor, almost a [[misogyny|misogynist]], disdainful of money, content with his bright sword and his lifelong animosity against Louis XIV".{{sfn | Churchill | 2014 | p=347}}

[[File:Countess Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Hungarian [[Countess Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann]], Viennese court lady and companion of Prince Eugene.{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | p=240}}]]
For the final two decades of his life, Eugene was closely associated with Hungarian Countess [[Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann]], the widowed daughter of [[Theodor von Strattman]], a former {{lang|de|Hofkanzler}}.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=157}} Although Eugene left no personal papers beyond official correspondence, he and Eleonore were constant companions. They met almost daily for dinner, receptions, and card games, and were widely assumed by diplomats to be lovers.{{sfn|Monaldi|Sorti|2013|p=535}}{{sfn|Haggard|1906|p=78}} One earlier reference exists to another woman, Countess Maria Thürheim, but there is no further evidence of a relationship.<ref>There was one reference to another woman before Countess Batthyány, the Swedish minister in Vienna mentioned the Countess Maria Thürheim, but there is no evidence to verify this.</ref> The precise beginning of Eugene and Eleonore's relationship is unknown, though their estates in Hungary near [[Schloss Rechnitz|Rechnitz Castle]] made them neighbours after the Battle of Zenta.{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | p=239}} In diplomatic correspondence of the early 18th century, she was referred to as “Eugen’s Egeria”{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | p=240}} and eventually as his constant companion. When asked if she and the prince would marry, Eleonore reportedly replied, “I love him too well for that, I would rather have a bad reputation than deprive him of his.”{{sfn|de Ligne|Mudford|1811|p=249}}

Rumours about Eugene’s sexual orientation circulated from his youth. The primary source of these claims was [[Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate|Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orléans]], a prolific letter-writer and wife of [[Philippe I, Duke of Orléans]], a noted court figure known for male companions and brother to [[Louis XIV]].<ref name="Factinate 2020">{{cite web | title=Beware Princess Elisabeth Charlotte, Keeper of Versailles' Dark Secrets | website=Factinate | date=4 March 2020 | url=https://www.factinate.com/people/facts-princess-elisabeth-charlotte-madame-palatine}}</ref> In her correspondence, she alleged that Eugene had engaged in "youthful indiscretions" with lackeys and pages and was denied an ecclesiastical benefice due to “depravity”.{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | pp=9–10 | ps=:The Duchess described Eugene as "a vulgar whore" who preferred a "couple of fine page boys" to any woman.}}<ref>Wilhelm Ludwig Holland (ed), ''Briefe der Herzogin Elisabeth Charlotte von Orleans'', Stuttgart, 1867</ref> Eugene’s biographer Helmut Oehler attributed these comments to her personal hostility.{{sfn|Monaldi|Sorti|2013|p=535}} Eugene mocked the claims in his memoirs as “the invented anecdotes from the gallery of Versailles”.{{sfn|de Ligne|Mudford|1811|p=18}} The allegations were made years after the events and followed Eugene’s military defeats of her brother-in-law. After his departure from France at age nineteen, reportedly in disguise and accompanied by his cousin [[Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti]],<ref name="Barbero">{{cite web |last=Barbero |first=Alessandro |author-link =Alessandro Barbero |date=2 July 2020 |title= Il Principe Eugenio e l'assedio di Torino |url=https://italia-podcast.it/podcast/alessandro-barbero-la-storia-le-storie-intesa-sanp/il-principe-eugenio-e-l-assedio-di-torino |website=Intesa Sanpaolo on air |location=Turin |publisher=Italia Podcast |language=it}}</ref> there were no further contemporary accusations. According to historians Kramar and Mayrhofer, “there was never again an observer or a malicious diplomat who accused Eugene of homosexual inclinations”.<ref name="Kramar Mayrhofer 2013 p. 76">{{cite book|last1=Kramar|first1=K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEt4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT76|title=Prinz Eugen: Heros und Neurose|last2=Mayrhofer|first2=G.|publisher=Residenz Verlag|year=2013|isbn=978-3-7017-4337-7|page=76|language=de}}</ref>{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | pp=9–10}}

Eugene’s prominence at court also drew criticism. [[Guido Starhemberg]], a former subordinate, became a vocal critic.{{sfn|The Edinburgh Review|1862|p=546}} [[Baron de Montesquieu|Montesquieu]] described him as Eugene’s chief rival at the Habsburg court.{{sfn|Baron de Montesquieu|1894|p=283}} Another rival, [[Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg]], who had served under Eugene during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], criticised him in a letter, writing, “He has no idea but to fight whenever the opportunity offers,” and adding that he “loves {{Lang|fr|la petite débauche et la p---- above all things}}.”<ref name="Mitchell Schmitz 1865 p. 211">{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THBZAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA211 |title=Biographies of Eminent Soldiers of the Last Four Centuries |last2=Schmitz |first2=L. |publisher=W. Blackwood and Sons |year=1865 |page=211}}</ref> Eugene’s principal biographer, Max Braubach, interpreted the phrase as referring to general sexual indulgence, such as fornication or whoring.{{sfn|Trost|1985|p=275}} As [[Governor-General of the Austrian Netherlands]], Eugene was linked to an exclusive [[brothel]] on [[Amsterdam]]’s [[Prinsengracht]]. The establishment, operated by a woman known as [[Madame Therese]], was reportedly frequented by Eugene, who is said to have once brought the English consul as a guest.{{sfn|van de Pol|van de Pol|Waters|2011|p=2}} A drawing by [[Cornelis Troost]], held by the [[Rijksmuseum]], depicts Eugene inspecting a line-up of prostitutes “as he did his own troops”. According to the museum, the image was based on a contemporary anecdote.{{sfn|Rijksmuseum|2020}} 

Eugene’s closest personal relationships also shaped his legacy. He was especially close to the papal [[nuncio]], [[Domenico Silvio Passionei]], who later delivered his funeral oration.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} Without a direct family of his own, Eugene arranged the marriage of his only surviving nephew, [[Thomas Emmanuel, Prince of Savoy-Carignan|Emmanuel Thomas]], son of his brother [[Louis Thomas, Count of Soissons|Louis Thomas]], to [[Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein]], [[Duchy of Troppau|Duchess of Troppau]]. Emmanuel died of smallpox in 1729. Eugene then turned to his grand-nephew, [[Eugene Jean, Count of Soissons]], Emmanuel’s only son and Eugene’s last male heir. Seeking to establish a second Savoyard principality in central Italy, Eugene arranged a marriage between Eugene Jean and the child sovereign [[Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa|Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina]], then under regency. He secured the approval of [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Merlotti, Andrea|chapter=Savoia e Asburgo nel XVIII secolo: due progetti per un secondo Stato sabaudo nell'Italia imperiale (1732, 1765)|date=2010|editor1=Bellabarba, Marco|editor2=Niederkorn, Jan Paul|language=it, de|location=Bologna/Berlin|isbn=978-88-15-13978-8|postscript=none|pages=216–224|publisher=Mulino/Duncker&Humblot|title=Le corti come luogo di comunicazione. Gli Asburgo e l'Italia (secolo XVI-XIX) / Höfe als Orte der Kommunikation. Die Habsburger und Italien (16. bis 19. Jahrhundert)}}</ref> Though matrimonial agreements were signed in 1732, the marriage never took place, Eugene Jean died in 1734 in [[Mannheim]] while serving in the imperial army.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Sforza, Giovanni|date=1909|location=Torino|journal=Miscellanea di Storia Italiana|number=XLIV|pages=359–416|publisher=Bocca|series=3rd series|title=Il principe Eugenio Francesco di Savoia conte di Soissons e il suo fidanzamento con Maria Teresa Cibo duchessa di Massa |url=https://archive.org/details/miscellaneadisto13rdepuoft/page/n5/mode/2up|volume=XIII|language=it}}</ref>

With Eugene Jean’s death, Eugene’s closest relative was [[Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy]], daughter of Louis Thomas and Eugene Jean’s aunt. Though Eugene never met her, and reportedly showed no interest in doing so, she became his legal heiress in the absence of a will.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=203}} She was preferred over his cousin, [[Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignano]], son of [[Emmanuel Philibert, Prince of Carignano]].{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | p=290}}