Francis V, Duke of Modena

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The obelisk erected to celebrate the marriage of the Duke with princess Adelgunde of Bavaria. Reggio Emilia.
The obelisk erected to celebrate the marriage of the Duke with princess Adelgunde of Bavaria. Reggio Emilia.

Duke Francis V of Modena (Italian: Francesco V d'Este) (1 June 181920 November 1875), the eldest son of Francis IV of Modena and of Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy.

Francis V, Duke of Modena.
Francis V, Duke of Modena.

On March 30, 1842, Francis married Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria. The couple had only one child, Princess Anna Beatrice, who was born October 19, 1848, and died July 8, 1849.

At the death of his father Duke Francis IV of Modena, January 21, 1846, Francis succeeded as reigning Duke of Modena; he also bore the titles of Duke of Reggio and Mirandola, Duke of Massa, Prince of Carrara and Lunigiana. At the death of his cousin the Empress Marie-Louise, December 18, 1847, he succeeded as Duke of Guastalla. In 1859 the Duchy of Modena was invaded by King Victor Emanuel II of Sardinia who the following year incorporated Modena into the new kingdom of Italy. Francis withdrew to Austria where he lived most of the rest of his life.

After the death of his mother in 1840, Francis was considered the legitimate heir to the British throne by Jacobites (with the regnal title King Francis I). At his death the Jacobites considered that he was succeeded by his niece (as Mary IV and III), Maria Theresia Henriette Dorothee, who was subsequently Queen Consort of Bavaria.

Francis died at Vienna on November 20, 1875. He left most of his huge estate to his cousin Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria who subsequently used the title Archduke of Austria-Este.

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Preceded by:
Francis IV
Duke of Modena
1846-1860
Succeeded by:
Title extinct
Archduke of Austria-Este
1846-1875
Succeeded by:
Franz Ferdinand
Preceded by:
Mary III and II
Jacobite succession
1840-1875
Succeeded by:
Mary IV and III