Prince and Princess of Piedmont Country Life Magazine Portrait January 18 1930

Prince and Princess of Piedmont Country Life Magazine Portrait, Frontispiece, January 18 1930. LXVII No. 1722

The featured frontispiece this week is a portrait of Prince Umberto of Italy, Prince of Piedmont, and his bride, Princess Marie-José of Belgium, pictured during their visit to the Vatican in Rome.

• The Occasion: The couple visited the Vatican to meet Pope Pius XI shortly after their wedding, which took place on January 8, 1930, at the Quirinal Palace.
• The Groom: Prince Umberto was heir to the Italian throne and later became Umberto II, the last King of Italy, whose reign in 1946 lasted just 34 days.
• The Bride: Princess Marie-José, daughter of King Albert I of Belgium, later became the last Queen of Italy and was affectionately known as the “May Queen.”
• Privilège du Blanc: As a Catholic royal, Princess Marie-José is depicted wearing white, reflecting the special privilege that allows certain Catholic queens and princesses to wear white during papal audiences.
• Historical Context: The portrait captures a moment of great optimism for the Italian monarchy, just years before its eventual abolition following the Second World War.

This is an authentic original page from Country Life magazine, part of the iconic series often affectionately referred to as the “Girls in Pearls” portraits — elegant society images that captured a distinctive era of British publishing and portraiture.

Size: Approximately 13.75 x 9 inches (35 x 23 cm)

Condition: Very good for its age. As with all vintage magazine pages, light signs of handling or minor age-related blemishes may be present. Please review the large photo carefully for full condition details.

This original Country Life Magazine frontispiece portrait forms part of The Old Map Shop’s curated archive of society portraits published between 1897 and 2026.