Queen Marie-José Through Her Daughter's Eyes

Here, we see Queen Marie-José of Italy with her four children: Maria Pia, Victor Emmanuel, Maria Gabriella, and Maria Beatrice. 

Marie-José's youngest daughter, Maria Beatrice, paid this lovely tribute to her mother: 

Di mia madre ammiro molte cose: il suo spirito indipendente, l'amore per la cultura, l'abilità con cui, anche avanti negli anni, ha continuato a condurre le sue ricerche storiche. Ma sopratutto ne ho sempre apprezzato la capacità di astrarsi, ossia di andare oltre le gioie e i dispiaceri, i luoghi e le situazioni, per essere sempre se stessa.

In my mother, I admire many things: her independent spirit, her love of culture, the ability with which, even in her later years, she continued to conduct her historical research (Marie-José wrote many outstanding works on the history of the house of Savoy). But, above all, I have always appreciated her capacity to abstract herself, to go beyond joys and sorrows, places and situations, to be always herself.

(Included in Luciano Regolo's biography of Marie-José, La Regina Incompresa)