Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Encyclopedia
Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (Spanish
: Doña María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos de Borbón-Dos Sicilias y Orléans; Madrid
, 23 December 1910 – Lanzarote
, 2 January 2000) was the mother of current King Juan Carlos I of Spain
.
, Infante of Spain, a grandson of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
, and his second wife, Princess Louise of Orléans
, daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, a pretender to the French throne. She was granted, at birth, the rank and precedence
of an Infanta of Spain, although not the actual use of the title (she was, after all, technically, a Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies). Her family moved to Seville
, when her father was made Military Captain General of the province. When the Second Spanish Republic
forced them to exile, they lived in Cannes
and later in Paris
, when she studied art at the Louvre
.
On 14 January 1935, she attended the wedding, in Rome
, of Infanta Beatriz of Spain
, daughter of Alfonso XIII
. Here she met her second cousin and future husband, the brother of the bride, the Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, fourth son and designated heir of King Alfonso XIII of Spain
. They married in Rome
on 12 October 1935. When her husband took the royal title of Count of Barcelona in 1942, María gained the title of Countess of Barcelona.
They had four children:
They lived in Cannes and Rome, and, with the outbreak of World War II
, they moved to Lausanne
to live with Queen Victoria Eugenie, the mother of Infante Juan. Afterwards, they resided at Estoril
, in Portugal
.
In 1976, one year after the monarchy was restored in Spain in the person of her son, Juan Carlos, they returned to Spain. She mediated between her son and her husband, estranged since Juan Carlos had been designated heir by Franco
. In 1977, Juan renounced his rights in favour of their son, who officially allowed him to retain the title of Count of Barcelona.
She broke her hip in 1982 and the left femur
in 1985, which forced her to use a wheelchair
for the rest of her life. She became a widow in 1993.
She was a fervid fan of bull fighting and of the Andalusian culture. In 1995, her granddaughter Infanta Elena married in Seville in part because the Countess' love for the city.
She was the 1,171st Dame
of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa on 4 March 1929.
She died of a heart attack
in the royal residence of La Mareta, in Lanzarote
, where the royal family was to celebrate the New Year . She was buried with the honors of a Queen at the Royal Crypt of the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, near Madrid
.
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Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Doña María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos de Borbón-Dos Sicilias y Orléans; Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 23 December 1910 – Lanzarote
Lanzarote
Lanzarote , a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands...
, 2 January 2000) was the mother of current King Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
.
Biography
María was born in Madrid, daughter of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two SiciliesPrince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Don Carlos, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain was the son of Prince Alfonso of the Two...
, Infante of Spain, a grandson of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand II was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death.-Family:Ferdinand was born in Palermo, the son of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife and first cousin Maria Isabella of Spain.His paternal grandparents were King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Queen Marie...
, and his second wife, Princess Louise of Orléans
Princess Louise of Orléans
Louise d'Orléans was a Princess of the Two-Sicilies and maternal grandmother of King Juan Carlos I of Spain....
, daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, a pretender to the French throne. She was granted, at birth, the rank and precedence
Precedence
Precedence may refer to:* Message precedence of military communications traffic* Order of precedence, the ceremonial hierarchy within a nation or state* Order of operations, in mathematics and computer programming...
of an Infanta of Spain, although not the actual use of the title (she was, after all, technically, a Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies). Her family moved to Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, when her father was made Military Captain General of the province. When the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
forced them to exile, they lived in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
and later in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, when she studied art at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
.
On 14 January 1935, she attended the wedding, in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, of Infanta Beatriz of Spain
Infanta Beatriz of Spain
The Infanta Beatriz of Spain was a daughter of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and paternal aunt of the current King Juan Carlos I.-Early life:Infanta Beatriz was born at La Granja, San Ildefonso near...
, daughter of Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...
. Here she met her second cousin and future husband, the brother of the bride, the Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, fourth son and designated heir of King Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...
. They married in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on 12 October 1935. When her husband took the royal title of Count of Barcelona in 1942, María gained the title of Countess of Barcelona.
They had four children:
- Infanta PilarInfanta Pilar, Duchess of BadajozInfanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz, Grandee of Spain, Dowager Viscountess de la Torre is the elder daughter of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona and Princess Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and older sister of reigning King Juan Carlos of...
, Duchess of Badajoz (born 1936) - King Juan Carlos IJuan Carlos I of SpainJuan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
(born 1938) - Infanta MargaritaInfanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria-Ancestry:-External links:*...
, Duchess of Soria, 2nd Duchess of Hernani (born 1939) - Infante Alfonso of SpainInfante Alfonso of SpainInfante Alfonso of Spain was the younger brother of King Juan Carlos of Spain.-Early life:...
(Alfonso Cristino Teresa Angelo Francisco de Asis y Todos los Santos) (1941–1956)
They lived in Cannes and Rome, and, with the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, they moved to Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
to live with Queen Victoria Eugenie, the mother of Infante Juan. Afterwards, they resided at Estoril
Estoril
Estoril is a seaside resort and civil parish of the Portuguese municipality of Cascais, Lisboa District. The Estoril coast is close to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It starts in Carcavelos, 15 kilometres from Lisbon, and stretches as far as Guincho, often known as Costa de Estoril-Sintra or...
, in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
In 1976, one year after the monarchy was restored in Spain in the person of her son, Juan Carlos, they returned to Spain. She mediated between her son and her husband, estranged since Juan Carlos had been designated heir by Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
. In 1977, Juan renounced his rights in favour of their son, who officially allowed him to retain the title of Count of Barcelona.
She broke her hip in 1982 and the left femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
in 1985, which forced her to use a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
for the rest of her life. She became a widow in 1993.
She was a fervid fan of bull fighting and of the Andalusian culture. In 1995, her granddaughter Infanta Elena married in Seville in part because the Countess' love for the city.
She was the 1,171st Dame
Dame (title)
The title of Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood in the British honours system . It is also the equivalent form address to 'Sir' for a knight...
of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa on 4 March 1929.
She died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in the royal residence of La Mareta, in Lanzarote
Lanzarote
Lanzarote , a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands...
, where the royal family was to celebrate the New Year . She was buried with the honors of a Queen at the Royal Crypt of the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, near Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
Ancestry
Titles
- Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Mercedes of the Two-Sicilies (1910–2000)
- Her Royal Highness Infanta Maria Mercedes of Spain (1935–1942)
- Her Royal Highness The Countess of Barcelona (1942–1993)
- Her Royal Highness The Countess Dowager of Barcelona (1993–2000)
Honours
- 1,171st Dame of the Royal Order of Maria LuisaOrder of Queen Maria LuisaThe Royal Order of Queen María Luisa is an Order created by Charles IV of Spain by royal decree in April 21 1792 at the request of his wife Queen Maria Luisa, to have a way to reward noble women who distinguished themselves for their services and talents, so it was established as a distinction...
(1929)
| The Coats of Arms of Maria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies | |
|---|---|
| Arms as Consort of the Pretender to the throne of Spain (1941–1977) | Arms after her husband renounce as Pretender and widow. (1977–2000) |
External links
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