Princess Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Infobox Spanish Royalty|infanta
name =Princess Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
title =Countess of Barcelona


spouse =Juan de Borbón, Count of Barcelona
issue =Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz
Juan Carlos I
Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria
Infante Alfonso
full name =María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luísa Carolina Victoria
titles ="HRH" The Countess of Barcelona
"HRH" The Infanta Maria Mercedes of Spain
"HRH" Princess Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
royal house =House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
House of Bourbon
father =Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
mother =Princess Louise of Orléans
date of birth =birth date|1910|12|23
place of birth =Madrid, Spain
date of death =death date and age|2000|1|2|1910|12|23
place of death =Lanzarote, Spain
place of burial =Escorial|

Princess Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luísa Carolina Victoria) (Madrid, December 23, 1910- Lanzarote, January 2, 2000) was the mother of current King Juan Carlos I of Spain. She was known in Spain as "Doña María de las Mercedes de Borbón-Dos Sicilias y Orléans".

Doña María was born in Madrid, daughter of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain, a grandson of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, and his second wife, Prince Princess Louise of France, daughter of the Count of Paris. She was granted, at birth, the rank and precedence of an Infanta of Spain, although not the actual use of the title (she was, after all, technically, a Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies). Her family moved to Seville, when her father was made Military Captain General of the province. When the Second Spanish Republic forced them to exile, they lived in Cannes and later in Paris, when she studied art at the Louvre. [ [http://personales.ya.com/fororeal/dmaria.htm Doña María de las Mercedes] ]

On 14 January 1935, she attended the wedding, in Rome, of Infanta Beatriz of Spain, daughter of Alfonso XIII. Here she met her distant cousin and future husband, the brother of the bride, the Infante Don Juan of Spain, fourth son and designated heir of king Alfonso XIII of Spain. They married in Rome on 12 October 1935. When her husband took the royal title of Count of Barcelona in 1942, Doña María gained the title of "Countess of Barcelona".

They had four children:
#HRH Infanta Doña Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz (born 1936)
#HM Don Juan Carlos I, King of Spain (born 1938)
#HRH Infanta Doña Margarita, Duchess of Soria, 2nd Duchess of Hernani (born 1939)
#HRH Infante Don Alfonso of Spain (Alfonso Cristino Teresa Angelo Francisco de Asis y Todos los Santos) (1941–1956)

They lived in Cannes and Rome, and, with the outbreak of World War II, they moved to Lausanne to live with Queen Ena, the mother of Don Juan. Afterwards, they resided at Estoril, in Portugal.

On 1976, one year after the monarchy was restored in Spain in the person of her son Don Juan Carlos, they returned to Spain. She mediated between her son and her husband, estranged since Don Juan Carlos has been designated heir by Franco. In 1977, Don Juan renounced his rights in favour of their son, who officially allowed him to retain the title of Count of Barcelona.

She broke her hip in 1982 and the left femur in 1985, which forced her to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She became a widow in 1993.

She was a fervid fan of bull fighting and of the Andalusian culture. In 1995, her granddaughter Infanta Elena married in Seville in part because the Countess' love for the city.

She died of a heart attack in the royal residence of La Mareta, in Lanzarote, where the royal family was to celebrate the New Year [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DE1E38F930A35752C0A9669C8B63 Maria de Borbon, 89, Mother of Spain's King] ] . She was buried with the honors of a Queen at the Royal Crypt of the monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial, near Madrid.

Ancestry

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border=1
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boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
1= 1. Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
2= 2. Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
3= 3. Princess Louise of Orléans
4= 4. Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
5= 5. Princess Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
6= 6. Prince Philippe, Count of Paris
7= 7. Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans
8= 8. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
9= 9. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
10= 10. Prince Francis, Count of Trapani
11= 11. Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria
12= 12. Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans
13= 13. Duchess Helena Luisa Elizabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
14= 14. Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier
15= 15. Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain
16= 16. Francis I of the Two Sicilies
17= 17. Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain
18= 18. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
19= 19. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg
20= 20. Francis I of the Two Sicilies (= 16)
21= 21. Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain (= 17)
22= 22. Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany
23= 23. Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies
24= 24. Louis-Philippe I of France
25= 25. Princess Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies
26= 26. Duke Frederick Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
27= 27. Caroline Louise of Saxe-Weimer
28= 28. Louis-Philippe I of France (= 24)
29= 29. Princess Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies (= 25)
30= 30. Ferdinand VII of Spain
31= 31. Princess Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies

Infobox_hrhstyles
royal name=The Countess of Barcelona


dipstyle=Her Royal Highness
offstyle=Your Royal Highness
altstyle=Madam|

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References