The Counts of Villafranca and later the Counts of Villafranca-Soissons are legitimate male line descendants of

Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano Thomas Francis of Savoy, 1st Prince of Carignano (; ; 21 December 1596 – 22 January 1656) was an Italian military commander and the founder of the Carignano branch of the House of Savoy, which reigned as kings of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 ...

the founder of the

Carignano Carignano may refer to: Places * Carignano, Piedmont, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy * Palazzo Carignano, a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy * Teatro Carignano, a theatre in Turin, Italy People * Hou ...

line of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

. The title was created in 1778 for

Prince Eugenio of Savoy Eugenio of Savoy (Eugenio Ilarione; 21 October 1753 – 30 June 1785) was a prince of the House of Savoy and founder of the Villafranca branch of the royal family of Italy that survived until 1888. He was a brother of Queen Marie Antoinette' ...

(1753–1785). The third count Prince Eugenio Emanuele married in 1863 to Felicita Crosio (1844–1911) in what was a

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

marriage. His wife was created Countess of Villafranca-Soissons in 1888 so the descendants of the marriage bear the title Count/Countess of Villafranca-Soissons. The current head of the Villafranca-Soissons line is Count Edoardo Emanuele Filiberto (born 1945) the grandson of the first count of Villafranca-Soissons via his second son Count Giuseppe Carlo (1904–1971).

Counts of Villafranca (1778-1888)

* Prince Eugenio, Count of Villafranca (1778–1785) * Prince Giuseppe Maria, Count of Villafranca (1785–1825) * Prince Eugenio Emanuele, Count of Villafranca (1816–1888)

Counts of Villafranca-Soissons (1888-present)

* Emanuele Filiberto, Count of Villafranca-Soissons (1888–1933) * Eugenio Giuseppe, Count of Villafranca-Soissons (1933–1974) * Edoardo Emanuele Filiberto, Count of Villafranca-Soissons (1974–present) **First Heir presumptive:

Leonardo Andrea of Villafranca-Soissons Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist, ...

**Second Heir presumptive:

Emanuele Filiberto of Villafranca-Soissons Emanuele is the Italian form of Manuel. People with the name include: * Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia (1915–1944), Italian aviator * Emanuele Basile (1949–1980), captain of Carabinieri * Emanuele Belardi (born 1977), Italian football player * Em ...

**Third Heir presumptive:

Gabriele Emilio Filiberto of Villafranca-Soissons Gabriele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Surname *Al Gabriele, American comic book artist *Angel Gabriele (1956–2016), American comic book artist * Corrado Gabriele (born 1966), Italian polit ...

**Fourth Heir presumptive:

Leopoldo Francesco of Villafranca-Soissons Leopoldo is a given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese form of the English, German, Dutch, Polish, and Slovene name, Leopold. Notable people with the name include: *Leopoldo de' Medici (1617–1675), Italian cardinal and Governor of Sien ...

**Fifth Heir presumptive:

Daniel Alexis Eugenio Maria of Villafranca-Soissons Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

**Sixth Heir presumptive:

Rolando of Villafranca-Soissons Rolando may refer to: Entertainment *''Rolando'', a 2008 puzzle-adventure video game *'' Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid'', a 2009 puzzle-adventure video game *"Rolando", a song by Roland Kirk from the album ''Domino'' People *Rolando (giv ...

**Seventh Heir presumptive:

Carlo Alberto of Villafranca-Soissons Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

**Eighth Heir presumptive: Vittorio Orso of Villafranca-Soissons {{Italian royal titles Counts of Soissons

Villafranca Villafranca (Basque: ''Alesbes'') is a town and municipality located in the province and the autonomous community (Comunidad Foral) of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo ...

Princes of Savoy 1778 establishments in Italy