The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George Delegation of Great Britain and Ireland

The main branch of the Bourbon family dates back to the 8th century AD. From this date, the Bourbon dynasty, through a series of marriages, power struggles, battles, strong leadership and alliances, managed to secure over centuries rule over the kingdoms of France, Spain and the Two Sicilies.

Following the 1975 restoration of the Spanish monarchy, the Bourbons of Spain reigned again, yet in today’s Italy, whilst not ruling, the Bourbons of the Two Sicilies dynasty are contemporary ambassadors for their country’s ancient past and its cultural legacy, as well as a focal point for humanitarian, spiritual and charitable initiatives. (For information on the other Bourbon dynasties, including ancient history please visit www.realcasadiborbone.it or for the Spanish Royal Household visit www.realcasa.es).

From 1716 until 1861, the Bourbon Two Sicilies dynasty ruled nearly half the Italian peninsula and the island of Sicily - a territory contiguous to that of Magna Graecia. Their realm included millions of people, "a thousand cities," hundreds of ancient Greek temples, a few active volcanoes and the most prosperous royal capital in Italy.

The Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies, as the dynasty later became, traces its origin through several sovereign dynasties. The Bourbon dynasties of France, Spain, the Two Sicilies and Parma all descend from the House of Anjou, a branch of which ruled the Kingdom of Naples in the thirteenth century.

From 1504 until 1707 the ancient kingdom of Naples belonged to Spain and was governed by Spanish viceroys. Having been acquired by Austria during the War of the Spanish Succession, Naples was conquered in 1874 by the eighteen-year-old Prince Carlo of Bourbon, son of King Philip V of Spain by his second wife, Elisabeth Farnese(right). Prince Carlo had come to Italy in 1731 to take procession of the Farnese Duchies of Parma and Piacenza, which his mother, Elisabeth Farnese, had won for him after many years of war and intrigue.

King Carlo of Naples and Sicily

Having conquered Naples, Prince Carlo was obliged to cede Parma and Piacenza to Austria in return for being recognised as King of his new kingdom. King Carlo(below) did not disappoint his subjects. He turned around years of ineffective vice-regal rule and exploitation by its Spanish and Austrian overlords, and within a short time he paid off the national debt, created a surplus, and reduced taxation. His kingdom fortunately did not take up a policy of territorial aggrandisement since

as devoted sons of the Catholic Church, the King never dreamt of coveting his only neighbour, the Papal States.

Instead of spending his money on wars, King Carlo spent it beatifying his kingdom and this is much in evidence today. The King ensured during his reign that Naples became a leading European centre for music, science, scholarship and advanced thought.

By 1759, the Neapolitan "Borboni" had become a dynasty in every way

sovereign and distinct from their French and Spanish cousins, and Naples quickly became the centre of European industry and commerce surpassed only by London and Paris.

King Carlo’s reign ended in 1759 when he succeeded to the Throne of Spain on the death of his childless half-brother, King Ferdinando IV. As King Carlos III of Spain, Carlo di Borbone(left) went on to be one of the most successful Spanish monarchs since the time of King Philip II.

The law of separation of the Crowns of Spain and Two Sicilies

Before King Carlo departed Naples to ascend the Spanish Throne, he abdicated the Crowns of Naples and Sicily in favour of his third-born son, Prince Ferdinando. Shortly beforehand, King Carlo issued a Pragmatic (left)declaring that henceforth any prince entitled to a place in the Spanish succession could not simultaneously lay claim the Crown of the Two Sicilies, or a place in the succession to that Crown. This law served to forever separate the dynasty of the Two Sicilies from that of Spain.

King Ferdinando IV of Naples and Sicily

King Ferdinando IV of Naples and Sicily ascended the Throne at the age of eight(left). A Regency was established and led by the country’s Prime Minister, Bernardo Tanucci(below) and the young monarch’s uncle, the Prince of San Nicandro.

Born in Naples on 12 January 1751, the son of King Carlo of Bourbon and Queen Maria Amalia Walburga of Saxony, King Ferdinando went on to reign for 66 years.

Until his coming of age, the Regency of Prime Minister Tanucci ran the kingdom in close agreement and along the lines of the reformist policies of the now Madrid-based King Carlos III (formerly King Carlo of Naples and Sicily). King Ferdinando continued the decades of Bourbon reformism until the rise of the revolutionary movements.

In 1768 King Ferdinando married Archduchess Maria Carolina(right), daughter of Empress Maria Teresa of Austria, and therefore sister of Austrian Emperors Joseph II and Leopold II, and the ill-fated Queen Marie Antoinette of France.

King Ferdinando was adored by his people and whilst he was not exactly in tune with the cultural elite of Naples, he had Queen Maria Carolina by his side who was beautiful, vivacious, intelligent and highly educated. The kingdom was a happy place

for the first three decades of their marriage. If the extremes of wealth and poverty were even greater in Naples than elsewhere in 18th century Europe, the work of improving and reforming the kingdom begun by the former King were carried out by King Ferdinando, his Prime Minister Tanucci and his successor, the English Catholic baronet, Sir John Acton. Sir John’s high-level influence at the Court also ensured that the once dominant Spanish influence in Naples was soon replaced with a decidedly English one.

Napoleon Bonaparte invades the kingdom

In 1796 the young Napoleon Bonaparte(left) began his invasion and gradual conquest of most of the territories belonging to the pre-unification Italian States. Napoleon was met just about everywhere by ferocious public resistance who rose up to defend the Church and their Catholic faith as well as their lawful sovereigns and governments.

In February 1798, the revolutionary armies invaded the Papal States forcing Pope Pius VI (below) to seek the protection of King Ferdinando in Naples. In November of that same year, the King, aware that the Napoleonic army was marching towards

Naples, and with a resolve to return the Pope to power in Rome, decided to declare war on the French.

The Austrian General Mack received the command of the Bourbon armed forces, but his decision to enter Rome without striking a decisive blow to the French, resulted in Mack and the Bourbon Army being forced to retreat. In turn the French, under the command of the Napoleonic General Championnet, now had an excuse to march on Naples.

On 8 December 1798, King Ferdinando issued a proclamation to all his subjects inviting them to resist the invaders. No other proclamation was ever taken as literally as this one. Tens of thousands of men from all social classes and ages, including women and the elderly, took up arms against the French and bravely fought for six months until January 1799 when the French succeeded in conquering Naples. To ensure total possession and control of Naples, the French massacred over 10,000 people who had risen up in the name of their king.

In December 1798, the Bourbon Court was forced off the mainland and retreated to Palermo, Sicily. A republic was declared in Naples which faced wholesale popular discontent. At the end of January 1799, Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo of the Princes of Sicilies(left) went to Palermo and presented King Ferdinando with a plan to militarily re-conquer the Kingdom of Naples. The King granted the Cardinal one ship and seven men and prayed for the support of the population. This support came as a volunteer army, thousands strong, sprung up within weeks committed to defend the Bourbon cause and oust the French.

Cardinal Ruffo established "the Royal Catholic Army” (Armata Cattolica e Reale) in the name of King Ferdinando IV and succeeded in the span of only three months to oust the French and restore the Bourbon monarchy in Naples on 13 June 1799.

King Ferdinando IV and Queen Maria Carolina returned to Naples in triumph(above) yet they reigned in peace only until 1805, when the Napoleonic storm broke for a second time. At the beginning of 1806 French Emperor Napoleon re-conquered the Kingdom of Naples and placed his brother Joseph on the Throne. Once again, the King and Queen, together with their Court moved to Palermo, Sicily, where they remained under British protection. Another spontaneous guerrilla movement sprung up aimed at ousting the French again.

In 1808 Emperor Napoleon, having promoted his brother Joseph to Throne of Spain, put his brother-in-law Gioacchino Murat on the Throne of Naples. He remained on the Throne until 1815 when Bourbon forces landed in Calabria, and together with the local population, rose up against French rule. Murat was later executed.

The amalgamation of Naples and Sicily into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

By the time of Emperor Napoleon’s final defeat and following the Congress of Vienna of 1815, the whole of Europe had began a new phase of its history known as the ‘Restoration’.

In 1816, the Bourbon rule of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily were amalgamated to form the new Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Thus King Ferdinando IV of Naples and Sicily became King Ferdinando I of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Yet all was not peaceful in the new kingdom. In 1820 King Ferdinando was faced with a military revolt led by General Gugliemo Pepe whose movement was demanding a constitution similar to that which the Spanish King had granted. King Ferdinando granted them a constitution, although the King knew that according to the principle of legitimacy set down by the Congress of Vienna, and the agreements decided upon by the Holy Alliance, Austrian Chancellor Metternich would soon take action. This support quickly followed when the revolutionaries were forcibly stopped in their tracks.

King Ferdinando achieved the restoration of absolutism and lived in peace until his death in 1825.

The reign of King Francesco I

In 1825 King Ferdinando’s son succeeded to the Throne of the Two Sicilies as King Francesco (Francis) I(left). His reign however turned out to be little more than an interregnum as he died five years later.

Born in Naples on 14 August 1777, Prince Francesco became Heir Apparent and Duke of Calabria in 1778, on the death of his elder brother. In 1797 he married Archduchess Maria Cristina of Austria, daughter of Emperor Leopold I of Austria. Princess Maria Cristina gave birth to a daughter, Princess Carolina, but died suddenly in 1801, forcing Prince Francesco to search for a new wife.

In 1802 Prince Francesco, as Duke of Calabria, married Infanta Maria Isabella, daughter of King Carlos IV of Spain. From this marriage twelve children were born including Maria Teresa who later became Empress of Austria, Maria Amelia, later Queen of the French and Maria Luisa, Grand Duchess of Tuscany(below).

In his youth Prince Francesco was conditioned by his mother’s strong personality. Only when he moved with his father and mother to Sicily - due to the fact that Napoleonic forces occupied the continental kingdom - could he start to show his personality.

Despite this period being difficult for the Court, the British, led by Lord Bentick, offered protection over the island and heavily influenced it during time. Lord Bentick was utterly opposed to Queen Maria Carolina and succeeded in convincing King Ferdinando to exile his wife.

The myth of Prince Francesco’s liking for liberalism originates from this period. Under British influence, he granted a Constitution to Sicily in 1812. In November 1813 following Lord Bentick’s departure from Sicily, the King appointed Prince Francesco as Lord-Lieutenant of Sicily, before returning to Naples following the fall of Napoleon.

The Duke of Calabria remained in Sicily until 1820, the year of the constitutionalist Carbonari risings. Prince Francesco apparently came to terms with the revolutionaries and accepted a new constitution. When his father died in 1825, he ascended the Throne aged 48 and was no longer in his prime.

As monarch, King Francesco I(left) was a pious, accessible and calm person. The King granted amnesties to deserters and traitors, he commuted life imprisonment into hard labour and reduced prison sentences.

Together with his Queen, King Francesco I travelled to Milan and requested that the Austrian forces – present since 1820 - leave his Kingdom. This achievement occurred some seven years later in 1827, and resulted in the economic recovery of the country.

Unfortunately King Francesco I too had to face revolutionary risings, especially in the Cilento region, which were easily put down. The King died in 1830 just at the time when revolutionary movements were once again springing up all over Europe. In 1830 (the year in which the French branch of the Bourbons lost the Throne), King Francesco I left a difficult heritage to his 20 year old young son and heir, Prince Ferdinando.

The reign of King Ferdinando II

The eldest son of King Francesco I and Queen Maria Isabella, Prince Ferdinando was born in Palermo, Sicily, on 12 January 1810 and died in Caserta on 22 May 1859 aged only 49. In 1825 he became heir apparent with the title of Duke of Calabria and after the departure of the Austrian forces from the Kingdom in 1827, he was appointed as Captain General of the Army.

On his accession to the Throne in 1830, King Ferdinando II(left) immediately replaced key ministers, reduced the spending of the Court, gave a large amnesty to political prisoners and those exiled, and after the uprisings of 1820, didn’t harshly punish those conspirators who had attempted to assassinate him during the first years of his reign. Above all else and despite his royal mercifulness, King Ferdinando II never forgot his duties as a Catholic king and openly opposed the liberal reforms, which were taking place elsewhere in Europe.

Unfortunately for him the days of the Enlightened Despot were long since over, and whilst the majority of his subjects were happy, the power of nineteenth century liberalism, and the press, were too great. This issue above all else was to effect his long reign as well as his image internationally.

Despite his distracters, King Ferdinando’s reign was one of great advancement. Numerous and well-respected writers have commented positively on his achievements (visit www.realecasadiborbone.it).

King Ferdinando(right) travelled extensively across his Kingdom and always wanted to personally meet the needs of his subjects. In order to save money and reduce taxes, the King reduced Court spending even further, reduced the salaries of Ministers, and to fight against unemployment he ruled that the same person could not hold two public positions.

Many royal hunting parks were transformed in farming lands, he developed industry, especially the textile industry, built roads and railroads as well as harbours, dockyards, bridges, cemeteries, hospitals, conservatories, orphanages, kindergartens for poor children, shelters for the mentally ill, modern prisons and institutes for the deaf and dumb.

In the cultural sector, he established academic chairs, opened libraries, boarding schools, agrarian gardens, free schools, ordered the draining of marshes on the island of S. Stefano and introduced new cultivations in the Kingdom. The King established institutes to foster commercial enterprises and on every major royal occasion he made substantial donations to the poor including wedding dowries to poor girls.

In health matters, the king took an active role by visiting and funding hospitals. King Ferdinando strengthened the army and navy, which soon became one of the mightiest navies in Europe.

In 1832 King Ferdinando II married Princess Maria Cristina(left), fourth daughter of Duke Vittorio Emanuele I of Savoy, who later became the first King of Italy. From this marriage a son was born who later succeeded to the Throne as King Francesco II.

Queen Maria Cristina was a woman of extraordinary religious piety and charity and her life in Naples was not easy due to her poor health. Her subjects loved her for her virtues and considered her a living saint. (The Catholic Church has since listed her among

the venerable people and her canonisation is currently underway). Within four years of their marriage the Queen suddenly died in 1836.

On 26 December of that same year, King Ferdinando II despite being anti-Austrian, married Archduchess Maria Teresa of Habsburg(right), who gave birth to nine children including Prince Alfonso Maria, Head of the Royal Family from 1894-1934.

King Ferdinando principally wished his kingdom to be independent of all foreign influence. His opinions in this respect and his enlightened measures – which were at first mistaken for liberalism, inspired Italian nationalists who quickly urged him to adopt their cause and become the first King of a united Italy. As King of the largest and most prosperous Italian state, the King would have been much more eligible than that of Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy whose territories were much smaller. King Ferdinando however refused to be a tool of Italian nationalists and lead the Italian unification movement, His objections were principally that he had no wish to remove legitimate sovereigns, including the Pope, from their respective thrones. As a result, the revolutionaries turned against him.

Revolutions of 1848 and the Risorgimento

The revolutionary element was strongest at first in the island of Sicily and at the beginning of the 1848 King Ferdinando’s troops were unable to suppress the uprising. The revolution in Sicily was followed by an uprising on the mainland, as radicals, backed by students, demanded a constitution. The King agreed to grant one but far from making the situation more stable, it led to anarchy. In May 1848 a revolt broke out in Naples and the king had no option but to retaliate. Many lives were lost, but the country was thankfully spared the horrors of a full-blown revolution and civil war.

It was during this time that King Ferdinando II, always a devout man, offered sanctuary in his kingdom to Pope Pius IX(left) for two years following the proclamation of the Rome Republic.

King Ferdinando, having now restored order on the mainland, turned his attention to Sicily, which his army recovered the following summer. For the remaining ten years of his life King Ferdinando reigned peacefully an as absolute monarch.

However liberal radicals never forgave him for his action. Great Britain and France tried to force the King to release his remaining political prisoners by threatening a naval demonstration in the Bay of Naples. King Ferdinando held his ground knowing that to give in to British and French demands, would greatly weaken his authority in the eyes of his subjects. Diplomatic relations with Britain and France were broken for a time as a result.

More ominous that the Anglo-French bluster was the growing threat from Piedmont and the forces of Italian nationalism - the Risorgimento. In 1857 a party of three hundred nationalists landed in Sapri confident that the people would join them in the war for unification. Instead the local peasants, with the support of the army, killed the nationalists.

By the time the partisans of a united Italy made their next move on his kingdom, the king, aged 48, was dead. Death took King Francesco in his prime and just when his energy, experience and far-sightedness might have played a key role in preventing the fall of his kingdom only months later.

King Francesco II and the loss of the kingdom

The ultimate crisis of the kingdom grew ever nearer when the Throne past from the resolute and dynamic King Ferdinando to his shy and gentle twenty three year old son, Francesco (Francis) II(left). The opponents of the Bourbons immediately changed their tactics from the denigration of King Ferdinando to the mockery of his son. Francesco II was to be last King of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Under his reign, the Kingdom was invaded first by the Garibaldian army, then by the Savoy army and later annexed to the newly created Kingdom of Italy. All this, only one year after the death of Ferdinando II.
Prince Francesco was born on 16 January 1836, the eldest son of King Ferdinando II and his first wife Queen Maria Cristina of Savoy, who died when he was only 15 days old. His father, together with his second wife, Queen Maria Teresa of Habsburg, gave Prince Francesco, Duke of Calabria, a deeply religious education which was surprising devoid of any major military education similar to that which King Ferdinando had himself received.

King Ferdinando taught him to love his Kingdom and his duties to his people. But Prince Francesco’s relations with his stepmother were difficult since she naturally gave priority to her own children. But the relationship was never turbulent and she respected him as Heir Apparent and Duke of Calabria.

Prince Francesco married Duchess Maria Sofia of Bavaria(left) - daughter of Duke Maximilian and sister of Elisabeth, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary. Princess Maria Sofia turned out to be an exceptionally supporting and educated consort especially during the tragic days of their later lives. Queen Maria Sofia received much admiration for this, and especially during the long years of subsequent exile.

In reality, King Francesco II reigned for only one year before the invasion of his Kingdom. King Francesco was certainly not endowed with his father’s strong character, nor did he possess his political experience, but he was very humane and magnanimous, had a deep faith, and a sense of duty towards his subjects - especially those less fortunate.

Following his coronation, King Francesco II granted many amnesties, appointed special committees to improve the situation in prisons, offer greater local autonomy to municipalities, streamlined bureaucracy, granted customs franchises to Palermo and Messina, established a Commercial Court and Savings Banks in Catania. The King remitted customs taxes which were still due, halved tax on flour, abolished taxes on farmhouses of the poor, reduced customs duties and especially those on foreign books; reduced taxes on foreign goods, established an Exchange Office in Chieti and Reggio Calabria, ordered the opening of pawnshops, wheat shops and saving and loan banks in those cities that did not have them.

Since the kingdom had been affected from a wheat shortage, while the rebels were blaming the King of putting the burden on the poor, he ordered the buying and distribution of foreign wheat stocks. Moreover, the King founded universities, high schools and boarding schools and established a commission to improve town planning in Naples. King Francesco II enlarged the railroad system, personally controlled and asked liability for the delays of private firms in the fulfilment of construction contracts already passed. By royal decree of 28 April 1860 the King ordered the construction of the Naples-Foggia and Foggia-Capo d’Otranto railroads as well as the construction of the Basilicata-Reggio Calabria railroad and the Abruzzi railroad among other projects.

The strong pro-Bourbon resistance of the 1860s, which involved tens of thousands of men and women loyal to the Bourbon dynasty, is the best evidence of the unique bond between monarch and subject. Yet it was not enough to hold back the invading forces of Garibaldi and his foreign armies which forced the King and Queen to leave Naples on 8 December 1860. King Francesco and Queen Maria Sofia moved to Gaeta and remained there under seize until their surrender on 13 February 1861.

Thousands of their loyal subjects assembled in Gaeta ready to defend, and if need be, die for their King and country. Queen Maria Sofia spent every single day of the seize helping her husband’s soldiers who were under cannon fire by healing their wounds, sharing their fears and difficulties, encouraging them, feeding them, supporting them. The Queen also played a key role in supporting and encouraging her husband during these most difficult moments.

In Gaeta, the royal couple gave the best of themselves, the best of their love, dignity, devotion, self-denial, and honour and sense of duty towards their country and their soldiers. Yet the resistance of Gaeta failed due to the extreme ferocity of the foreign troops surrounding it and the devastated Bourbon forces now afflicted by hunger and plague.

King Francesco II ordered the surrender of Gaeta and soon after the royal couple embarked on a ship destined for Rome. The Royal couple left the harbour of Gaeta to the sound of Paisiello’ s Royal March and were saluted by a 21 cannon salvos. Huge crowds came out to bid them farewell – many waived with tears in their eyes. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies had finally come to an end.

King Francesco II and exile

Once the King and Queen departed they were deprived, without justification, of their personal assets by the newly founded Savoy-led Kingdom of Italy causing them to live a modest and peaceful life. In exile first in Rome, the King and Queen were the guests of Pope Piux IX(left) who did so no doubt recalling the hospitality he had received in Gaeta from 1848-1850, and his predecessor Pope Pius VI in 1798. The King and Queen were first housed directly by the Holy Father before moving to live in the family-owned Palazzo Farnese in central Rome.

During the years that followed pro-Bourbon uprisings occured among the southern populations and especially so against the Piedmontese government. King Francesco II maintained contact with his people and materially helped the most important leaders of the legitimist counter-revolution.

The counterrevolution was defeated in bloodshed, and as the years went by it became clearer that the “miracle” of 1799 would not be repeated, despite the same utmost loyalty shown by many of his former subjects. In 1870 Rome was invaded, and Pope Pius IX was forced to limit his dominions to the Vatican itself. In turn this forced King Francesco II and his consort to leave for a new exile which including Trento, Paris and Bavaria. King Francesco II never gave up his lawful rights and claim to the Throne of the Two Sicilies.

During one of these overseas visits to Trento, in 1894, King Francesco II died. The King did not have any heir, and therefore his younger brother, Prince Alfonso Maria of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta, succeeded him as Head of the Royal Family. Queen Maria Sofia later died in Munich in 1925.

Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta, becomes dynasty’s new head

Prince Alfonso of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta, Duke of Castro, became the Head of the Royal Family of Bourbon Two Sicilies and the focal point of Neapolitan legitimists in 1894 on the death of his elder half-brother, King Francesco II. Throughout his time as the head of the dynasty, the Count of Caserta continued his Family’s protests at the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to the Kingdom of Italy. Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta, was also fully recognised by the Holy See as the Head of the Dynasty of an occupied state and continued to receive an accredited Ambassador from him until 1902.

Prince Alfonso(left) was born in 1841 and married his cousin Princess Maria Antoinette of Bourbon. The Prince lived in Cannes after taking part in the Carlist War in Spain as commanding general. Together they produced twelve children and many of them married into prominent dynasties from across Europe including Spain and France. In 1897, his firstborn, Prince Ferdinando Pio, Duke of Calabria, after serving in the Royal Spanish Army in the campaigns of Cuba and Morocco, married Princess Maria daughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria.

In 1900, his younger brother, Prince Carlo, renounced his dynastic rights to the Throne of the Two Sicilies for himself and his descendants, and therefore his Grand Mastership of the dynastic Orders of Knighthood of the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies. This decision was necessary so that he could become Infante of Spain through his marriage to the Infanta Maria Mercedes of Bourbon, daughter of King Alfonso XII of Spain.

For a long time now there has been some confusion as to the exact intent of his renunciation of Prince Carlo and how this decision relates to the 1759 Pragmatic decree of King Carlo of Borboni which declared that any prince entitled to a place in the Spanish succession could not simultaneously lay claim the Crown of the Two Sicilies, or a place in the succession to that Crown. This was the law that served to forever separate the dynasty of the Two Sicilies from that of Spain.

We suggest for those interested in this particular subject to visit among other sites www.realcasadiborbone.it. Within this website are numerous sections which provides all the necessary historic, dynastic and legal reasoning with detailed explanations.

Prince Ferdinando Pio of Bourbon Two Sicilies succeeds as Head of the Royal House

On 28 May 1934 Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta, and Head of the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies since 1894, died.

Prince Alfonso was immediately succeeded as Head of the Royal House by his son, Prince Ferdinando Pio of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro, (de jure, Ferdinando III)(left). Prince Ferdinando Pio had earlier succeeded to the Grand Mastership of the Dynastic Orders of the Royal House by order and letter of his father, Prince Alfonso, dated 27 December 1931. This public letter was written some three years before his death. Prince Ferdinando Pio in his capacity as Grand Master issued new Statutes for the Constantinian Order of Saint George.

Born in 1869, Prince Ferdinando lived in Bavaria and had a life of sincere Christian piety. During his lifetime he reconciled his differences with the Savoy dynasty of Italy, having for a long time publicly protested at the forced annexation of the Bourbon territories to the Kingdom of Italy. The exile of the Bourbon Two Sicilies Royal Family, in force since 1861, finally came to an end following the Allied occupation and liberation of Italy from 1943-1945.

Prince Ferdinando Pio donated part of the Bourbon Archive to the Italian Republic whom he recognised as the legitimate successor to the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Italian Republic and the House of Bourbon Two Sicilies continue to have an excellent working relationship to this day.

Prince Ferdinando Pio died heirless on 7 January 1960 (his only son had died at the age of 13 in 1914), and therefore all his dynastic rights went to his brother, His Royal Highness Prince Ranieri of Bourbon Two Sicilies (Prince Carlos having renounced all his dynastic rights for himself and all his descendants to become Infant of Spain some years earlier.

Prince Ranieri becomes new dynastic chief in 1960

Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, (de jure, Ranieri I) (left). became universally known as Head of the Royal Family and Grand Master of the dynastic Orders of Knighthood in 1960 following the death of his father, Prince Ferdinando Pio. Prince Ranieri took the title of Duke of Castro, which is usually afforded to the head of the family.

Born in Cannes, France, on 3 December 1883, he too served in the Royal Spanish Army and in 1923 he married his cousin Countess Carolina Zamoyska-Bourbon Two Sicilies.

During his life he generously supported many charity associations and in 1962 Prince Ranieri presided over the reburial of the corpses of Royal Family members who died in exile, to the Church of Santa Chiara in Naples.

Prince Ferdinando becomes Duke of Castro and current head of the dynasty

Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, died on 13 January 1973 at his home, Saint-Sauver Castle. Some years earlier in 1966, Prince Ranieri had passed all his functions as Grand Master of the dynastic orders of the Royal House to his son HRH Prince Ferdinando, (de jure, Ferdinando IV), present Duke of Castro(left above) and Head of the Royal Family of the Bourbon of the Two Sicilies.

His Royal Highness was born in Podzamcze, Poland, on 28 March 1926 and was the first member of the Royal Family to serve in the French Armed Forces. In 1949 Prince Ferdinando IV married Chantal, of the Counts of Chevron-Villette. From this marriage Their Royal Highnesses have three children. HRH Princess Beatrice of Bourbon Two Sicilies (born 1950), HRH Princess Anna of Bourbon Two Sicilies (born 1957) and HRH Prince Carlo of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria and Heir Apparent (born 1963).

In March 2008, HRH Prince Ferdinando died and was imediatley succeeded by his only son.

The Duke of Castro is currently the Grand Prefect of the dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies and plays an active role in the day-to-day activities of the dynastic orders and their representation at home and abroad. In 1998, The Duke of Calabria married Miss Camilla Crociani in Monte Carlo, Monaco, who by marriage became Her Royal Highness Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duchess of Calabria.

Their Royal Highnesses currently have two children, HRH Princess Maria Carolina Chantal, Edoarda, Beatrice, Januaria of Bourbon Two Sicilies (born in Rome in 2003) and HRH Princess Maria Chiara Amalia Carola Louise Carmen of Bourbon Two Sicilies (born in Rome 2005).






Dynastic History

Genealogy

TRH The Duke & Duchess of Castro

Other Members

TRH The Late Duke & Duchess of Castro

The Royal House of Bourbon of Two Sicilies © 2003. Anthony Bailey

The Royal House of Bourbon of Two Sicilies
© 2003. Anthony Bailey