Francisco, Duke of Cadiz, King Consort of Spain

by Emily McMahon  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Francisco, Duke of Cadiz, King Consort of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on May 13, 1822 at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Aranjuez, Spain, Francisco de Asís María Fernando de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias was the eldest surviving son and the third of the eleven children of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain, the youngest son of King Carlos IV of Spain, and his wife and niece Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies, daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabella of Spain.

Francisco had ten full siblings:

  • Francisco de Asis de Borbón, Infante of Spain (1820 – 1821), died in infancy
  • Isabel de Borbón, Infanta of Spain (1821- 1897), married, morganatically Count Ignaz Gurowski
  • Enrique de Borbón, Duke of Seville (1823 – 1870), married morganatically, Elena de Castellvi y Shelly-Fernandez de Cordova, had five children
  • Luisa de Borbón, Infanta of Spain (1824 – 1900) married morganatically José Maria Osorio de Moscoso, Duque de Sessa
  • Duarte Felipe de Borbón, Infante of Spain (1826 – 1830), died in childhood
  • Josefina de Borbón, Infanta of Spain (1827–1920), married, morganatically, José Güell y Rente
  • Teresa de Borbón, Infanta of Spain (1828–1829), died in infancy
  • Fernando de Borbón, Infante of Spain (1832 – 1854)
  • Maria Cristina de Borbón, Infanta of Spain (1833–1902); married Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain, had five children
  • Amelia de Borbón, Infanta of Spain (1834 – 1905); married Prince Adalbert of Bavaria, had five children

Francisco had one half-brother from his father’s second, morganatic marriage to Teresa de Arredondo y Ramirez de Arellano:

  • Ricardo María de Arredondo, Duke of San Ricardo (1852 – 1872), unmarried

In 1846 at the age of 24, Francisco married his double first cousin, the sixteen-year-old Isabella II of Spain. Francisco was chosen as Isabella’s husband along with Antoine, Duke of Montpensier as a spouse for Isabella’s younger sister Luisa Fernanda. Both of these men were looked at as favorable to the moderados, one of Spain’s two quarreling political parties. French King Louis-Philippe supported these marriages, as Antoine was his son. A marriage of Francisco and Isabella was thought to be childless due to Francisco’s suspected homosexuality. Louis-Philippe believed that as such, Antoine’s and Luisa Fernanda’s children (and his grandchildren) would eventually succeed to the Spanish throne. The British backing of the progresista party and a German candidate (Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) soured relations between France and Britain. This event is now known as the Affair of the Spanish Marriages.

Francisco and Isabella’s marriage was not happy and there were persistent rumors that few, if any, of her children, were fathered by her husband. Nevertheless, Francisco claimed all the children as his.  Only five of the nine reached adulthood.  The only surviving son was King Alfonso XII of Spain, the great-great-grandfather of the current Spanish monarch, King Felipe VI.

From left to right: Marchioness of Malpica with Alfonso, Prince of Asturias on her lap; Francisco, Queen Isabella II, the royal wet nursemaid holding María de la Concepción, and Isabella, 1860; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella’s authoritarianism, her religious fanaticism, her alliance with the military, and the chaos of her reign — sixty different governments — helped bring about the Revolution of 1868 that exiled her to Paris. The new government replaced Isabella with Amadeo I, the second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.  During Amadeo’s reign, there were many republican uprisings and he abdicated in 1873 and returned to Italy. The First Spanish Republic was declared, but it lasted a little less than two years.  Isabella officially abdicated in 1870 and after the First Spanish Republic collapsed, her son Alfonso XII became king.

Francisco accompanied his deposed wife into exile in 1868 and they soon separated. While the marriage was an unhappy one, Francisco and Isabella formed a friendly relationship after their separation. He died on April 17, 1902, in Épinay-sur-Seine, France.  Isabella died from influenza complications in Paris on April 10, 1904. Both Isabella and Francisco are buried in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.

Tomb of Francisco, King Consort of Spain; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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