| HISTORY
OF THE HOUSE OF BOURBON - TWO SICILIES
The Norman nobleman Tancred of Hauteville
settled in Sicily ca 1020, and was father with other
sons of (1) William (died 1046), who became Count of
Apulia ca 1040, (2) Robert (died 1085), who took the
title Duke of Apulia (and was father of the great crusader
leader Bohemond, Prince of Taranto and Antioch, who
died in 1100, and of Roger, Duke of Apulia, who died
in 1109), and (3) Roger (died in 1101), invested as
Count of Sicily by the Pope. The latter was father of
Roger II (d 1154), whose assumption of the title King
of Sicily was recognized by the Pope as suzerain in
1130.
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| Charles of Bourbon and Farnese,
Duke of Parma (later Carlo VII of Naples and Carlos
III of Spain) |
Ferdinand IV of Naples and III
of Sicily (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies)
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Roger’s direct male line became
extinct in 1198 when the Sicilian Crown passed through
Roger II’s daughter Constance to the Emperor Frederick
II (of Hohenstaufen), who died in 1250. With the death
of Frederick’s son Conrad IV, in 1254, the Crown
of Sicily fell into dispute for centuries, first between
the natural son of Frederick, Count Manfred, and Charles
of France, Duke of Anjou on whom the Pope invested the
Crown in 1265 to prevent the continuation of Hohenstaufen
rule, and after the death of Manfred between the duke
of Anjou and Conrad IV’s son, Conradin, and then
Pedro of Aragon (elected King 1282), who had married
Manfred’s daughter Constance. The House of Aragon
continued to rule in Sicily until 1516, when Sicily
passed with the Crown of Aragon to the Habsburg Kings
of Spain. Meanwhile the claim to Sicily was continued
by the Duke of Anjou who had been crowned by the Pope
Kings of Naples. When the Anjou heir lost the throne
of Naples to Alfonso V, King of Aragon, in 1435, he
was able to united both claims to the throne of Sicily,
taking the historic title of King of the Two Sicilies
(Rex Utriusque Siciliae).
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| Francis I, King of the Two Sicilies |
Ferdinand II, King of the Two
Sicilies |
On Alfonso V’s death in 1458
he divided the thrones once again, leaving Sicily and
Aragon to his brother John II (died in 1479), father
of Ferdinand, King of Aragon (died 1516), and Naples
to his natural son Ferdinand (died 1491) whose line
became extinct in 1504 when the Neapolitan Crown reverted
to Aragon and thus became part of the vast and expanding
Spanish Empire. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was
ruled by Viceroys appointed by Spain until 1713, and
then Austria (following the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713,
although Sicily was ruled separately by the House of
Savoy from 1713-18). Austrian ruled ended with the Spanish
victory of Bitonto in 1734, which led to the accession
to the two thrones of the Infant Charles of Spain (later
Charles III of Spain), elder son of the marriage of
Philip V, King of Spain (grandson of Louis XIV) to his
2nd wife, Isabella Farnese, heiress of the duchy of
Parma.
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| Francis II, King of the Two Sicilies |
H.R.H. Don Alfonso, Count of Caserta |
The present line was founded by Infant
Ferdinand of Spain (b 12 Jan 1751; d 4 Jan 1825), to
whom his father, King Charles III of Spain, had abdicated
as King of Naples and Sicily on 6 Oct 1759, in the Pragmatic
Decree which required that the Crowns of Spain and the
Italian Sovereignties and Estates not be united in the
same person. This act gave reciprocal rights to both
thrones to all the male descendants of Charles III,
requiring that on the extinction of the male line the
Two Sicilies throne would pass to the female most closely
related to the last King (or Head of the House). This
decree was confirmed by Art 5, Law of 8 Dec 1816, the
Sovereign Acts of 7 Apr 1829 and 12 Mar 1836, and Chapter
IV, Art 70 of the Constitution of 10 Jan 1848, reinforced
by Royal Proclamation 28 Jun 1860. By a separate decree
16 Oct 1759 the Grand Magistery of the Constantinian
Order (an independent religious-military Order, sui
generis and subject of canon law), along with the Farnese
properties were passed to the new King Ferdinand as
"legitimate primogeniture heir of the Farnese"
(primogenito legittimo farnesiano). Ferdinand IV King
of Naples and III, King of Sicily, retained the title
Infant of Spain, and from 8 Dec 1816 reigned as King
Ferdinand I of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
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H.R.H. Don Ferdinand Pius,
Duke of Calabria |
H.R.H. Don Alfonso,
Duke of Calabria, Infante of Spain |
By Art 165 (III), Constitution of 1820/21,
the King "cannot alienate, cede, or renounce in
any way to any other person the Royal Authority"
and could only "abdicate the throne in favour of
the person of his immediate successor" reinforced
as an Act relating to the Royal Family by the 1848/60
Constitution. The prohibition against any renunciation
of future successions is also enforced in the Civil
Code of the Kingdom, allowing for a deviation from the
primogeniture line only if the King of the Two Sicilies
inherited the Spanish Crown or became Prince of the
Asturias. The dynasty ceased to reign when the Kingdom
of the Two Sicilies was annexed to the new Kingdom of
Italy on 17 Dec 1860. King Francesco II (b 16 In 1836;
d 27 Dec 1894; succ 22 May 1859) protested against the
annexation 12 Dec 1860 and held the fortress of Gaeta
until 13 Feb 1861, when he was obliged to surrender
and leave for exile in Rome, then Bavaria.
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H.R.H. Don Carlos,
Duke of Calabria, Infante of Spain |
Succession is by male primogeniture
in the descendants of Ferdinand I, then by male primogeniture
among the younger sons of Charles III, then to the descendants
of Charles IV and failing such male heirs to the female
most closely related to the last King (or Head of the
House). Marriages of members of the House are regulated
by the Sovereign Acts of 7 Apr 1829 and 12 Mar 1836,
requiring Princes and Princesses to have prior permission
of the King to marry, failing which the marriage would
be null and void for succession purposes. The sons and
daughters, and grandsons and granddaughters in the male
line of the King (or Head of the House) bear the title
of Prince Royal or Princess Royal of the Two Sicilies
with the qualification of Royal Highness, all other
cadets born of dynastic marriages bear the title Prince
or Princess of the Two Sicilies with the qualification
of Royal Highness. These titles are customarily abbreviated
to Prince or Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
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