Infanta Maria Cristina of Spain, Countess Marone (''María Cristina Teresa Alejandra María de Guadalupe María de la Concepción Ildefonsa Victoria Eugenia de Borbón y Battenberg''; 12 December 1911 – 23 December 1996) was the fifth child and younger daughter of
Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
and
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and paternal aunt of
King Juan Carlos I.
Biography
Early life
Infanta Maria Cristina was born at the
Palacio Real in
Madrid,
Spain. The Spanish Royal Family left the country in 1931, in the face of Republican demonstrations, settling in
Paris, before moving to
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...
.
By 1933 King Alfonso and his daughters, the
Infantas Beatriz and Maria Cristina, had moved to
Rome. Their father warned would-be suitors of the inherent dangers of
hemophilia
Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising, ...
, from which two of the king's sons,
Alfonso and
Gonzalo, suffered.
Marriage and issue
She renounced her succession rights to the throne of the defunct Spanish crown and, on 10 June 1940,
morganatically married Conte Enrico Eugenio
Marone-Cinzano (15 March 1895 Turin – 23 October 1968 Geneva) in Rome.
[Zorilla, Francisco. ''Genealogia de la Casa de Borbon de Espana''. Editora Nacional, Madrid, 1971, p. 206.] He had been created 1st ''
Count''
Marone-Cinzano on 13 May 1940 by
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. He was the son of Alberto Marone and his wife, Paola Cinzano, and was the widower of Noemí Rosa de Alcorta y García-Mansilla, by whom he had issue.
The marriage produced four daughters:
*Doña Vittoria Eugenia Alfonsa Alberta del Pilar Enrica Paola Marone-Cinzano (b.
Turin, 5 March 1941) she married José Carlos Álvarez de Toledo y Gross, 6th Marquess of Casa Loring (1929–2000) on 12 January 1961. They have four children and five grandchildren
*Doña Giovanna Paola Gabriella Marone-Cinzano (b. 31 January 1943) she married Jaime Galobart y Satrústegui (4 February 1935) on 24 July 1967 and they were divorced in 1980. They have one son and three grandsons. She remarried Luis Ángel Sánchez-Merlo y Ruiz (b.
Valladolid, 10 October 1947) on 4 August 1989.
*Doña María Theresa Beatrice Marone-Cinzano (b. Lausanne, 4 January 1945), married in Geneva on 22 April 1967 and divorced in 1989 José María Ruiz de Arana y Montalvo (Madrid, 27 April 1933 – Madrid, 30 April 2004), 17th
Duke of Baena
Duke of Baena ( es, Duque de Baena) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1566 by Philip II to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba II, who was the 7th Lord of Baena, 5th Count of Cabra ...
, 17th
Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor, 15th Marquess of Villamanrique, 13th Marquess of Castromonte, 5th Marquess of Brenes, 11th Count of Sevilla La Nueva and 5th Viscount of Mamblas. They have three daughters and three grandchildren.
*Doña Anna Alessandra (Anna Sandra) Marone-Cinzano (b. Turin, 21 December 1948) she married Gian Carlo Stavro Santarosa on 7 December 1968 and they were divorced in 1975. They have two daughters. She remarried Fernando Schwartz y Giron in 1985.
Death
Infanta Maria Cristina returned to Spain and spent periods of time there, but never lived there permanently. She died in Madrid of a heart attack on 23 December 1996 during a Christmas reunion of the royal family at the ''Villa Giralda'', the residence of her cousin and sister-in-law, the
Countess of Barcelona
The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...
. A funeral service for the Infanta was held in the chapel of the
Royal Palace of Madrid on December 24, and an burial service was held on December 26 in the Marone-Cinzano Pantheon in Turin.
Honours
* : 1,112th Dame Grand Cross of the
Order of Queen Maria Luisa
Arms
File:Coat of Arms of Spanish Infantas (1700-1931), Ornaments as single women.svg, Coat of arms used before her marriage
File:Coat of Arms of Infanta María Cristina of Spain, Countess Marone-Cinzano.svg, Coat of arms used as Countess of Marone
File:Coat of Arms of Infantas Dowager of Spain (1931-1977).svg, Coat of arms used as Dowager in the exile
File:Coat of Arms of Widow Infantas (1977-2002).svg, Coat of arms used during King Juan Carlos's reign
Ancestry
References
El Pais, ''La Familia Real asiste al entierro de la infanta María Cristina en Turín'', 27 December 1996El Pais; ''Funeral en la capilla del Palacio Real por la infanta María Cristina'', 26 December 1996El Pais, ''Muere a los 85 años en Madrid la infanta María Cristina de Borbón,La tía del Rey sufrió un infarto en Casa de la condesa de Barcelona'', 24 December 1996
*
Enrique González FernándezHomenaje a la Infanta María Cristina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Cristina of Spain, Infanta
Spanish infantas
House of Bourbon (Spain)
1911 births
1996 deaths
Daughters of kings
