Category Archives: Former Monarchies

Maria Sophie of Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was located in today’s southern Italy. It included the island of Sicily and all of the Italian peninsula south of the Papal States. Ferdinando I, the first King of the Two Sicilies, had previously reigned over two kingdoms, as Ferdinando IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinando III of the Kingdom of Sicily. He had been deposed twice from the throne of Naples: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805, before being restored in 1816 after the defeat of Napoleon. After the 1816 restoration, the two kingdoms were united into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies was deposed, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist, and its territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia. Eventually, the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

********************

Maria Sophie, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophie, Duchess in Bavaria was the wife of Francesco II, the last King of the Two Sicilies. Maria Sophie Amalie was born on October 4, 1841, at Possenhofen Castle in Possenhofen, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She was the sixth of the nine children and the third of the five daughters of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Pius August, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Amélie Louise of Arenberg were her paternal grandparents. Her maternal grandparents were Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden. Maria Sophie was a younger sister of the more well-known Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria (Sisi) who married Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and was assassinated in 1898. The painting below is a group portrait of the siblings of Empress Elisabeth given to her by her brother Karl Theodor on the occasion of her wedding.

Maria Sophie with her siblings: (left to right) Sophie Charlotte, Maximilian Emanuel, Karl Theodor, Helene, Ludwig Wilhelm, Mathilde Ludovika, and Maria Sophie; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophie had eight siblings:

Ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria (1831 – 1920), morganatically married Henriette Mendel, had two children
Wilhelm Karl, Duke in Bavaria (1832 – 1833), died in infancy
Helene, Duchess in Bavaria (1834 – 1890), married Maximilian Anton, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis, had four children
Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria (Sisi) (1837 – 1898), married Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria, had four children, assassinated
Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (1839 30 November 1909), (1) married Sophie of Saxony, had one daughter (2) Maria Josepha of Portugal, had five children including Elisabeth who married Albert I, King of the Belgians
Mathilde Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria (1843 – 1925), married Lodovico of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani, had one daughter
Sophie Charlotte, Duchess in Bavaria (1847 – 1897), married Ferdinand Philippe Marie, Duke of Alençon, had two children, died in a fire at the Bazar de la Charité, an annual charity event in Paris
Maximilian Emanuel, Duke in Bavaria (1849 – 1893), married Amalie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had three sons

Maria Sophie’s father Maximilian Joseph was from a junior branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Maximilian Joseph did much to promote Bavarian folk music. He played the zither, the national instrument of Bavaria, and composed music for it. Although the family had a home in Munich, Herzog-Max-Palais (Duke Max Palace, link in German), Maria Sophie’s parents had no obligations with the Bavarian royal court and their nine children spent much time living a carefree, unstructured, unrestrained childhood at Possenhofen Castle on Lake Starnberg.

Maria Sophie’s husband Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1858, 16-year-old Maria Sophie of Bavaria was betrothed to 23-year-old Francesco, Duke of Calabria, the eldest son and heir of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Cristina of Savoy. On January 8, 1859, a proxy marriage was held at the Court Church of All Saints in the Munich Residenz, the royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs. The couple married in person on February 5, 1859, in Bari, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.

Three months after the marriage, Francesco’s father Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died on May 22, 1859, aged 49 from a strangulated hernia after hesitating for months to have surgery. Francesco began his two-year reign as King of the Two Sicilies and Maria Sophie became Queen of the Two Sicilies. During the reign of Francesco’s father, Ferdinando II, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. The Second War of Italian Independence began shortly before Ferdinando II’s death. During the reign of Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861, ending the reign of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies. After losing the throne of the Two Sicilies, Francesco and Maria Sophie lived in Rome as guests of Pope Pius IX. In 1870, the annexation of the Papal States to Italy, including Rome, forced Francesco and Maria Sophie to find refuge in Austria, France, and Bavaria.

Maria Sophie in the 1860s; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco had a congenital condition that prevented him from consummating his marriage. Maria Sophie, after having been patient for some time, began having affairs. While in Rome, Maria Sophie fell in love with Belgian Count Armand de Lawayss and became pregnant. To avoid scandal, the pregnancy was kept secret and Maria Sophie stayed at her parents’ home Possenhofen Castle in Bavaria. On November 24, 1862, Maria Sophie gave birth to a daughter at St. Ursula’s Convent in Augsburg, Kingdom of Bavaria. The child was immediately given to the father’s family. A year later, on the advice of her family, Maria Sophie decided to confess the affair to her husband. Subsequently, the relationship between Maria Sophie and Francesco improved, and after nearly ten years after his marriage, Francesco finally had surgery that corrected the condition. Maria Sofia became pregnant and a daughter was born to joyful parents but sadly, she lived for only three months. Francesco and Maria Sophie had no other children.

Maria Cristina Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (December 24, 1869 – March 28, 1870)

Garatshausen Castle; Credit – Von 2micha – Eigenes Werk, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8311631

In 1870, Maria Sophie purchased Garatshausen Castle (link in German) on Lake Starnberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria from her brother Ludwig Wilhelm, and the castle became their home. The former Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies died on December 27, 1894, aged 58, in Arco, where he spent winters, then in Austria-Hungary, now in Italy. He was originally buried with his daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans (link in Italian) in Rome.

After her husband’s death, Maria Sophie lived for a time in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She also spent time in Paris, France where she lived in a house her husband had purchased. There she presided over an informal Bourbon-Two Sicilies court in exile. Maria Sophie never stopped hoping that the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies would be returned to her husband’s family. It was even rumored she was involved in the 1900 anarchist assassination of Umberto I, King of Italy in hopes of destabilizing the Kingdom of Italy.

During World War I, Maria Sophie was actively on the side of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in their war against the Kingdom of Italy. Again, some rumors claimed she participated in sabotage and espionage against Italy hoping that an Italian defeat would restore the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Despite her dislike of the Kingdom of Italy, Maria Sophie would anonymously visit Italian soldiers in prisoner-of-war camps in Germany, giving them books and food.

Coat of arms of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on the entrance to the royal crypt at the Basilica of Santa Chiara; Credit – Di Giuseppe Guida – Flickr: Basilica di Santa Chiara., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20267754

After World War I, Maria Sophie returned to her birthplace of Bavaria, Germany, living in Munich. It is there that she died on January 19, 1925, at the age of 83. Maria Sophie was initially buried with her husband and daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans (link in Italian) in Rome. In 1984, their remains were transferred to the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the traditional burial site of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in Naples, Italy.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Marie in Bayern – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_in_Bayern> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Maximilian_Joseph_in_Bavaria> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Sophie of Bavaria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sophie_of_Bavaria> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina Pia di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_Pia_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Sofia di Baviera – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sofia_di_Baviera> [Accessed 18 August 2021].

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

********************

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco II was the last King of the Two Sicilies. Francesco d’Assisi Maria Leopoldo was born in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, on January 16, 1836. He was the only child of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Cristina of Savoy. His paternal grandparents were Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este were his maternal grandparents.

Francesco’s mother Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Sadly, Francesco’s mother Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications on January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to him. Maria Cristina had been called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She was frequently ill which she patiently endured with her piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility.

In 1859, a cause for the canonization of Maria Cristina as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church was opened. On July 10, 1872, Maria Cristina was declared a Servant of God and on May 6, 1937, she was declared a Venerable Servant of God. On May 3, 2013, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession and approved Maria Cristina’s beatification. Her beatification took place on January 25, 2014, at the Basilica of Santa Chiara where she is buried. She is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy and is one step away from canonization as a saint. Her son Francesco may be following in her footsteps. In December 2020, Cardinal Sepe Crescenzio, Archbishop of Naples announced the opening of a cause for the beatification and canonization of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, and Francesco was declared to be a Servant of God.

A year after his mother’s death, Francesco’s father Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies married Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. Francesco had a good relationship with his stepmother. He respected his stepmother, the only mother he had ever known, and Maria Theresa considered him her son.

Francesco (standing fourth from the left) with his father, stepmother Maria Theresa (sitting on the chair), and his half-siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco had twelve half-siblings from his father’s second marriage:

Luigi of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani (1838 – 1886), married Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria, had one daughter
Alberto of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Castrogiovanni (1839 – 1844), died in childhood
Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta (1841 – 1934), married his first cousin Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had twelve children, the Heads of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies descend from Alfonso
Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1843 – 1871), married Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, had four children including Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination in 1914 sparked the start of World War I
Maria Immaculata Clementina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1844 – 1899), married Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, had ten children
Gaetano of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Girgenti (1846 – 1871), married Infanta Isabel of Spain, no children, suffered from epilepsy and poor health, died by suicide
Giuseppe of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lucera (1848 – 1851), died in childhood
Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1849 – 1882), married Roberto I, Duke of Parma, had twelve children, six of them were mentally disabled, died in childbirth
Vincenzo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Melazzo (1851 – 1854), died in childhood
Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Bari (1852 – 1904), morganatically married to Blanche Marconnay, no issue
Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1855 – 1874), married Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, no children, died one year after her marriage
Gennaro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caltagirone (1857 – 1867), died in childhood from cholera five days after his mother Maria Theresa of Austria died from the same illness

Maria Sophie of Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1858, Francesco was betrothed to Maria Sophie of Bavaria, the daughter of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, daughter of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria. Maria Sophie was the younger sister of the better-known Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi) who married Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. On January 8, 1859, a proxy marriage was held at the Court Church of All Saints in the Munich Residenz, the royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs. The couple married in person on February 5, 1859, in Bari, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.

Three months after the marriage, Francesco’s father Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died on May 22, 1859, aged 49, from a strangulated hernia after hesitating for months to have surgery. Francesco began his two-year reign as King of the Two Sicilies. During the reign of Francesco’s father Ferdinando II, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. Shortly before Ferdinando II died, the Second War of Italian Independence began. During the reign of Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Francesco and Maria Sophie, circa 1865; Credit – Wikipedia

After the loss of the throne of the Two Sicilies, Francesco and Maria Sophia lived in Rome as guests of Pope Pius IX where Francesco maintained a government in exile recognized by some Catholic powers including France, Spain, Austria, and Bavaria. After the Third Italian War of Independence and the Austro-Prussian War weakened his allies, Francesco ended his government in exile. In 1870, the annexation of the Papal States to Italy, including Rome, forced Francesco and Maria Sophie to find refuge in Austria, France, and Bavaria.

Francesco had a congenital condition that prevented him from consummating his marriage. Maria Sophie, after having been patient for some time, began having affairs and she became pregnant. To avoid scandal, the pregnancy was kept secret by Maria Sophie’s mother and her brothers. On November 24, 1862, Maria Sophie gave birth to a daughter in St. Ursula’s Convent in Augsburg, Kingdom of Bavaria. The child was immediately given to the father’s family. A year later, on the advice of her family, Maria Sophie decided to confess the affair to her husband. In addition, Maria Sophie’s brother-in-law Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria intervened. In a letter to Francesco, Franz Joseph attempted to persuade him to fulfill his marital duties. Nearly ten years after his marriage, Francesco finally had surgery that corrected the condition. A daughter was born to joyful parents but sadly, she lived for only three months.

Maria Cristina Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (December 24, 1869 – March 28, 1870)

Garatshausen Castle; Credit – Von 2micha – Eigenes Werk, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8311631

In 1870, Maria Sophie purchased Garatshausen Castle on Lake Starnberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria from her brother Ludwig, and the castle became their home. The former Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies died on December 27, 1894, aged 58, in Arco, where he spent winters, then in Austria-Hungary, now in Italy. He was originally buried with his daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans (link in Italian) in Rome. Upon the death of Francesco, his half-brother Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta became the pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Francesco shortly before his death; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophie survived her husband by thirty-one years, dying at the age of 83 on January 19, 1925, in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. She was buried with her husband and daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans in Rome. In 1984, their remains were transferred to the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the traditional burial site of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in Naples, Italy.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Franz II. (Sizilien) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_II._(Sizilien)> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francis II of the Two Sicilies – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_II_of_the_Two_Sicilies> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, S., 2021. Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-cristina-of-savoy-queen-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francesco II delle Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_II_delle_Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina Pia di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_Pia_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 16 August 2021].

Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

********************

Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria was the second wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. Maria Theresia Isabella was born at Weilburg Castle in Baden bei Wien, Austria, near Vienna, on July 31, 1816. She was the eldest of the seven children and the eldest of the two daughters of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. Her paternal grandparents were Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg and Luise Isabelle of Kirchberg.

Maria Theresa had six younger siblings:

Archduke Albrecht of Austria, Duke of Teschen (1817 – 1895), married Hildegard of Bavaria, had three children
Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria (1818 – 1874), married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, had six children including Maria Christina of Austria who married King Alfonso XII of Spain
Archduke Friedrich of Austria (1821 – 1847), unmarried
Archduke Rudolf of Austria (born and died 1822), died in infancy
Archduchess Maria Karoline of Austria (1825 – 1915), married her first cousin Archduke Rainer of Austria, no children
Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria (1827 – 1894), unmarried, died in a horse accident

Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and his six surviving children, painted after the death of his wife whose bust is on the left. Left to right: Wilhelm Franz, Karl Ferdinand, Maria Theresa, Archduke Karl, Albrecht, Maria Karoline and Friedrich; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1829, Maria Theresa’s mother died at the age of 32 after contracting scarlet fever and pneumonia from her children. Maria Theresa, the eldest child, was thirteen years old and took over the child-rearing role for her siblings who ranged in age from two to twelve years old. With her father and her brother Albrecht, she served as a tutor for her four youngest siblings. From 1834 to 1835, she was abbess of the Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies in Prague, founded in 1755 by Empress Maria Theresa to serve as a religious order for impoverished noblewomen. The noblewomen were not required to take vows of celibacy and were allowed to leave to marry. The Theresian Institution was run by a Princess-Abbess selected by the Holy Roman Emperor and later the Emperor of Austria. By birth, each Princess-Abbess was an Archduchess of Austria.

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

In January 1836, Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died at the age of 23 from childbirth complications after giving birth to a son. The widowed king met Maria Theresa during his stay in Vienna, Austria in July 1836, and they became engaged to strengthen the relations between Austria and the Two Sicilies. Maria Cristina and Ferdinando were married on January 9, 1837, at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Austria.

Maria Theresa became the stepmother of Ferdinando’s one-year-old son:

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies (1836 – 1894), married Maria Sophie in Bavaria; had one daughter

Maria Theresa and Ferdinando II had twelve children:

Luigi of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani (1838 – 1886), married Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria, had one daughter
Alberto of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Castrogiovanni (1839 – 1844), died in childhood
Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta (1841 – 1934), married his first cousin Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had twelve children, the Heads of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies descend from Alfonso
Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1843 – 1871), married Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, had four children including Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination in 1914 sparked the start of World War I
Maria Immaculata Clementina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1844 – 1899), married Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, had ten children
Gaetano of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Girgenti (1846 – 1871), married Infanta Isabel of Spain, no children, suffered from epilepsy and poor health, died by suicide
Giuseppe of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lucera (1848 – 1851), died in childhood
Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1849 – 1882), married Roberto I, Duke of Parma, had twelve children, six of them were mentally disabled, died in childbirth
Vincenzo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Melazzo (1851 – 1854), died in childhood
Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Bari (1852 – 1904), morganatically married to Blanche Marconnay, no issue
Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1855 – 1874), married Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, no children, died one year after her marriage
Gennaro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caltagirone (1857 – 1867), died in childhood from cholera

Ferdinando II and Maria Theresa with their children; Credit – Wikipedia

The court of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies considered Maria Theresa poorly dressed and not their idea of a queen. Maria Theresa disliked her public role as Queen of the Two Sicilies and her life at court. She preferred to spend time in her rooms with her children and doing needlework. Maria Theresa had a good relationship with her husband and her stepson Francesco. Francesco respected his stepmother, the only mother he had ever known, and Maria Theresa considered him her son. Despite not liking her public role, Maria Theresa was interested in politics and advised her husband on many matters.

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies had hesitated for months to have surgery for a strangulated hernia. His hesitancy probably caused his death. Maria Theresa nursed him until he died at the age of 49 at the Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy on May 22, 1859. He was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.

Maria Theresa surrounded by her sons in 1862 (Gennaro is not in the photo); Credit – Wikipedia

During Ferdinando II’s reign, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. the Second War of Italian Independence began shortly before Ferdinando II’s death. During the reign of Ferdinando’s son Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Maria Theresa and her children were among the first to leave Naples. She eventually made her way to Rome which was part of the Papal States and not the new Kingdom of Italy. Pope Pius IX placed the Quirinal Palace in Rome at her disposal.

Maria Theresa in 1866; Credit – Wikipedia

In the summer of 1867, a cholera epidemic broke out in Rome. Maria Theresa and her family left the city and moved to a villa in Albano Laziale, outside of Rome but they did not escape the illness. Both Maria Theresa and her youngest son, ten-year-old Gennaro developed cholera. Maria Theresa survived her husband by eight years, dying at the age of 51 from cholera on August 8, 1867, just five days before her youngest child also died from cholera. Maria Theresa and her son Gennaro were buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Theresia von Österreich (1816–1867) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresia_von_%C3%96sterreich_(1816%E2%80%931867)> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Charles,_Duke_of_Teschen> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_of_Austria_(1816%E2%80%931867)> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa d’Asburgo-Teschen (1816-1867) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_d%27Asburgo-Teschen_(1816-1867)> [Accessed 16 August 2021].

Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

********************

Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Cristina of Savoy was the first wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, and has been venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy since her beatification in 2014. Maria Cristina Carlotta Giuseppa Gaetana Efisia was born on November 14, 1812, in Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia in the Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy. She was the youngest of the six daughters and the youngest of the seven children of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. Her paternal grandparents were Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa.

Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia, his wife Maria Theresa, and their daughters: twins Maria Teresa and Maria Anna and Maria Cristina; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Cristina had five sisters and one brother. Two of her sisters died in infancy and her brother died in childhood from smallpox.

Maria Beatrice of Savoy (1792 – 1840), married Francesco IV, Duke of Modena, had four children
Maria Adelaide of Savoy (1794 – 1795), died in infancy
Carlo Emanuele of Savoy (1796 – 1799) died in early childhood from smallpox
A daughter (1800 – 1801), died in infancy
Maria Teresa of Savoy (1803 – 1879), twin of Maria Anna, married Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma, had two children
Maria Anna of Savoy (1803 – 1884), twin of Maria Teresa, married Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, no children

Maria Cristina’s husband Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 21, 1832, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Acquasanta in Genoa, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, 20-year-old Maria Cristina married 22-year-old Ferdinando II, King of Two Sicilies. Ferdinando had become King of the Two Sicilies two years earlier upon the death of his father Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies.

Maria Cristina at prayer; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Cristina was shy, modest, reserved, and a very devout Catholic. She found herself living in a court with a lifestyle that was far from her sensitivity. This caused her to feel quite uncomfortable. During the short time that she was Queen of the Two Sicilies, Maria Cristina managed to prevent the carrying out of all death sentences. Maria Cristina was called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She endured her nearly constant illnesses with patience and piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility.

Ferdinando and Maria Cristina had one child:

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies (1836-1894), married Maria Sophie in Bavaria; had one daughter

On January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to her only child, 23-year-old Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications. She was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the traditional burial site for the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, now in Italy. A year after Maria Cristina’s death, Ferdinando married Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. The couple had twelve children.

Tomb of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38973019

Guests at the Beatification of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy at the Basilica of Santa Chiara; Credit – https://realcasadiborbone.it/en/duke-duchess-castro-attend-beatification-queen-maria-cristina/

On January 25, 2014, the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the burial site of Maria Cristina, was the site of her beatification ceremony. Several thousand people attended the ceremony including the two branches of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies led by Carlos, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain, Duke of Calabria and Carlo, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro. Both branches claim to be Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and this event united them for the first time in fifty years. Carlos, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain, Duke of Calabria, who died the following year, did not attend the beatification and was represented by his wife.

Beatification of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy at the Basilica of Santa Chiara; Credit – https://realcasadiborbone.it/en/duke-duchess-castro-attend-beatification-queen-maria-cristina/

Pope Francis was represented at the beatification ceremony by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Cardinal Sepe Crescenzio, Archbishop of Naples was celebrant, and Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, Grand Prior of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George, a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, was also present. Following the beatification ceremony, members of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies paid their respects at the tomb of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy.

Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Beatification of Maria Cristina of Savoy

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina of Savoy – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_of_Savoy> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/vittorio-emanuele-i-king-of-sardinia-and-duke-of-savoy/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina di Savoia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_di_Savoia> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
Realcasadiborbone.it. 2014. Beatification of Queen Maria Cristina of Savoy – Real Casa di Borbone delle Due Sicilie. [online] Available at: <https://realcasadiborbone.it/en/duke-duchess-castro-attend-beatification-queen-maria-cristina/> [Accessed 16 August 2021].

Anna of Austria, Queen of Sweden, Queen of Poland

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Anna of Austria, Queen of Sweden, Queen of Poland; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna of Austria was the first wife of Sigismund III Vasa, King of Sweden and King of Poland. Born on August 16, 1573, in Graz, Austria, Anna was the eldest of the eight daughters and the second of the fifteen children of Karl II, Archduke of Austria of the House of Habsburg, and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria.

Anna had fourteen siblings:

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (born and died 1572), died in infancy
Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (1574 – 1621), married Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, no children, marriage dissolved
Archduchess Katharina Renata of Austria (1576 – 1599), unmarried
Archduchess Elisabeth (1577 – 1586), died in childhood
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (1578 – 1637), married (1) Maria Anna of Bavaria, had seven children (2) Eleonore Gonzaga of Mantua, no children
Archduke Karl (1579 – 1580), died in infancy
Archduchess Gregoria Maximiliana of Austria (1581 – 1597), died in her teens
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (1582 – 1620), a nun
Archduke Maximilian Ernst of Austria (1583 – 1616), unmarried
Archduchess Margarete of Austria (1584 – 1611), married King Felipe III of Spain, had eight children including King Felipe IV of Spain and Anne of Austria, wife of King Louis XIII of France and mother of King Louis XIV of France
Archduke Leopold of Austria (1586 – 1632), married Claudia de’ Medici, had five children
Archduchess Constance of Austria (1588 – 1631), married Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, deposed King of Sweden, the widower of her older sister Anna, had seven children
Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria (1589 – 1631), married Cosimo II de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had eight children
Archduke Karl Joseph of Austria (1590 – 1624), Bishop of Wroclaw, Bishop of Brixen, and Grand Master of the Teutonic Order

Anna’s mother was a strong supporter of the Counter-Reformation, the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to the Protestant Reformation. Anna and her siblings attended Mass from the age of one and their first words were to be Jesus and Mary. They were tutored by Catholic priests, and Latin was to be a priority before their native German language.

Although a Protestant, Johan III, King of Sweden had clear Catholic sympathies, inspired by his Catholic Polish wife Katarina Jagellonica, the daughter of King Sigismund I of Poland. Although their only son Sigismund was the heir to the Swedish throne and Sweden was a Protestant nation, he was raised as a Catholic to help him acquire the Polish crown. After the death of Stephen Báthory, King of Poland who had no legitimate children, Sigismund was elected King of Poland in 1587.

Anna’s husband Sigismund III Vasa, King of Sweden, King of Poland; Credit – Wikipedia

Antonius Possevinus, the papal envoy to Sweden suggested that Sigismund’s wife should come from the Habsburg dynasty. Pope Gregory XIII approved the idea of a marriage alliance between the Habsburgs and Sweden, and Anna of Austria was chosen as the prospective bride. Possevino visited the court of Karl II, Archduke of Austria in Graz, and obtained a portrait of Anna to bring to Sweden. After another marriage possibility for Anna came to naught, and Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II decided that marriage to Sigismund would be the match for Anna that would best benefit the Habsburg dynasty, the marriage was settled. In April 1592, the betrothal of Anna of Austria and Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland, was formally celebrated in the Imperial Court in Vienna. A proxy wedding was held in Vienna on May 4, 1592, after which Anna and her mother traveled to Krakow, Poland. On May 31, 1592, at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland, Anna married Sigismund and was crowned Queen of Poland.

Anna and Sigismund’s only surviving child Prince Ladislaus Vasa, aged about ten years old; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna and Sigmund had five children but only one, Ladislaus Vasa, who succeeded his father as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, survived childhood. Similarly, Ladislaus Vasa had five children from his two marriages but none survived childhood.

Anna Marie (1593 – 1600), died in childhood
Katarina (born and died 1594), died in infancy
Ladislaus Vasa IV, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania (1595 – 1648), married (1) Cecilia Renata of Austria, had three children, none survived childhood, Cecilia Renata died due to childbirth complications (2) Marie Louise Gonzaga, had two children, neither survived infancy
Katarina (1596 – 1597), died in infancy
Christopher (born and died 1598), died shortly after birth

On November 17, 1592, Sigismund’s father Johan III, King of Sweden, Grand Duke of Lithuania died and Sigismund was granted permission by the Polish legislature to claim his inheritance as the rightful King of Sweden. In 1594, Anna accompanied her husband to Sweden, where she and her husband were crowned King and Queen of Sweden at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden on February 19, 1594. The Catholic Sigismund promised to recognize Lutheranism as Sweden’s state religion. However, many were suspicious of Sigismund’s promise to uphold Lutheranism when a papal nuncio was in the coronation procession. Anna and Sigismund had to leave their nine-month-old daughter Anna Marie in Poland as collateral for their return. Anna was pregnant and she feared that she would be forced to do the same in Sweden if she gave birth during her time in Sweden. Anna gave birth to a daughter Katarina on April 19, 1594. Katarina’s christening was celebrated with great festivity, however, she died on May 15, 1594.

When Anna and Sigismund returned to Poland in July 1594, Sigismund’s uncle Karl, Duke of Södermanland and the council were to govern in his absence. Because of the religious differences, Sigismund did not want to give his uncle and the council full government power. He appointed some council members who favored the Roman Catholic Church and who would receive orders directly from him. In 1595, the Riksdag (legislature) gained control of the Swedish government and appointed Karl, Duke of Södermanland Regent of Sweden. As Queen of Poland, Anna acted as a confidant to her husband Sigismund. She advised him on dealing with the Polish noble factions and foreign policy. Anna had no interest in maintaining Sigismumd’s personal union between Catholic Poland and Protestant Sweden. However, long before the situation was resolved, Anna died, aged 24, on February 10, 1598, due to birth complications during the birth of her sixth child, who also died. She was buried in South Ambulatory Crypt at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland.

The coffin of Anna, Queen of Sweden is in the back on the left; Credit – Wikipedia

Ultimately, on February 24, 1604, the Swedish Riksdag declared that Sigismund abdicated the Swedish throne and that his uncle Karl, Duke of Södermanland was recognized as the sovereign, Karl IX, King of Sweden. Although he lost the Swedish throne, Sigismund reigned as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania until he died in 1632. In 1605, he married Anna’s sister Constance of Austria and they had seven children.

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anne of Austria, Queen of Poland – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Austria,_Queen_of_Poland> [Accessed 7 June 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles II, Archduke of Austria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II,_Archduke_of_Austria> [Accessed 7 June 2021].
Flantzer, Susan. 2021. Sigismund III Vasa, King of Sweden, King of Poland. [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/sigismund-iii-vasa-king-of-sweden/> [Accessed 7 June 2021].
Pl.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Habsburżanka (1573–1598) – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia. [online] Available at: <https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Habsbur%C5%BCanka_(1573%E2%80%931598)> [Accessed 7 June 2021].
Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna av Österrike (1573–1598) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_av_%C3%96sterrike_(1573%E2%80%931598)> [Accessed 7 June 2021].

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

********************

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on January 12, 1810, in Palermo, Sicily in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, Ferdinando Carlo Maria was the eldest of the six sons and the third of the twelve children of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. His paternal grandparents were Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily, who died before her husband became King of the Two Sicilies. His maternal grandparents were Carlos IV, King of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. Ferdinando I and Carols IV were brothers, both sons of Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.

Ferdinando’s parents and siblings: Left to right: Maria Isabella, second wife of Francesco I holding Maria Carolina, Ferdinanda Luisa, Maria Antonia, Luisa Carlotta, Maria Cristina, Ferdinando, Francesco I holding Maria Amalia, Carlo, Prince of Capua and Leopoldo, Count of Syracuse; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando II had eleven siblings. Unusual for the time, they all survived childhood.

Luisa Carlotta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1804 – 1844), married her maternal uncle Francisco de Paula of Spain, had eleven children
Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1806 – 1878), married (1) her maternal uncle Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, had two daughters including Queen Isabella II of Spain (2) Agustín Fernando Muñoz y Sánchez, 1st Duke of Riánsares, had eight children
Carlo Ferdinando of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Capua (1811 – 1862), married morganatically Penelope Smyth, had two children
Leopoldo Beniamino of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Syracuse (1813 – 1860), Maria of Savoy-Carignan, had one daughter who died in infancy
Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1814 – 1898), married Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had ten children
Antonio Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lecce (1816 – 1843), unmarried, clubbed to death by the husband of a married woman he had tried to seduce
Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1818 – 1857), married Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain, no children
Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1820 – 1861), married Carlos of Spain, Count of Montemolin, Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, no children
Teresa Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1822 – 1889), married Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, had four children
Luigi Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Aquila (1824 – 1897), married Januária, Princess Imperial of Brazil, had four children
Francesco di Paola of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani (1827 – 1892), married his niece Maria Isabella of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, had six children

Ferdinando had two half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria who died from tuberculosis in 1801:

Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1798 – 1870), married (1) Charles Ferdinand d’Artois, Duke of Berry, had two surviving children (2) Ettore Carlo Lucchesi-Palli, 8th Duke della Grazia, had five children
Fernando Francesco of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1800 – 1801), died in infancy

Ferdinando was well-educated by Giuseppe Capocasale (link in Italian), an abbot known by the nickname “The Christian Socrates“, who became his tutor in 1822. Ferdinando also received a political and military education in local academies. Twenty-year-old Ferdinando II succeeded to the throne of the Two Sicilies upon when his father died on November 8, 1830. He quickly got to work on reorganizing the government, focused on reducing public debt, and calming the country still affected by the turbulence following the Napoleonic Wars.

Ferdinando’s 1st wife Maria Cristina of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 21, 1832, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Acquasanta in Genoa, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, Ferdinando married Maria Cristina of Savoy, the daughter of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este.

Ferdinando and Maria Cristina had one child:

Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies (1836-1894), married Maria Sophie in Bavaria; had one daughter who died in infancy

On January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to her only child, 23-year-old Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications. She was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. Maria Cristina had been called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She was constantly ill which she patiently endured with her piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility.

The Roman Catholic Church opened a cause for Maria Cristina’s possible canonization as a saint. On July 10, 1872, Maria Cristina was declared a Servant of God and on May 6, 1937, she was declared a Venerable Servant of God. On May 3, 2013, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession and approved Maria Cristina’s beatification. Her beatification took place on January 25, 2014, at the Basilica of Santa Chiara where she is buried. She is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy and is one step away from canonization as a saint.

Ferdinando’s second wife Maria Theresa of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

A year after Maria Cristina’s death, Ferdinando married Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. He had met Maria Theresa during his stay in Vienna, Austria in July 1836, and they married on January 9, 1837, at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Austria.

Ferdinando II and his family; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinando and Maria Theresa of Austria had twelve children:

Luigi of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani (1838 – 1886), married Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria, had one daughter
Alberto of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Castrogiovanni (1839 – 1844), died in childhood
Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta (1841 – 1934), married his first cousin Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, had twelve children, the Heads of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies descend from Alfonso
Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1843 – 1871), married Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, had four children including Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination in 1914 sparked the start of World War I
Maria Immaculata Clementina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1844 – 1899), married Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, had ten children
Gaetano of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Girgenti (1846 – 1871), married Infanta Isabel of Spain, no children, suffered from epilepsy and poor health, died by suicide
Giuseppe of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lucera (1848 – 1851), died in childhood
Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1849 – 1882), married Roberto I, Duke of Parma, had twelve children, six of them were mentally disabled, died in childbirth
Vincenzo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Melazzo (1851 – 1854), died in childhood
Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Bari (1852 – 1904), morganatically married to Blanche Marconnay, no issue
Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1855 – 1874), married Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, no children, died one year after her marriage
Gennaro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caltagirone (1857 – 1867), died in childhood from cholera

The Revolutions of 1848 reached the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and Ferdinando II was forced to grant a constitution to the kingdom. The goodwill created by the constitution did not last long. Between 1849 and 1851, Ferdinando returned to repressive policies causing many who opposed him to go into exile. An estimated 2,000 suspected revolutionaries or dissidents were jailed.

The attempted assassination of Ferdinando II by Agesilao Milano: Credit – Wikipedia

On December 8, 1856, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Ferdinando II attended mass in Naples with his family, government officials, and nobles. After the mass, Ferdinando reviewed the troops. During the military review, Agesilao Milano (link in Italian), a soldier who had accused Ferdinando of being a “tyrant from whom the nation had to free itself” wounded the king with a bayonet in an assassination attempt. Milano was arrested and sentenced to death and was hanged five days later.

Ferdinando II on his deathbed; Credit _ Wikipedia

Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died at the Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy on May 22, 1859, aged 49 from a strangulated hernia after hesitating for months to have surgery. There is some speculation that his condition could have been related to the assassination attempt. He was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. His second wife Maria Theresa survived her husband by eight years, dying at the age of 51 from cholera on August 8, 1867, just days before her youngest child also died from cholera. She was buried with her husband at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples.

During Ferdinando II’s reign, the Italian unification movement began, led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician. Shortly before Ferdinando II died, the Second War of Italian Independence began. During the reign of Ferdinando’s son Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand II. (Sizilien) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II._(Sizilien)> [Accessed 12 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_the_Two_Sicilies> [Accessed 12 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 12 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Royal Burial Sites. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/kingdom-of-the-two-sicilies-royal-burial-sites/> [Accessed 12 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ferdinando II delle Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_II_delle_Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 12 August 2021].

Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Albrecht with his younger half-brother, Prince Heinrich; Credit – Wikipedia

Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria was Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until he died in 1996. He was the eldest surviving grandson of the last reigning King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, and also the heir to the Jacobite succession.

Unofficial Royalty: The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne

Prince Albrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael of Bavaria was born in Munich on May 3, 1905, the son of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and Duchess Marie Gabriele in Bavaria. He had three siblings, all of whom died young:

Luitpold, Hereditary Prince of Bavaria (1901) – died in his youth
Princess Irmingard (1902) – died in infancy
Prince Rudolf (1909) – died in childhood

Albrecht also had six half-siblings from his father’s second marriage to Princess Antonia of Luxembourg:

Prince Heinrich (1922) – married Anne Marie de Lustrac, no issue
Princess Irmingard (1923) – married Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, had issue
Princess Editha (1924) – married (1) Tito Tmmaso Brunetti, had issue; (2) Gustav Schimert, had issue
Princess Hilda (1926) – married Juan Lockett de Loayza, had issue
Princess Gabriele (1927) – married Karl, Duke of Croy, had issue
Princess Sophie (1935) – married Jean-Engelbert, Duke of Arenberg, had issue

Albrecht (left) with his father and elder brother Luitpold. photo: Wikipedia

Upon the death of his elder brother in 1914, Albrecht became Hereditary Prince of Bavaria, second in line to the Bavarian throne. However, four years later, in November 1918, the monarchy was abolished. After leaving Bavaria for a short time, he returned to Munich and began studying Forestry but was unable to complete his studies due to the rising Nazi regime.

On September 3, 1930 in Berchtesgaden, Albrecht married Countess Maria Drawkovich of Trakostjan, the daughter of Count Dionys Draskovich von Trakostjan and Princess Juliana Rose von Tentenuovo. At the time of their marriage, a family council deemed the marriage unequal, thus initially excluding Albrecht and his children from the line of succession. However, in 1948, it was ruled that the Head of the House (Albrecht’s father at the time) had the sole authority to determine the validity of the union, and their marriage was recognized as dynastic in May 1949. This reinstated Albrecht and his descendants as heirs to the former Bavarian throne.

Albrecht and his wife had four children:

Princess Marie Gabrielle (1931) – married Georg, Prince von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg, had issue
Princess Marie Charlotte (1931) – married Paul, Prince von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny, had issue
Franz, Duke of Bavaria (1933) – unmarried
Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria (1937) – married Countess Elisabeth Douglas, had issue, including Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein

After several years living in Bad Kreuth in upper Bavaria, Albrecht and his family left the country in 1937, settling briefly in Croatia and then in Hungary by 1940. In October 1944 following the German invasion, the family was arrested and imprisoned in several concentration camps before finally being freed by American forces in April 1945.

Upon his father’s death in August 1955, Albrecht became Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne. It was at that time that he took on the style ‘Duke in Bavaria’. In addition, he became the recognized heir to the Jacobite succession.

Several years later, in 1959, Albrecht orchestrated an official ceremony at which the Greek Crown Jewels were returned to the Greek king. The jewels were originally made for Prince Otto of Bavaria, who had been elected as Greece’s first modern-day King in 1832, but was formally deposed in 1862, and had taken the jewels with him upon returning to Bavaria. Otto was then succeeded by Prince Vilhelm of Denmark who became King George I of the Hellenes. It was King George’s grandson, King Paul of the Hellenes, who accepted the jewels at the ceremony.

Following the death of his first wife in 1969, Albrecht remarried two years later, on April 21, 1971 in Weichselboden, Austria. His second wife was Countess Marie-Jenke Keglevich of Buzin, the daughter of Count Stephan Keglevich de Buzin and Countess Klára Zichy of Zich and Vásonkeö. They had no children.

Having returned to the study of forestry, Albrecht also developed a passion for hunting. He amassed a large collection of antlers, many of which became part of the Deer Museum at Berchtesgaden Castle. In addition, he and his second wife published two books of their research about deer, for which they received honorary doctorates from the University of Munich.

Berg Castle. photo: By 2micha – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8311566

Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria died on July 8, 1996, at Berg Castle in Starnberg. Germany. Following a funeral at the Theatinerkirche in Munich, he was buried in the Wittelsbach cemetery at Andechs Abbey in Starnberg along with both of his wives.

* * * * * * * * * *

Bavarian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

* * * * * * * * * *

Maria Isabella of Spain, Queen of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

********************

Maria Isabella of Spain, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Isabella of Spain was the second wife of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. María Isabel Antonia Josefa Ana Teresa Filipina was born at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain on July 6, 1789. She was the eleventh of the fourteen children and the fifth of the six daughters of Carlos IV, King of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. Her paternal grandparents were King Carlos III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. Felipe of Spain, Duke of Parma, who founded the House of Bourbon-Parma, and Louise Élisabeth of France, daughter of Louis XV, King of France, were her maternal grandparents.

The Family of Carlos IV by Francisco Goya, 1800. The man in the shadows in the background on the left is the artist Francisco Goya. From left to right: Carlos Maria Isidro, the future Fernando VII, Maria Josefa the sister of Carlos IV, an unknown woman, Maria Isabella, Queen Maria Luisa, Francisco de Paula, King Carlos IV, Antonio Pascual the brother of Carlos IV, Carlota Joaquina (only part of her head is visible), Luis of Parma and his wife Maria Luisa holding baby Carlos Luis the future Duke of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Isabella had thirteen siblings:

Carlos Clemente of Spain (1771 – 1774), died in infancy
Carlota Joaquina of Spain (1775 – 1830), married João VI, King of Portugal, had nine children
Maria Luisa of Spain (1777 – 1782), died in childhood
Maria Amalia of Spain (1779 – 1798), married her paternal uncle Antonio Pascual, died in childbirth with her stillborn son
Carlos Domingo of Spain (1780 -1783), died in childhood
Maria Luisa of Spain (1782 – 1824), married Luis of Parma, King of Etruria, had two children
Carlos Francisco de Paula of Spain (1783 – 1784), twin of Felipe Francisco de Paula, died in infancy
Felipe Francisco de Paula of Spain (1783 – 1784), twin of Carlos Francisco de Paula, died in infancy
Fernando VII, King of Spain (1784 – 1833), married (1) Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, no children (2) his niece Maria Isabel of Portugal, had one child who died in infancy, died in childbirth along with her stillborn child (3) Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony, no children (4) Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, had two daughters including Queen Isabella II of Spain
Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Count of Molina (1788 – 1855), married (1) his niece Maria Francisca of Portugal, had three children (2) his niece Maria Teresa of Portugal, Princess of Beira, no children
Maria Teresa of Spain (1791 – 1794), died in childhood from smallpox
Felipe Maria of Spain (1792 – 1794), died in childhood
Francisco de Paula of Spain, Duke of Cadiz (1794 – 1865), married (1) his niece Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily, had eleven children (2) morganatic marriage to Teresa de Arredondo y Ramirez de Arellano, had one son

Raised at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Maria Isabella received only a cursory education. Several possible husbands were considered for her including Napoleon Bonaparte, then the First Consul of France. Through Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother and the French ambassador to Spain, a marriage between Maria Isabella and Napoleon was proposed in April 1801. Napoleon was married to Joséphine de Beauharnais but it had been suggested that he should divorce her and marry a princess of royal blood. However, Napoleon had a low opinion of the Spanish House of Bourbon.

Maria Isabella of Spain, circa 1801; Credit – Wikipedia

Even though Maria Isabella was only twelve years old, her mother Maria Luisa was anxious to arrange her marriage. Maria Clementina of Austria, the wife of Maria Isabella’s first cousin Francesco, Duke of Calabria, the heir to the thrones of Naples and Sicily, had died in 1801 from tuberculosis. A marriage between Spain and Naples and Sicily would be politically advantageous while Europe was dealing with the expansionist policy of Napoleon. A double marriage was arranged between Spain and Naples and Sicily. Carlos IV, King of Spain was the brother of King Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, and so these marriages were between first cousins. Maria Isabella would marry Franceso and her brother Ferdinand of Spain, Prince of Asturias, later King Ferdinand VII of Spain would marry Franceso’s sister Maria Antonia. On July 6, 1802, in Madrid Spain, 13-year-old Maria Isabella married her 25-year-old cousin Francesco by proxy with her brother Ferdinand standing in for the groom. The two couples were married in person in Barcelona, Spain on October 4, 1802. However, Maria Antonia died in 1806 from tuberculosis before her husband became King of Spain.

Although Maria Isabella did not make a good impression on her mother-in-law, born Maria Carolina of Austria, the Spanish ambassador to Naples informed the Spanish court that Maria Isabella was happy in Naples and that she attended theater performances and celebrations. Maria Isabella had a four-year-old stepdaughter from her husband’s first marriage:

Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1798 – 1870), married (1) Charles Ferdinand d’Artois, Duke of Berry, son of the future Charles X, King of France, assassinated while leaving the opera in Paris, had four children but two died soon after birth (2) Ettore Carlo Lucchesi-Palli, 8th Duke della Grazia, had five children

Maria Isabella and Francesco’s family: Left to right: Maria Isabella holding Maria Carolina, Ferdinanda Luisa, Maria Antonia, Luisa Carlotta, Maria Cristina, Ferdinando, Francesco holding Maria Amalia, Carlo, Prince of Capua and Leopoldo, Count of Syracuse; Credit – Wikipedia

As a 15-year-old, Maria Isabella gave birth to her first child, followed by eleven more children over the next twenty-three years. Unusual for the time, all twelve survived childhood.

Luisa Carlotta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1804 – 1844), married her maternal uncle Francisco de Paula of Spain, had eleven children
Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1806 – 1878), married (1) her maternal uncle Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, had two daughters including Queen Isabella II of Spain (2) Agustín Fernando Muñoz y Sánchez, 1st Duke of Riánsares, had eight children
Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies (1810 – 1859), married (1) Maria Cristina of Savoy, had one child Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, died from childbirth complications (2) Maria Theresa of Austria, had twelve children
Carlo Ferdinando of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Capua (1811 – 1862), married morganatically Penelope Smyth, had two children, because of his marriage, Carlo Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in England
Leopoldo Beniamino of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Syracuse (1813 – 1860), Maria of Savoy-Carignan, had one daughter who died in infancy
Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1814 – 1898), married Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had ten children
Antonio Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lecce (1816 – 1843), unmarried, clubbed to death by the husband of a married woman he had tried to seduce
Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1818 – 1857), married Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain, no children
Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1820 – 1861), married Carlos of Spain, Count of Montemolin, Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, no children
Teresa Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1822 – 1889), married Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, had four children
Luigi Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Aquila (1824 – 1897), married Januária, Princess Imperial of Brazil, had four children
Francesco di Paola of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani (1827 – 1892), married his niece Maria Isabella of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, had six children

Francesco’s father Ferdinando was deposed twice from his thrones: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805. In February 1806, Ferdinando, Maria Carolina, and their family, including Maria Isabella and Francesco, were forced to flee to the island of Sicily, which was still in their control, where they lived in the Royal Palace of Palermo under British protection. However, the government of Sicily was a feudal type and the British insisted on a government more similar to the British one. In 1813, Ferdinando essentially but not officially abdicated and Francesco was appointed regent. At the insistence of the British, who were becoming more and more adverse to Maria Carolina, she was forced to leave Sicily. She returned to her home in Austria where she died from a stroke in 1814.

Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1816, after Ferdinando abolished the constitution of the Kingdom of Sicily, the two kingdoms, Naples and Sicily, were united into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. For the next four years, Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies reigned as an absolute monarch and there were no constitutional reforms. In 1820, a revolt broke out in Sicily and riots occurred in Naples. Ferdinando was forced to sign a constitution and appoint his son Francesco as regent of Sicily. This only lasted until March 1821, when Austrian troops friendly to Ferdinando occupied Naples. Ferdinando was re-established as an absolute monarch and the constitution was withdrawn. Ferdinando died from a stroke on January 4, 1825, at the age of 73 and his son Francesco became King of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabella became Queen Consort.

Maria Isabella, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

As Queen Consort, Maria Isabella had no interest in politics or government. After her many births, she was overweight and preferred to attend the theater, balls, and parties. She was kind and generous and was more popular than her husband. In 1829, she took over the patronage of the girls’ boarding school located in the monastery complex of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Naples and established a girls’ boarding school at the former monastery Santi Marcellino e Festo also in Naples called Queen Isabella Secondary School.

Maria Isabella and her husband Francesco decided to travel to Spain for the wedding of their daughter Maria Christina and Maria Isabella’s brother Ferdinand VII, King of Spain. Ferdinand VII was three times a widower and had no surviving children. Although Francesco had gout and his health was declining, Maria Isabella had not been to Spain since her marriage twenty-seven years earlier and persuaded her husband to take the long trip. Leaving Naples in September 1829 on a ten-month trip, they visited Pope Pius VIII in Rome, and then in France, they visited Francesco’s daughter from his first marriage Maria Carolina. Finally, the bride Maria Christina and the groom Ferdinand VII met in Aranjuez, Spain on December 10, 1829, made their solemn entry into Madrid the next day, and were married. Maria Isabella and Francesco had an extended stay in Spain. On the return trip, Maria Isabella and Francesco met again with his daughter Maria Carolina and then traveled to Paris, France for a stay with King Charles X of France. Maria Isabella and Francesco arrived back in Naples on July 30, 1830.

Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies, 1829; Credit – Wikipedia

It had been a wonderful trip but it was exhausting for the ailing Francesco. Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies died on November 8, 1830, aged 53, in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. He was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, the traditional burial site of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

After the death of Francesco, his 20-year-old son succeeded him as Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. Prince Vincenzo Ruffo della Scarletta and Pietro Ugo, Marchese delle Favare (link in Italian) plotted to remove the conservative Ferdinando II from the throne only for a period of several years and to install Maria Isabella as regent in his place. This conspiracy, arranged without Maria Isabella’s knowledge and intended to bring about more liberal conditions, was quickly exposed and stopped. However, Maria Isabella and her son Ferdinando had a very cool relationship until Ferdinando’s first wife Maria Christina of Savoy reconciled them.

Maria Isabella was only 41 years old when her husband died and despite being overweight, she was still attractive and had relationships with younger handsome servants. In 1835, Maria Isabella began a love affair with Baron Peter von Schmucker, a married Austrian officer. After the death of Schmucker’s wife in 1837, Maria Isabella wanted to marry him. However, Schmucker was too greedy. He wanted to be guaranteed that he would have the title and privileges of a Royal Highness if he married Maria Isabella. She refused and had her son Ferdinando II expel Schmucker from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The Royal Palace of Capodimonte, home of Maria Isabella and her second husband Count Francesco del Balzo; Credit – By Mentnafunangann – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37000184

Maria Isabella wanted to marry again and her son Ferdinando II provided her with a list of acceptable young nobles as potential husbands. On January 15, 1839, 50-year-old Maria Isabella married 34-year-old Count Francesco del Balzo. Her second husband was an attractive, high-ranking army officer but was not allowed to be at court with Maria Isabella. The couple withdrew from court and moved to the Royal Palace of Capodimonte in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.

Coat of arms of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on the entrance to the royal crypt; Credit – Di Giuseppe Guida – Flickr: Basilica di Santa Chiara., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20267754

Maria Isabella died on September 13, 1848, aged 59, at the Palace of Portici in Portici, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. She was buried in the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Isabel von Spanien – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Isabel_von_Spanien> [Accessed 7 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles IV of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_of_Spain> [Accessed 7 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. María Isabella of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Isabella_of_Spain> [Accessed 7 August 2021].
Flantzer, S., 2021. Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 7 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Isabella di Borbone-Spagna – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Isabella_di_Borbone-Spagna> [Accessed 7 August 2021].

Maria Clementina of Austria, Duchess of Calabria

********************

Maria Clementina of Austria, Duchess of Calabria; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Clementina of Austria was the first wife of the future Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. Maria Clementina Josepha Johanna Fidelis was born on April 24, 1777, at the Villa del Poggio Imperiale in Poggio Imperiale in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy. She was the tenth of the sixteen children and the third of the five daughters of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor) and Maria Luisa of Spain. Maria Clementina’s paternal grandparents were the formidable and powerful Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, who was in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, and Queen of Bohemia, and Francis Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine. Even though her husband was the nominal Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Theresa wielded the real power. Maria Clementina’s maternal grandparents were Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.

Leopold I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, his wife Maria Luisa & their children (left to right) Maria Theresa, Karl, Alexander Leopold, Maria Clementina, Maria Anna, Josef Anton, Franz, & Ferdinand; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Clementina had fifteen siblings:

Maria Theresa of Austria (1767 – 1827), married Anton, King of Saxony, had three children who died in early childhood
Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor, later Franz I, Emperor of Austria (1768 – 1835) married (1) Elisabeth of Württemberg, had one daughter who died in infancy, died in childbirth (2) Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, had twelve children, died in childbirth (3) Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, no children, died from tuberculosis (4) Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, no children
Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1769 – 1824), married (1) Luisa of Naples and Sicily, had five children, died in childbirth with her stillborn son (2) Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, no children
Maria Anna of Austria (1770 – 1809), unmarried, Abbess at the Theresian Convent in Prague
Karl of Austria (1771 – 1847), married Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, had seven children
Alexander Leopold of Austria (1772 – 1795), unmarried, died from burns from a fireworks display he had created
Albrecht Johann Joseph of Austria (1773 – 1774), died in infancy
Maximilian of Austria (1774 – 1778), died in childhood
Josef Anton of Austria (1776 – 1847, married (1) Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia, had one daughter who died in infancy, died from childbirth complications (2) Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had fraternal twins, died from childbirth complications (3) Maria Dorothea of Württemberg, had five children
Anton Viktor of Austria, Grand Master of Teutonic Knights (1779 – 1835), unmarried
Maria Amalia of Austria (1780 – 1798), unmarried
Johann of Austria (1782 – 1859), married morganatically Anna Plochl, had one son
Rainer Joseph of Austria (1783 – 1853), married Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignan, had eight children
Ludwig of Austria (1784 – 1864), unmarried
Rudolf of Austria, Cardinal-Archbishop of Olomouc (1788 – 1831), unmarried

Maria Clementina’s husband Francesco, circa 1793-1797; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Clementina was raised in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until the death of her paternal uncle Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in 1790. Her father became Holy Roman Emperor and the family moved to Vienna, Austria. In that same year, Maria Clementine became engaged to her double first cousin Franceso, Duke of Calabria and heir to the throne of Naples and Sicily, the son of Ferdinando, King of Naples and King of Sicily from 1759 – 1816, and King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 – 1825, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. Her father Leopold II was the brother of Francesco’s mother and her mother Maria Luisa was the sister of Francesco’s father. The marriage was planned to strengthen the alliance between Naples and Sicily and Austria. A proxy marriage took place in 1790 In Vienna, Austria. However, because the bride and the groom were both only thirteen years old and the French Revolution caused unrest in Europe, the actual wedding did not occur for seven years. On June 25, 1797, Francesco and Maria Clementina were married in person in Foggia, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy. Upon her marriage, she was styled Duchess of Calabria, the female counterpart of her husband’s title Duke of Calabria as the heir apparent.

Maria Clementina and Francesco had two children:

Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1798 – 1870), married (1) Charles Ferdinand d’Artois, Duke of Berry, son of the future Charles X, King of France, assassinated while leaving the opera in Paris, had four children but two died soon after birth (2) Ettore Carlo Lucchesi-Palli, 8th Duke della Grazia, had five children
Fernando Francesco of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1800 – 1801), died in infancy

Maria Clementina and Francesco had a loving and happy but short marriage. She died from tuberculosis on November 15, 1801, aged 24, in Naples, then in the Kingdom of Naples, later in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy, before Francesco became King of the Two Sicilies. Her infant son had died four months earlier. Maria Clementina was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples with her son. Francesco married again in 1802 to another first cousin, Maria Isabella of Spain, and the couple had twelve children. Francesco reigned as King of the Two Sicilies from 1825 – 1830.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Klementine von Österreich (1777–1801) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Klementine_von_%C3%96sterreich_(1777%E2%80%931801)> [Accessed 7 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduchess_Maria_Clementina_of_Austria> [Accessed 7 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor> [Accessed 7 August 2021].
Flantzer, S., 2021. Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 7 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Clementina d’Asburgo-Lorena (1777-1801) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Clementina_d%27Asburgo-Lorena_(1777-1801)> [Accessed 7 August 2021].

Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies

********************

Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

King of the Two Sicilies for only five years, Francesco Gennaro Giuseppe Saverio Giovanni Battista was born in the Royal Palace of Naples in the Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy, on August 19, 1777. He was the fifth of the seventeen children and the second but the eldest surviving of the seven sons of Ferdinando, who reigned as King of Naples and King of Sicily from 1759 – 1816, and then as King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies from 1816 – 1825, and his first wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. Francesco’s paternal grandparents were Carlos III, King of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. His maternal grandparents were the formidable and powerful Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, who was in her own right Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia, and Queen of Bohemia, and Franz, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Duke of Lorraine. Even though her husband was the nominal Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Theresa wielded the real power.

Included in the portrait are Ferdinando, Maria Carolina, and their children Maria Theresa, Maria Luisa, Maria Amelia, Francesco, Maria Cristina, and Gennaro, 1783; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon the death of his three-year-old elder brother Carlo, Duke of Calabria from smallpox, Francesco became the heir-apparent to the thrones of Naples and Sicily and Duke of Calabria, the traditional title of the heir apparent to the throne of Naples. Six more of Francesco’s sixteen siblings would also die from smallpox.

Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily (1772 – 1807), married her first cousin Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Franz I, Emperor of Austria), had twelve children, died in childbirth
Luisa of Naples and Sicily (1773 – 1802), married her first cousin Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had five children, died in childbirth
Carlo of Naples and Sicily, Duke of Calabria (1775 – 1778), died in early childhood from smallpox.
Maria Anna of Naples and Sicily (1775 – 1780), died in childhood from smallpox.
Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily (1779 – 1849), married Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia, no children
Gennaro of Naples and Sicily (1780 – 1789), died in childhood from smallpox
Giuseppe of Naples and Sicily (1781 – 1783), died in early childhood from smallpox.
Maria Amelia of Naples and Sicily (1782 – 1866), married Louis Philippe d’Orléans, Duke of Orléans, later King of the French, had ten children
Maria Carolina of Naples and Sicily (born and died 1783)
Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily (1784 – 1806), married Infante Ferdinand of Spain, Prince of Asturias, later King Ferdinand VII of Spain, no children, died from tuberculosis
Maria Clotilde of Naples and Sicily (1786 – 1792), died in childhood from smallpox
Maria Enricheta of Naples and Sicily (1787- 1792), died in childhood from smallpox
Carlo Gennaro of Naples and Sicily (1788 – 1789), died in infancy from smallpox
Leopoldo of Naples and Sicily (1790 – 1851), married his niece Clementina of Austria, had two children
Alberto of Naples and Sicily (1792 – 1798), died in childhood
Maria Isabella of Naples and Sicily (1793 – 1801), died in childhood

Francesco at the age of thirteen; Credit – Wikipedia

Unlike his father who received no comprehensive education, Francesco was well educated by highly qualified tutors such as physicist and biologist Giuseppe Saverio Poli and Cardinal Domenico Orsini d’Aragona. He showed great interest in history and the natural sciences, particularly botany. When Francesco was eighteen years old, he began to attend meetings of the state council so that he could learn about the government.

Francesco’s mother Maria Carolina of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco’s mother Maria Carolina of Austria had been extremely well educated and prepared for her role as Queen Consort. As part of her marriage contract, Maria Carolina was to have a place on the council of state after the birth of her first son. In 1775, after her first son was born, Maria Carolina took her place on the council of state. Bernardo Tanucci, the former president of her husband’s regency council, was still on the council of state and attempted to thwart her political influence, and found himself dismissed in 1777. From then on, Maria Carolina was the de facto ruler of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily.

Maria Clementina of Austria, Francesco’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco accepted his mother’s plan that he marry his double first cousin Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria, the daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. Leopold II was the brother of Francesco’s mother and Maria Luisa was the sister of Francesco’s father. The marriage was planned to strengthen the alliance between Naples and Sicily and Austria. A proxy marriage took place in 1790. However, because the bride and the groom were both only thirteen years old and the French Revolution caused unrest in Europe, the actual wedding did not occur for seven years. On June 25, 1797, Francesco and Maria Clementina were married in person in Foggia, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy.

Francesco and Maria Clementina had two children:

Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1798 – 1870), married (1) Charles Ferdinand d’Artois, Duke of Berry, had two surviving children (2) Ettore Carlo Lucchesi-Palli, 8th Duke della Grazia, had five children
Fernando Francesco of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1800 – 1801), died in infancy

Maria Isabella of Spain, Francesco’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Clementina died from tuberculosis in Naples, Kingdom of Naples on November 15, 1801, aged 24, and was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara, Naples. After her death, a double marriage was arranged with Spain. Carlos IV, King of Spain was the brother of Ferdinando I, King of Naples and Sicily, and so these marriages were between first cousins. Francesco was to marry Maria Isabella of Spain and his sister Maria Antonia was to marry Ferdinand of Spain, Prince of Asturias, later King Ferdinand VII of Spain. Maria Antonia died in 1806 from tuberculosis before her husband became King of Spain. On July 6, 1802, in Madrid Spain, 13-year-old Maria Isabella married her 25-year-old cousin Francesco by proxy with her brother Ferdinand standing in for the groom. The two couples were married in person in Barcelona, Spain on October 4, 1802.

Francesco’s family: Left to right: Maria Isabella, second wife of Francesco holding Maria Carolina, Ferdinanda Luisa, Maria Antonia, Luisa Carlotta, Maria Cristina, Ferdinando, Francesco holding Maria Amalia, Carlo, Prince of Capua and Leopoldo, Count of Syracuse; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco and Maria Isabella had twelve children over twenty-three years. Unusual for the time, all twelve survived childhood.

Luisa Carlotta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1804 – 1844), married her maternal uncle Francisco de Paula of Spain, had eleven children
Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1806 – 1878), married (1) her maternal uncle Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, had two daughters including Queen Isabella II of Spain (2) Agustín Fernando Muñoz y Sánchez, 1st Duke of Riánsares, had eight children
Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies (1810 – 1859), married (1) Maria Cristina of Savoy, had one child Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, died from childbirth complications (2) Maria Theresa of Austria, had twelve children
Carlo Ferdinando of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Capua (1811 – 1862), married morganatically Penelope Smyth, had two children
Leopoldo Beniamino of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Syracuse (1813 – 1860), Maria of Savoy-Carignan, had one daughter who died in infancy
Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1814 – 1898), married Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had ten children
Antonio Pasquale of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Lecce (1816 – 1843), unmarried, clubbed to death by the husband of a married woman he had tried to seduce
Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1818 – 1857), married Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain, no children
Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1820 – 1861), married Carlos of Spain, Count of Montemolin, Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, no children
Teresa Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1822 – 1889), married Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, had four children
Luigi Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Aquila (1824 – 1897), married Januária, Princess Imperial of Brazil, had four children
Francesco di Paola of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani (1827 – 1892), married his niece Maria Isabella of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, had six children

Francesco’s father Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco’s father Ferdinando was deposed twice from his thrones: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805. In February 1806, Ferdinando, Maria Carolina, and their family were forced to flee to the island of Sicily, which was still in their control, where they lived in the Royal Palace of Palermo under British protection. However, the government of Sicily was a feudal type, and the British insisted on a government more similar to the British one. In 1813, Ferdinando essentially but not officially abdicated and Francesco was appointed regent. At the insistence of the British, who were becoming more and more adverse to Maria Carolina, she was forced to leave Sicily. She returned to her home in Austria where she died from a stroke, aged 62, on September 8, 1814.

Less than three months after the death of his mother Maria Carolina, Francesco’s father Ferdinand married again to Lucia Migliaccio, Duchess of Floridia. The marriage caused a considerable scandal. Francesco had tried to dissuade his father from marrying Lucia, and always intensely disliked her. In 1816, after Ferdinando abolished the constitution of the Kingdom of Sicily, the two kingdoms, Naples and Sicily, were united into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. For the next four years, Ferdinand reigned as an absolute monarch, and there were no constitutional reforms. In 1820, a revolt broke out in Sicily and riots occurred in Naples. Ferdinando was forced to sign a constitution and appoint his son Francesco as regent of Sicily. This only lasted until March 1821, when Austrian troops friendly to Ferdinando occupied Naples. Ferdinando was re-established as an absolute monarch and the constitution was withdrawn. Ferdinando died from a stroke on January 4, 1825, at the age of 73 and his son Francesco became King of the Two Sicilies.

Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies, 1829; Credit – Wikipedia

After his father’s death, Francesco expelled his stepmother Lucia Migliaccio, Duchess of Floridia from the royal court. When Lucia died in 1826, noticeably missing from her funeral were Francesco and members of the royal family of the Two Sicilies. Francesco wanted to demonstrate once and for all the true feelings he had for Lucia. As king, Francesco followed conservative policies. He was content to leave the government in the hands of his favorites and advisers. During Francesco’s reign, the Carbonari, an informal network of secret revolutionary societies, grew stronger especially in eastern Sicily and in the Italian mainland part of the kingdom. In Sicily, smuggling and corruption flourished. Numerous crimes were committed by private armed gangs in the service of nobles and large landowners, from which the Cosa Nostra, also known as the Sicilian Mafia, later developed. Francesco’s major success was having the Austrian occupation force withdrawn, relieving a large financial burden on the treasury.

Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies died on November 8, 1830, aged 53, in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. He was buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, the traditional burial site of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. His second wife Maria Isabella survived him by eighteen years, dying on September 13, 1848, at the age of 59, at the Palace of Portici in Portici, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. She was buried with her husband at the Basilica di Santa Chiara.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited:

De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Franz I. (Sizilien) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_I._(Sizilien)> [Accessed 6 August 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francis I of the Two Sicilies – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I_of_the_Two_Sicilies> [Accessed 6 August 2021].
Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-i-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 6 August 2021].
It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francesco I delle Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_I_delle_Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 6 August 2021].

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: