Margherita, a name truly fit for a queen. In English, it translates to “daisy,” the simplest but most popular flower. In the kitchen, it’s the name of the queen of pizzas, the pizza Margherita. Before the pizza and, back in her days, more popular than daisies, was the second queen of unified Italy, Regina Margherita di Savoia. 

Many of you may know she is the namesake of Italy’s most famous pizza, but she was much more than that. Born in Turin on the 20th of November 1851, Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna di Savoia – this was her full name – was the daughter of Elizabeth of Saxony and Ferdinando di Savoia, Duke of Genoa, the brother of Italy’s first king, Vittorio Emanuele II.