Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti

Infobox Two Sicilies Royalty|prince
name =Prince Gaetan
full name = Gaetano Maria Federico
title = Count of Girgenti


caption =
succession =
spouse = Isabella, Princess of Asturias
issue =
royal house =House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
royal anthem =
father =Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
mother =Maria Theresa of Austria
date of birth =birth date|1846|01|12|df=y
place of birth = Naples, Two Sicilies
date of death =death date and age|1871|11|26|1846|01|12|df=y
place of death = Lucerne, Switzerland
place of burial = El Escorial, Madrid, Spain|

Prince "Gaetano" Maria Federico of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Girgenticite web | url=http://thepeerage.com/p11215.htm#i112148| title=Gaetan di Borbone, Principe di Borbone delle Due Sicilie| date=10 May 2003| accessdate=2008-10-05 | publisher= [http://thePeerage.com thePeerage.com] | author=Darryl Lundy] cite web | url=http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/2sicilies.html| title=TWO SICILIES | date= | accessdate=2008-10-05 | publisher=Paul Theroff's Royal Genealogy Site | author=Paul Theroff] (Full Italian name: "Gaetano Maria Federico, Principe di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, Conte di Girgenti") (born 12 January 1846 in Naples, Two Sicilies; died 26 November 1871 in Lucerne, Switzerland) was the seventh child of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Theresa of Austria. Gaetan was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and consort to Isabella, Princess of Asturias, twice the recognized heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. Through this union, Gaetan was created an Infante of Spain.

Marriage and later life

Gaetan married Isabella, Princess of Asturias, eldest surviving child of Francis, Duke of Cádiz and his wife Isabella II of Spain, on 13 May 1868 in Madrid. Gaetan was a first cousin to both of Isabella's parents. Their union was intended to end a feud between the Neapolitan Bourbons and the Spanish Bourbons following Spain's recognition of the Kingdom of Italy unified under the House of Savoy. The ceremony took place shortly before Spain's Glorious Revolution which brought an end to Isabella II's reign.

Gaetan and Isabella's marriage proved unhappy. For two years, Gaetan traveled throughout Europe visiting relatives in major cities including Vienna. A troubled and depressed man, Gaetan suffered from weak health and epilepsy. He had unsuccessfully attempted suicide at least once before shooting himself in the head in his hotel room in Lucerne, Switzerland. Isabella returned to Spain in 1874 and did not remarry. Their brief union produced no issue.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti
2= 2. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
3= 3. Maria Theresa of Austria
4= 4. Francis I of the Two Sicilies
5= 5. Maria Isabella of Spain
6= 6. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
7= 7. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg
8= 8. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
9= 9. Maria Carolina of Austria
10= 10. Charles IV of Spain
11= 11. Maria Luisa of Parma
12= 12. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
13= 13. Maria Louisa of Spain
14= 14. Frederick William, Duke of Nassau
15= 15. Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg
16= 16. Charles III of Spain
17= 17. Maria Amalia of Saxony
18= 18. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
19= 19. Maria Theresa of Austria
20= 20. Charles III of Spain (= 16)
21= 21. Maria Amalia of Saxony (= 17)
22= 22. Philip, Duke of Parma
23= 23. Princess Louise-Élisabeth of France
24= 24. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (= 18)
25= 25. Maria Theresa of Austria (= 19)
26= 26. Charles III of Spain (= 16)
27= 27. Maria Amalia of Saxony (= 17)
28= 28. Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg
29= 29. Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau
30= 30. Georg, Landgrave of Kirchberg, Count of Sayn-Hachenburg
31= 31. Countess Elisabeth Augusta Reuss of Greiz

References