Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta

Infobox Two Sicilies Royalty|prince
name = Prince Alfonso
full name = Alfonso Maria Giuseppe Alberto
title = Count of Caserta


caption =
reign = 27 December 1894 - 26 May 1934
coronation =
predecessor = Francis II
successor = Prince Ferdinand Pius
succession = Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
spouse = Princess Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
issue = Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria
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 Gabriele
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|1841|3|28
place of birth =Caserta, Two Sicilies
date of death = death date and age|1934|5|26|1841|3|28
place of death = Cannes, France
place of burial =|

Prince or Infante Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta (28 March 1841, Caserta - 26 May 1934, Cannes) 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

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. He was two months short of his fifth birthday and naturally childless. Alfonso became the third-in-line heir.

On 22 May, 1859, Ferdinand II died. Francis became King but had no children yet from his wife Maria Sophie of Bavaria. Louis became his Heir Presumptive and Alfonso the second-in-line heir to their half-brother.

However the Two Sicilies were conquered by the Expedition of the Thousand under Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1861. 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.

On 8 June, 1886, Louis died. His only daughter Princess Maria Teresa was not in line for the throne since their house succession was determined by Agnatic seniority. Alfonso became the Heir Presumptive to Francis who had survived his own daughter.

On 27 December, 1894, Francis II died. Alfonso became the Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Marriage and Children

Alfonso was married to his cousin, Princess 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 12 issue. [ [http://www.borbone-due-sicilie.org/english/genealogy.html ] at www.borbone-due-sicilie.org]

* Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria (1869-1960), married Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria, a daughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria. This marriage had six issue.
* Prince Carlos Tancredi (1870-1949), married in 1901 to Princess Maria de las Mercedes of Spain. Had Issue. Re-married in 1907 to Princess Louise of Orléans of France. Had Issue.
* Prince Francesco di Paola (1873-1876)
* Princess Maria Immacolata (1874-1947), married in 1906, to Prince Johann Georg of Saxony, a younger son of Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal and King George of Saxony.
* Princess Maria Cristina (1877-1947), married in 1900, to Archduke Peter Ferdinand, Prince of Tuscany, a younger son of Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his heir as head of the Grand Ducal house of Tuscany.
* Princess Maria di Grazia (1878-1973), married in 1908, to Prince Dom Luiz of Orléans and Bragança (His article is on Wikipedia Portugal.)
* Princess Maria Giuseppina Antonietta (1880-1971)
* Prince Gennaro (1882-1944), married in 1922, to Beatrice Bordessa, Countess of Villa Colli. Her title was by grant of the Count of Caserta,1923
* Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro (1883-1973), married in 1923 to his cousin, Countess Carolina Zamoyska, one daughter of Count Andrzej Zamoyski
* Prince Filippo (1885-1949), married in 1916 to princess Marie-Louise d'Orléans (1986-1973), a daughter of Emmanuel duke of Vendôme and Henriette of Belgium (div), then in 1927 to Odette Labori (1902-1968), one son from the first marriage.
* Prince Francesco d'Assisi (1888-1914)
* Prince Gabriele (1897-1975), married ¹1927, Princess Malgorzata Czartoryska (daughter of Prince Adam Ludwik Czartoryski) and ²1932) Cecylia (or Cecilia) Lubomirska, daughter of Prince Kasimir Lubomirski [ [http://worldroots.com/brigitte/famous/m/mariatheresiaaustriadesc1717-06.htm Worldroots.com ] at worldroots.com] (also spelled Kasimierz or Kazimierz) [ [http://www.thepeerage.com/p11223.htm#i112223 ThePeerage.com - Person Page 11223 ] at www.thepeerage.com] . The second marriage had five issue.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
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

Notes