Prince Alberto of Naples and Sicily
Encyclopedia
Alberto of Naples and Sicliy (Alberto Lodovico Maria Filipo Gaetano; 2 May 1792 – 25 December 1798) was a Prince of Naples and Sicily. He died on board HMS Vanguard
, a British Royal navy vessel.
, he was the sixteenth child born to his parents and their seventh son. His mother was a daughter of Empress Maria Theresa
and thus sister of Marie Antoinette
. From his birth he was third in line to the Neapolitan throne after his brothers Prince Francis, then Duke of Calabria
and the Prince of Salerno
.
A member of the House of Bourbon
, he was a Prince of Naples and Sicily by birth. He was born in Naples and baptised Alberto Lodovico Maria Filipo Gaetano, Albert Louis Maria Philip Gaetano.
His brother's included Prince Carlo, Duke of Calabria
, who died of smallpox
in 1778; the future King Francis
and Prince Leopold, Prince of Salerno
.
Her older sisters included the future Holy Roman Empress, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
, Princess Maria Cristina
, was the wife of the future Charles Felix of Sardinia
and Queen of Sardinia; Maria Cristina's twin Princess Maria Cristina Amelia
died in 1783 of smallpox
. Another sister was the Queen of the French and the last surviving daughter was the future Princess of Asturias.
His cousin's included the Duke of Parma
, Grand Duke of Tuscany
, Holy Roman Emperor
, Queen of Portugal, King of Spain
and a Duchess of Calabria
, the first wife of his brother Francis.
On the outbreak of the French Revolution
in 1789 the Neapolitan court was not hostile to the movement. When the French monarchy was abolished and Alberto's aunt
and uncle
were executed, his parents joined the First Coalition
against France in 1793, a year after Alberto's birth.
Although peace was made with France in 1796, by 1798 conflict was again fierce. It was decided that the royal family flee to the Kingdom of Sicily. The family left Naples on 21 December 1798 on board the HMS Vanguard
, a British Royal navy vessel which was in turn protected by two Neapolitan warships.
It was on board the warship that Alberto died of exhaustion on Christmas Day aged 6. He was buried in Palermo soon after the family arrived there; his funeral was the first official engagement his family attended in Sicliy.
HMS Vanguard (1787)
HMS Vanguard was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 March 1787 at Deptford. She was the sixth vessel to bear the name....
, a British Royal navy vessel.
Biography
Born to Ferdinand VI of NaplesFerdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
, he was the sixteenth child born to his parents and their seventh son. His mother was a daughter of Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
and thus sister of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
. From his birth he was third in line to the Neapolitan throne after his brothers Prince Francis, then Duke of Calabria
Francis I of the Two Sicilies
-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
and the Prince of Salerno
Leopold, Prince of Salerno
Prince Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Michele of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Salerno was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.-Biography:Born Leopoldo of Naples and Sicily, he was the sixth son of Ferdinand IV of Naples and wife Maria...
.
A member of the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, he was a Prince of Naples and Sicily by birth. He was born in Naples and baptised Alberto Lodovico Maria Filipo Gaetano, Albert Louis Maria Philip Gaetano.
His brother's included Prince Carlo, Duke of Calabria
Carlo, Duke of Calabria
Carlo of Naples and Sicily was a Prince of Naples and Sicily and Duke of Calabria. He died in infancy of smallpox.-Biography:Born at the Caserta Palace near Naples, he was created Duke of Calabria at birth as the heir apparent to his father's throne...
, who died of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
in 1778; the future King Francis
Francis I of the Two Sicilies
-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
and Prince Leopold, Prince of Salerno
Leopold, Prince of Salerno
Prince Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Michele of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Salerno was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.-Biography:Born Leopoldo of Naples and Sicily, he was the sixth son of Ferdinand IV of Naples and wife Maria...
.
Her older sisters included the future Holy Roman Empress, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily
Maria Luisa of Naples and Sicily , was a Neapolitan and Sicilian princess and the wife of the third Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany.-Background:...
, Princess Maria Cristina
Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily
Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and later Queen of Sardinia as wife of Charles Felix of Sardinia.-Princess of Naples and Sicily:...
, was the wife of the future Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.-Early life:...
and Queen of Sardinia; Maria Cristina's twin Princess Maria Cristina Amelia
Princess Maria Cristina Amelia of Naples and Sicily
Maria Cristina Amelia of Naples and Sicily was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and twin sister of the future Queen of Sardinia. She died of Smallpox 1783.-Biography:...
died in 1783 of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. Another sister was the Queen of the French and the last surviving daughter was the future Princess of Asturias.
His cousin's included the Duke of Parma
Louis of Etruria
Louis was the first of only two Kings of Etruria.Louis was the son of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma and Maria Amalia of Austria, the second surviving daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor....
, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1790 to 1801 and, after a period of disenfranchisement, again from 1814 to 1824. He was also the Prince-elector and Grand Duke of Salzburg and Grand Duke of Würzburg .-Biography:Ferdinand was born in Florence, Tuscany, into the...
, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
, Queen of Portugal, King of Spain
Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...
and a Duchess of Calabria
Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria
Maria Clementina of Austria was an Austrian archduchess and the tenth child and third daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. In 1797 she married her first cousin Francis I of the Two Sicilies, then Duke of Calabria, heir of Naples and Sicily...
, the first wife of his brother Francis.
On the outbreak of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
in 1789 the Neapolitan court was not hostile to the movement. When the French monarchy was abolished and Alberto's aunt
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
and uncle
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
were executed, his parents joined the First Coalition
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
against France in 1793, a year after Alberto's birth.
Although peace was made with France in 1796, by 1798 conflict was again fierce. It was decided that the royal family flee to the Kingdom of Sicily. The family left Naples on 21 December 1798 on board the HMS Vanguard
HMS Vanguard (1787)
HMS Vanguard was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 March 1787 at Deptford. She was the sixth vessel to bear the name....
, a British Royal navy vessel which was in turn protected by two Neapolitan warships.
It was on board the warship that Alberto died of exhaustion on Christmas Day aged 6. He was buried in Palermo soon after the family arrived there; his funeral was the first official engagement his family attended in Sicliy.
Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 2 May 1792 – 25 December 1798 His Royal Highness Don Alberto, Prince of Naples and Sicily