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Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta

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Prince Alfonso
Count of Caserta
Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Tenure27 December 1894 – 26 May 1934
PredecessorFrancis II
SuccessorPrince Ferdinand Pius
Born(1841-03-28)28 March 1841
Caserta, Two Sicilies
Died26 May 1934(1934-05-26) (aged 93)
Cannes, France
Burial
Cimetière du Grand Jas, Cannes
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1868)​
IssuePrince Ferdinando Pio, Duke of Castro
Prince Carlos
Prince Francesco di Paola
Princess Maria Immacolata
Princess Maria Cristina
Princess Maria di Grazia
Princess Maria Giuseppina
Prince Gennaro
Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro
Prince Filippo
Prince Francesco d'Assisi
Prince Gabriel
Names
Italian: Alfonso Maria Giuseppe Alberto
HouseBourbon-Two Sicilies
FatherFerdinand II of the Two Sicilies
MotherMaria Theresa of Austria

Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta (28 March 1841 – 26 May 1934) was the third son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria.

He was pretender to the throne of the Two Sicilies in succession of his older half-brother, Francis II of the Two Sicilies. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Ferdinand Pius.

Heir to the throne

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Born in Caserta, Alfonso was the fourth-in-line heir to the throne of Two Sicilies since the time of his birth. Ahead of him in line were his older half-brother Francis and older brothers Prince Louis, Count of Trani and Prince Alberto, Count of Castrogiovanni. On 12 July 1844, Alberto died, two months short of his fifth birthday and naturally childless which made Alfonso the third-in-line. On 22 May 1859, Ferdinand II died, making Francis the king. Francis had no children yet from his wife Duchess Maria Sophie in Bavaria. Louis became his heir presumptive and Alfonso the second-in-line heir to their half-brother.

The Two Sicilies were conquered by the Expedition of the Thousand under Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1861 leading to the end of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Garibaldi served the Kingdom of Sardinia which was in the process of Italian unification. The deposed Royal House survived with Francis still at its head, even though he was no longer King. On 8 June 1886, Louis died. His only daughter Princess Maria Teresa was not in line for the throne, because females were barred from succession. Louis' death made Alfonso the heir presumptive to Francis, who had survived his own daughter. On 27 December 1894, Francis II died, making Alfonso the head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Alfonso later died at Cannes on May 26, 1934.

Personal life

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Capri (circa 1855) by Alfonso, assisted by Achille Vianelli

Alfonso was also an artist, and received tuition from Achille Vianelli.[1]

Marriage and issue

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Alfonso was married to his cousin, Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (16 March 1851 – 12 September 1938) on 8 June 1868. She was a daughter of Prince Francis, Count of Trapani and his wife Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria, Princess of Tuscany.

Her paternal grandparents were Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his second wife Maria Antonietta of the Two Sicilies.

Maria Isabella was a daughter of Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. Maria Antonietta was another daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabella of Spain.

They had twelve children.[2]

∞ Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria, daughter of Ludwig III of Bavaria. This marriage produced six children.
∞ Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, daughter of Alfonso XII of Spain. This marriage produced three issue.
∞ Princess Louise of Orléans, daughter of Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris. This marriage produced four children.
∞ Prince Johann Georg of Saxony, son of George of Saxony. This marriage produced no issue.
∞ Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria, Prince of Tuscany, son of Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. This marriage produced four children.
∞ Prince Luiz Maria of Orléans-Braganza, son of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil. This marriage produced three children.
∞ Beatrice Bordessa, created Countess of Villa Colli, born into a bourgeois Italian family from Chester in the North of England.[3] This marriage produced no issue.
∞ Countess Maria Carolina Zamoyska, daughter of Andrzej Przemysław Zamoyski, Count Zamoyski. This marriage produced two children.
∞ Princess Marie Louise of Orléans, daughter of Prince Emmanuel of Orléans, Duke of Vendôme. This marriage produced one child.
∞ Odette Labori, daughter of the French attorney Fernand Labori. This marriage produced no issue.
∞ Princess Malgorzata Izabella Czartoryska, daughter of Prince Adam Ludwik Czartoryski. This marriage produced one child.
∞ Princess Cecylia Lubomirska, daughter of Prince Kasimierz Lubomirski.[4] This marriage produced four children.

Honours and arms

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Orders and decorations

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Arms

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  • Heraldry of Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
  • Prince Alfonso's arms as Count of Caserta c.1840-1886
    Prince Alfonso's arms as Count of Caserta c.1840-1886
  • Prince Alfonso's arms as titular heir to the throne 1886-1894
    Prince Alfonso's arms as titular heir to the throne 1886-1894
  • Prince Alfonso's arms as head of the Royal House 1894-1934
    Prince Alfonso's arms as head of the Royal House 1894-1934

Ancestry

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Notes

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  1. ^ "The List". Abbott and Holder. 22 July 2020. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020.
  2. ^ [1] Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine at www.borbone-due-sicilie.org
  3. ^ Emerson, Maureen (April 12, 2018). Riviera Dreaming: Love and War on the Côte d'Azur. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781786723383. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  4. ^ Worldroots.com Archived 2006-05-13 at the Wayback Machine at worldroots.com
  5. ^ "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, pp. 52, 55, retrieved 13 August 2020
  6. ^ "Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III", Guóa Oficial de España (in Spanish), 1930, p. 226, archived from the original on 20 June 2018, retrieved 4 March 2019
  7. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" p. 9

References

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Media related to Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta at Wikimedia Commons

Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon
Born: 28 March 1841 Died: 26 May 1934
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
King of the Two Sicilies
27 December 1894 – 26 May 1934
Reason for succession failure:
Italian Unification under the House of Savoy 		Succeeded by
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