The mother of the future Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia who saw the elevation of the House of Savoy to kings, she styled herself as Madama Reale or Madame Royale.

[10] For the next several years she and her family were under the guardianship of her paternal uncle Henri II the new Duke of Nemours, though Marie Jeanne Baptiste had inherited many of her father's income sources.

[1] At Henri's death in 1659 the duchy of Nemours reverted to the crown but Marie Jeanne Baptiste continued to receive the income.

[11] Her family wanted a match with Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy, who was the son of Christine Marie of France (half-aunt of Élisabeth).

However, his mother had been warned by Cardinal Mazarin of Marie Jeanne Baptiste's ambitious nature, causing her to reject the marriage.

[13] Christine Marie arranged a marriage between her son and Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans, who proved suitably docile for the controlling mother.

[16] Charles' rank was similar to that of the Duke of Savoy and the match was pursued by Marie Jeanne Baptiste's mother.

[19] Negotiations took over a year before Marie Jeanne Baptiste went to Annecy with her grandmother Françoise of Lorraine on 1 May 1665 to meet her future husband.

[20] Marie Jeanne Baptiste married Charles Emmanuel II on 20 May 1665[21] at the Castello del Valentino amid great celebration.

Her large dowry included border provinces of Genevois, Faucigny as well as Beaufort which would become the property of the mainline House of Savoy.

In his reign, her husband carried out various improvements to the royal residences and left a great architectural legacy in Savoy.

[26] On 12 June 1675 Charles Emmanuel suddenly died in Turin at the age of forty after a series of convulsive fevers.

She carried on her husband's work on the properties of Savoy, supporting construction projects, artistic organizations, and educational institutions.

[29] She continued to fund and support the work of Guarino Guarini, who completed the chapel for the Shroud of Turin and a Jesuit college under her rule.

Marie Jeanne Baptiste and Saint Maurice's relationship lasted some four years before his whole family left in disgrace due to his father failing on a string of diplomatic relations.

[36] Marie Jeanne Baptiste first looked to her sister in Lisbon whose only daughter the Infanta Isabel Luísa[37] was the heiress to her father's dominions.

[38] This prestigious union would have left Marie Jeanne Baptiste permanently in control of Savoy, with Victor Amadeus II living in Portugal.

Openly disliking the union and approaching his majority, Victor Amadeus II decided to postpone the marriage for two years.

[39] Marie Jeanne Baptiste then looked to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany which offered Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici as a bride.

[42] Louis XIV was eager to maintain his already considerable influence in Savoy and thus offered his niece Anne Marie d'Orléans.

During this war, Marie Jeanne Baptiste was obliged to sell her jewels in order to maintain her household during the Battle of Turin of 1706.

[53] Thanks to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 her son was given the Kingdom of Sicily in recognition for his services to Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor in the War of the Spanish Succession.

[44] With the death of the Prince of Piedmont her youngest grandson Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Aosta became heir apparent to his father's domains.