Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Countess of Barcelona, Infanta of Spain
H.R.H. Princess María de las Mercedes at the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Spouse	Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
Issue
H.R.H. Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz H.M. King Juan Carlos I H.R.H Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria H.R.H. Infante Alfonso
Full name
María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos
House	House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies House of Bourbon
Father	Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Mother	Princess Louise of Orléans
Born	23 December 1910(1910-12-23) Madrid, Spain
Died	2 January 2000(2000-01-02) (aged 89) Lanzarote, Spain
Burial	Escorial
Religion	Roman Catholic

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

Biography

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, Princess Louise of Orléans, daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, a pretender to the French throne. 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. ^[1]

On 14 January 1935, she attended the wedding, in Rome, of Infanta Beatriz of Spain, daughter of Alfonso XIII. Here she met her second cousin and future husband, the brother of the bride, the Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, 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, María gained the title of Countess of Barcelona.

They had four children:

1. Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz (born 1936)
2. King Juan Carlos I (born 1938)
3. Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria, 2nd Duchess of Hernani (born 1939)
4. Infante 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 Victoria Eugenie, the mother of Infante Juan. Afterwards, they resided at Estoril, in Portugal.

In 1976, one year after the monarchy was restored in Spain in the person of her son, Juan Carlos, they returned to Spain. She mediated between her son and her husband, estranged since Juan Carlos had been designated heir by Franco. In 1977, 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 was the 1,171st Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa on 4 March 1929.

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 ^[2]. She was buried with the honors of a Queen at the Royal Crypt of the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, near Madrid.

Ancestry

Honours and Arms

Titles

• Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Mercedes of the Two-Sicilies (1910–2000)
• Her Royal Highness Infanta Maria Mercedes of Spain (1935–1942)
• Her Royal Highness The Countess of Barcelona (1942–1993)
• Her Royal Highness The Countess Dowager of Barcelona (1993–2000)

Honours

• 1,171st Dame of the Royal Order of Maria Luisa (1929)^[3]

The Coats of Arms of Maria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Arms as Consort of the Pretender to the throne of Spain (1941–1977)	Arms after her husband renounce as Pretender and widow. (1977–2000)

References

1. ^ Doña María de las Mercedes
2. ^ Maria de Borbon, 89, Mother of Spain's King
3. ^ Santa María Polo Club (2009). "Biography of Princess María of Bourbon-Two Sicilies". http://www.santamariapoloclub.com/imagenes_subidas/torneos/114/114.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-09. 

External links

Media related to Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies at Wikimedia Commons

• Royal House of Two-Sicilies
• Royal House of Spain

Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon Born: 23 December 1910 Died: 2 January 2000
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg	— TITULAR — Queen Consort of Spain 15 January 1941 – 22 November 1975 Reason for succession failure: Monarchy abolished in 1931	Succeeded by Sophia of Greece and Denmark
	— TITULAR — Byzantine Empress 15 January 1941 – 22 November 1975 Reason for succession failure: Fall of Constantinople led to Ottoman conquest of Byzantine Empire

Persondata
Name	Maria Mercedes Of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Princess
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 December 1910
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Date of death	2 January 2000
Place of death	Lanzarote, Spain