Francis I of the Two Sicilies ( it, Francesco Gennaro Giuseppe Saverio Giovanni Battista; 19 August 1777 – 8 November 1830) was

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the

Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and all ...

from 1825 to 1830 and

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1806 to 1814.

Biography

Francis was born the son of

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand I ...

and his wife Archduchess

Maria Carolina of Austria Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia (13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As '' de facto'' ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw th ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic. At the death of his older brother

Carlo, Duke of Calabria , birth_date = , birth_place = Caserta Palace, Kingdom of Naples , death_date = , death_place = Caserta Palace, Kingdom of Naples , burial_place = Basilica of Santa Chiara , house = Bourbon-Two Sicilies , father = Ferd ...

, Francis became the heir-apparent to the throne and ''Duke of Calabria'', the traditional title of the heir apparent to the Neapolitan throne.

Later life

In 1796 Francis married his double first cousin

Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria Maria Clementina of Austria (24 April 1777 – 15 November 1801) was an Austrian archduchess and the tenth child and third daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. In 1797 she married her first cousin Prince Fran ...

, daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. When she died, he married his first cousin María Isabella, daughter of King

Charles IV of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles III of Spain , mother = Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place ...

. After the

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

family fled from Naples to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

in 1806,

Lord William Bentinck Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman who served as the Governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the First G ...

, the British resident, had drafted a new constitution along British and French lines. Ferdinand agreed to

abdicate Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

his throne, with Francis being appointed regent in 1812. On the abdication of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, his father returned to Naples and suppressed the Sicilian constitution, incorporating his two kingdoms into that of the Two Sicilies (1816); Francis then assumed the revived title of duke of Calabria. While still heir apparent he professed liberal ideas, and on the outbreak of the revolution of 1820 he accepted the regency, apparently in a friendly spirit towards the new constitution, although he was actually as conservative as his father. On succeeding to the throne in 1825, however, he pursued a conservative course. He took little part in the government, which he left in the hands of favourites and police officials, and lived with his mistresses, surrounded by soldiers, ever in dread of assassination. During his reign the only revolutionary movement was the outbreak on the Cilento (1828), repressed by the Marquis Delcarretto, an ex-Liberal. He was, however, successful in having the Austrian occupation force withdrawn (1827), thereby relieving a large financial burden on the treasury. During his reign, the

Royal Order of Francis I The Royal Order of Francis I (properly 'The Royal Order of Francis I of the Two Sicilies' it, Reale Ordine di Francesco I) was an extinct order of merit of the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies which was annexed in 1861 by the King of Italy (u ...

was founded to reward civil merit.

Issue

With Maria Clementina of Austria: *

Maria Carolina Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia (13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was List of consorts of Naples, Queen of Naples and List of Sicilian consorts, Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As ''de facto'' ruler ...

(1798–1870), who married, firstly,

Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the third child and younger son of Charles X, King of France, (whom he predeceased) by his wife Maria Theresa of Savoy. In June 1832, two years after the overthro ...

, the second son of King Charles X of France; and secondly, Ettore Count Lucchesi Palli, Prince di Campofranco, Duke della Grazia. * Ferdinando, Duke of Noto (1800–1801). With Isabella of Spain: * Luisa Carlotta (1804–1844), who married her mother's younger brother

Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = , birth_place = Aranjuez, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_place = El Escorial Infante ...

. * María Cristina (1806–1878), who married firstly her uncle

Ferdinand VII of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_p ...

(her mother's older brother); and secondly, Ferdinand Muñoz, Duke of Rianzares. *

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II ( it, Ferdinando Carlo; scn, Ferdinannu Carlu; nap, Ferdinando Carlo; 12 January 1810 – 22 May 1859) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death in 1859. Family Ferdinand was born in Palermo to King Francis I of the T ...

(1810–1859), who became Francis I's successor and married twice. * Carlo Ferdinando, Prince of Capua (1811–1862), who morganatically wed Penelope Smyth and had issue. * Leopoldo Beniamino, Count of Syracuse (1813–1860), who married

Princess Maria of Savoy-Carignan Maria Vittoria of Savoy (Maria Vittoria Filiberta; 29 September 1814 – 2 January 1874) was a house of Savoy, Princess of Savoy by birth and later a kingdom of the Two Sicilies, princess of the Two Sicilies by virtue of her marriage to Prince Le ...

. No issue. * Maria Antonia (1814–1898) who married Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. * Antonio Pasquale, Count of Lecce (1816–1843). * Maria Amalia (1818–1857), who married

Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

. *

(1820–1861), who married Don Carlos de Bourbon, Count of Montemolin,

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...

pretender to the throne of Spain. * Teresa Cristina (1822–1889), who married Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. * Luigi Carlo, Count of Aquila (1824–1897), who married Januária, Princess Imperial of Brazil (sister of Pedro II of Brazil and

Maria II of Portugal , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

). Had issue. *

Francesco di Paola Francis of Paola, O.M., (or: Francesco di Paola or Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507) was an Italian mendicant friar and the founder of the Roman Catholic Order of Minims. Unlike the majority of founders of men's religiou ...

, Count of Trapani (1827–1892), who married Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, and had issue.

Ancestry

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis 01 Of The Two Sicilies 1777 births 1830 deaths Monarchs of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Viceroys of Sicily Princes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Neapolitan princes Sicilian princes Burials at the Basilica of Santa Chiara 18th-century Roman Catholics 19th-century Roman Catholics Italian Roman Catholics