Alfons Maria of Naples-Sicily

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Prince Alfons Maria of Naples-Sicily, Count of Caserta

Alfonso Maria Giuseppe Alberto of Naples-Sicily , better known as Alfons Maria of Bourbon-Sicily, Count of Caserta (born March  28,  1841 in Caserta , province of Caserta , † May 26, 1934 in Cannes on the Côte d'Azur ) was a Member of the House of Bourbon Sicily . After the death of his half-brother Franz II, the King of the Two Sicilies , he became the pretender to the throne of the royal house of the Two Sicilies (Naples).

Life

His Royal Highness Prince Alfonso was the third son of twelve children of King Ferdinand II of Naples and Sicily (1810-1859) and his second wife, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1816-1867), the eldest daughter of Archduke Charles of Austria -Teschen and Princess Henriette Alexandrine of Nassau-Weilburg .

Count of Caserta coat of arms
Coat of arms of the royal family of both Sicilies (Naples)

After the death of his half-brother Franz II, the King of the Two Sicilies (1836-1894), the Neapolitan legitimists - including L'Unione Meridionale , Associazione operaia monarchica and Circolo Ferdinando Pio della Gioventù studentesca legittimista - welcomed his brother Alfons, the Count of Caserta , as "the king" ( Alfonso I ). He had excelled at Mentana in the Pontifical Swiss Guard, especially in Spain during the Carlist battles , as leader of the northern troops. He played himself as the " pretender to the throne of Naples, " and only in the last phase of his long life, after the reconciliation between the Church and the state of Italy , did he restore relations with the Italian royal family .

It was therefore natural that after his death in May 1934 his first-born son Ferdinando Pio, Duke of Calabria, no longer followed as a pretender, but only bore the title "Head of the House of Bourbon Both Sicilies". With this in mind, the statutes of the Ordine costantiniano di San Giorgio , whose grand master was traditionally the King of Naples, were redrafted . Carlo, the second eldest, had renounced all claims in 1900 that had accrued to him as a result of his membership of the Neapolitan line. He became a naturalized Infant of Spain through his marriage to the Princess of Asturias. Therefore, when Ferdinand died, the title of head of the family went to Ranieri, Duke of Castro (1883–1973). This did not happen without some resistance on the part of the Infante Alfons de Bourbon-Sicily (1901–1964), who as the son of Prince Carlos was supported by the Spanish pretender Don Juan with regard to his claims . Since the Spanish monarchy had been overthrown, he considered his father's renunciation of the title of Prince of Naples null and void. His father had solemnly made this waiver before the Cortes in Madrid . The Italian judicial authorities gave him a verdict. After Ranieri's death in 1973, he was succeeded as head of the family and as Grand Master of the Order by his son Ferdinand, also Duke of Castro.

Marriage and offspring

On June 8, 1868, Prince Alfons married his cousin (2nd degree) in Rome, Princess Maria Antonia of Naples-Sicily (1851-1938), the eldest daughter of Francesco di Paola di Borbone, Count of Trapani, and Archduchess Marie Isabelle of Austria . Twelve children emerged from the joint relationship:

⚭ 1897 Princess Maria of Bavaria (1872–1954)
⚭ 1901 Infanta María de las Mercedes de Borbón (1880–1904)
⚭ 1907 Princess Louise Françoise Marie Laure d'Orléans-Bourbon (1882–1958)
  • Francesco di Paola (1873–1876), Prince of Bourbon-Sicily
  • Maria Immacolata Cristina Pia Isabella (1874–1947), Princess of Bourbon-Sicily
⚭ 1906 Prince Johann Georg of Saxony (1869–1938)
⚭ 1900 Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria-Tuscany (1874–1948)
  • Maria Pia Chiara Anna (1878–1973), Princess of Bourbon-Sicily
⚭ 1908 Prince Louis d'Orléans-Bragança (1878–1920)
  • Maria Giuseppina Antonietta (1880–1971), Princess of Bourbon-Sicily
  • Gennaro Maria Francesco di Paola (1882–1944), Prince of Bourbon-Sicily
⚭ 1922 Beatrice Dorothy Bordessa, Contessa di Villa Colli (1879–1963)
  • Ranieri Maria Gaetano (1883–1973), Duke of Castro, Prince of Bourbon-Sicily
⚭ 1923 Carolina Countess Zamoyska (1896–1968)
  • Filippo Maria Alfonso Antonio Ferdinando Francisco di Paola Lodovico Enrico Alberto Taddeo Francesco Saverio Uberto (1885–1949), Prince of Bourbon-Sicily
⚭ 1916–1925 Princess Marie Louise d 'Orléans (1896–1973)
⚭ 1927 Odette Labori (1902–1968)
  • Francesco d'Assisi Maria Ferdinando Eudo (1888–1914), Prince of Bourbon-Sicily
  • Gabriele Maria Giuseppe Carlo Ignazio Antonio Alfonso Pietro Giovanni Gerardo di Majella et Omni Sancti (1897–1975), Prince of Bourbon-Sicily
⚭ 1927 Princess Malgorzata Czartoryska (1902–1929)
⚭ 1932 Princess Cecilia Lubomirska (1907–2001)

Titles and honors

  • 1841–1934 Prince Alfons Maria of Naples and Sicily from the House of Bourbon
  • 1861 Military Maria Theresa Order
  • 1894–1934 heir to the royal crown of Naples-Sicily
  • 1894–1934 head of the House of Bourbon-Sicily

literature

  • Jiří Louda, Michael MacLagan: Lines of Succession. Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe. Little, Brown and Company, London 1999, ISBN 0-316-84820-4 .
  • Arnold McNaughton: The Book of Kings. A Royal Genealogy. 3 volumes. Garnstone Press, London 1973, ISBN 0-900391-19-7 .
  • Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd (Ed.): Burke's Royal Families of the World. Burke's Peerage Ltd., London 1977, ISBN 0-85011-029-7 .
  • Niccola Nisco: Ferdinando II ed il suo regno. A. Morano, Naples 1884.

Web links

Commons : Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Military Order of Maria Theresa 1859-1914
personal data
SURNAME Alfons Maria of Naples-Sicily
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Borbón, Alfons Maria de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bourbon member
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1841
PLACE OF BIRTH Caserta , Province of Caserta
DATE OF DEATH May 26, 1934
Place of death Cannes