| 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 |
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| 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 Madrid, Spain |
| Died | 2 January 2000 (aged 89) Lanzarote, Spain |
| Burial | Escorial |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (Spanish: Doña María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos de Borbón-Dos Sicilias y Orléans; Madrid, 23 December 1910 – Lanzarote, 2 January 2000) was the mother of current King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
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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:
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.
| The Coats of Arms of Maria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies | |||
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| Arms as Consort of the Pretender to the throne of Spain (1941–1977) | Arms after her husband renounce as Pretender and widow. (1977–2000) | ||
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Maria_Mercedes_of_Bourbon-Two_Sicilies Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies] at Wikimedia Commons
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Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon
Born: 23 December 1910 Died: 2 January 2000 |
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| Titles in pretence | ||
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| 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 |
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