Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Princes María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Countess of Barcelona
Bust of Princess María de las Mercedes.
Born	(1910-12-23)23 December 1910 Madrid, Spain
Died	Lanzarote, Spain
Burial	Escorial
Spouse	Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
Issue	Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz Juan Carlos I of Spain Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria Infante Alfonso of Spain
Full name María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos de Borbón-Dos Sicilias y Orleans
House	Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Father	Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Mother	Princess Louise of Orléans
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Royal styles of DoḤa María Mercedes of Spain, Countess of Barcelona
Reference style	Her Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Ma'am

María Mercedes de Borbón-Dos Sicilias, Countess of Barcelona, Princess 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 (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈɾi.a merˈθeðes]; 23 December 1910 – 2 January 2000) was the mother of Juan Carlos I, King of Spain from 1975 to 2014.

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, her own being princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Her family moved to Seville, when her father was made Captain General of that province. When the Second Spanish Republic forced them into exile, they lived in Cannes and later in Paris, where she studied art at the Louvre.

On 14 January 1935, she attended the wedding, in Rome, of Infanta Beatriz of Spain, daughter of King Alfonso XIII. There she met the brother of the bride, her second cousin and future husband, the Infante Don Juan, fourth son and designated heir of Alfonso XIII of Spain. They married in Rome on 12 October 1935. When her husband took up Count of Barcelona as a title of pretence in 1942, María became the 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 Don Alfonso (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 1953, the Princess represented the Spanish Royal Family at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

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. 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

Family of Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

16. Francis I of the Two Sicilies               8. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies                       17. Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain               4. Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta                             18. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen               9. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria                       19. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg               2. Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies                                   20. Francis I of the Two Sicilies (= 16)               10. Prince Francis, Count of Trapani                       21. Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain (= 17)               5. Princess Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies                             22. Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany               11. Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria                       23. Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies               1. María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies                                         24. Louis-Philippe I of France               12. Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans                       25. Princess Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies               6. Prince Philippe, Count of Paris                             26. Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin               13. Duchess Helen of Mecklenburg-Schwerin                       27. Princess Karoline Luise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach               3. Princess Louise of Orléans                                   28. Louis-Philippe I of France (= 24)               14. Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier                       29. Princess Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies (= 25)               7. Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans                             30. Ferdinand VII of Spain               15. Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain                       31. Princess Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies

Honours and Styles

Titles

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

Honours

National Honours

• Calabrian House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Two-Sicilian Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
• Spain: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III

• Spain: 9th Titular Grand Mistress and 1,171st Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa
• Spain: Dame of the Decoration of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Seville
• Spain: Dame of the Decoration of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Granada
• Spain: Dame of the Decoration of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Valencia
• Spain: Dame of the Decoration of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Zaragoza

Foreign honours

• Greek Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Olga and Sophia
• Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Dame Grand Cross of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
• United Kingdom: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Badge Medal

Heraldry

Heraldry of María de las Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona
Coat of Arms as Infanta of Spain by marriage (1935–1941) Coat of Arms as Consort of the Pretender to the throne of Spain (1941–1977) Coat of Arms after her husband renounced being Pretender (1977–1988) Coat of Arms after her husband renounced being Pretender (1988–1993) (Dame of the Order of Charles III) Coat of Arms as a widow (1993–2000)

See also

• Bourbon-Two Sicilies

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

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