Princess Anne
Dowager Duchess of Calabria
At a Mass of the Constantinian Order in Barcelona
Born (1938-12-04) 4 December 1938
Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Kingdom of Belgium
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1965; died 2015)​
Issue
Names
Anne Marguerite Brigitte Marie
HouseOrléans
FatherPrince Henri, Count of Paris
MotherPrincess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Princess Anne of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Dowager Duchess of Calabria (née Princess Anne Marguerite Brigitte Marie d'Orléans; born 4 December 1938) is the widow of Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria. She is the third daughter and fifth child of Henri, Count of Paris, Orléanist claimant to the defunct French throne,[1] and his wife Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza.

Biography

Princess Anne of Orléans was born on 4 December 1938 at Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, to Henri, Count of Paris, claimant to the French throne, and Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza. At the time, the family was residing at Manoir d'Anjou, a 15-hectare estate in the Belgian town.[2] In 1950, the law banning claimants to the French throne from residing in the country was rescinded and the family moved back to France.

Since her marriage, Princess Anne has accompanied her husband, and now son, on official engagements on behalf of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.[3] Due to the close friendship and familial relationship between her husband and King Juan Carlos, Princess Anne and her husband were viewed as extended members of the Spanish royal family.[4] They were often first in the procession of the royal family at large family events, such as the wedding of Felipe, Prince of Asturias, and Doña Letizia Ortiz y Rocasolano.[5]

The Duchess of Calabria occasionally undertakes official engagements on behalf of the Spanish monarchy. On 28 June 2015, the Duchess delivered the combat flag to the Spanish frigate Blas de Lezo (F103) in Getxo.[6]

Marriage and issue

Princess Anne became romantically involved with Prince Carlos, Duke of Noto, son and heir of Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, whom she had known since childhood, at the wedding of the future King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark in Athens in 1962.[7] The Count of Paris initially withheld his consent to the match as he supported the claim of Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro to the defunct throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Eventually, after years of waiting and the death of Prince Carlos's father, the Count of Paris relented and the engagement was announced.[8] The 250 guests received one of two different invitations from either the bride's parents or the groom's; the former referred to the bride's marriage to "HRH Prince Carlos of Bourbon," while the latter announced the wedding of "Princess Anne of France" to the "Duke of Calabria."[9]

On 11 May 1965, the couple was married in a civil ceremony in Louveciennes. The following day, on 12 May, the religious marriage was held at the Chapelle royale de Dreux, the traditional marriage and burial place of the House of Orléans. The press dubbed them the "lovers of the Gotha."[10][11] The bride wore a Balmain silk gown of Lyonnaise lace, embroidered with fleur-de-lis, a symbol of the Capetian dynasty.[11] The Duke and Duchess of Calabria made their home in Spain. They remained married for 50 years until the Duke's death on 5 October 2015. Anne was titled HRH The Dowager Duchess of Calabria only after the death of her mother-in-law, Infanta Alicia, Duchess of Calabria, in 2017; from 2015 to 2017 she was officially addressed as HRH Infanta Anne, Duchess of Calabria.

The Duke and Duchess of Calabria had five children:[12]

  • Princess Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (born 15 March 1966 in Madrid), married Pedro López-Quesada y Fernández-Urrutia on 15 July 1994 in Ciudad Real. They have two children.
  • Princess María of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (born 5 April 1967 in Madrid), married Archduke Simeon of Austria (born 29 June 1958 in Katana), son of Archduke Rudolf of Austria and Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov, on 13 July 1996 in La Toledana. They have five children.
  • Prince Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria (born 16 October 1968 in Madrid), married Sofía Landaluce y Melgarejo (born 23 November 1973 in Madrid) on 30 March 2001 in Madrid. They have seven children.
  • Princess Inès of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (born 20 April 1971 in Madrid), married Nobile Michele Carrelli Palombi dei Marchesi di Raiano (born 17 September 1965 in Rome) on 13 October 2001 in Toledo. They have two daughters.
  • Princess Victoria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (born 24 May 1976 in Madrid), married Markos Nomikos[13] (born 29 October 1965 in Kifissia) on 27 September 2003. They have four children.

Honours

Arms

Ancestors

References

  1. ↑ "Milestones: May 21, 1965". Time. 1965-05-21. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved 2011-06-05. Married. Princess Anne of France, 26, daughter of the Count of Paris, Bourbon pretender to the French throne; and Prince Carlos de Bourbon, 27, man-about-Madrid, her tenth cousin, himself a disputed minor pretender to the Spanish throne; in Dreux, France.
  2. ↑ de Montjouvent, Philippe (1998). Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance. Editions du Chaney. ISBN 2-913211-00-3.
  3. ↑ "Investiture ceremony in Madrid on the feast of Our Lady of Pompeii". Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Spanish Royals Attend Military Act at The Royal Palace". Getty Images. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "Wedding Of Spanish Crown Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz". Getty Images. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  6. ↑ "La Princesa Ana de Orleans entrega a la fragata 'Blas de Lezo' la bandera de combate". El Diario Vasco. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  7. ↑ de Montjouvent, Philippe (1998). Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance. Editions du Chaney. ISBN 2-913211-00-3.
  8. ↑ de Montjouvent, Philippe (1998). Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance. Editions du Chaney. ISBN 2-913211-00-3.
  9. ↑ de Montjouvent, Philippe (1998). Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance. Editions du Chaney. ISBN 2-913211-00-3.
  10. ↑ de Montjouvent, Philippe (1998). Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance. Editions du Chaney. ISBN 2-913211-00-3.
  11. 1 2 Kamm, Henry (13 May 1965), "French Princess Wed To Spaniard", The New York Times, Dreux
  12. ↑ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser Band XV. "Spanien". C.A. Starke, Limburg an der Lahn, 1997, pp. 103-105. (German). ISBN 3-7980-0814-0.
  13. ↑ I. Theotokas; G. Harlaftis (2009). Leadership in World Shipping: Greek Family Firms in International Business. Springer. p. 243-246. ISBN 9780230233539. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "Some prominent members of the Constantinian Order". Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  15. ↑ "Doña Ana de Francia, Dowager Duchess of Calabria, Lady Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem". Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  16. ↑ McNaughton, C. Arnold (1973). The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy (1st ed.). London, United Kingdom: Garnstone Press. p. 441. ISBN 9780900391194.
  17. ↑ de Montjouvent, Philippe (1998). Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance. Editions du Chaney. ISBN 2-913211-00-3.
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