Maria Cristina, Infanta of Spain and Portugal (5 June 1833 – 19 January 1902) was a daughter of

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 F ...

and his wife

Princess Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily (Luisa Carlotta Maria Isabella; 24 October 1804 – 29 January 1844), was an Italian royal, who was an Infanta of Spain and a daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies. Early life Luisa Carlotta was bo ...

. She became an ''Infanta of Portugal'' by her marriage to

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 ...

Family

Maria Cristina was one of eleven children born to

and

in Madrid. Her father was in turn a younger son of

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 = ...

. Her mother was a daughter of

Francis I of the Two Sicilies Francis I of the Two Sicilies ( it, Francesco Gennaro Giuseppe Saverio Giovanni Battista; 19 August 1777 – 8 November 1830) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1825 to 1830 and regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1806 to 1814. Biography Fran ...

. Maria Cristina was a sister of Francisco de Asís, the king-consort of

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

, and of Amalia, Princess Adalbert of Bavaria.

Marriage and children

On 19 November 1860, Maria Cristina became the second wife of the much older

, who was a paternal great grandson of

Charles III of Spain it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_d ...

and a maternal grandson of

John VI of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Peter III of Portugal , mother = Maria I of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal , death_date = , death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal , ...

. Sebastian and his immediate family had been in conflict with the Queen Regent Maria Christina, losing all of his titles and claims to the Spanish throne in 1837. He was restored to his Spanish titles upon his second marriage to Maria Cristina, who was both a cousin and a sister-in-law of

Queen Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

. The nuptials took place in the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...

. In the spirit of reconciliation, the celebration was attended by

and her husband, among other members of the Spanish royal family. They had five children:

Later life

After the overthrow of the monarchy in 1868, Maria Cristina and her family had to leave Spain and take refuge in France. Sebastian died there in 1875. Maria Cristina later returned to Spain, and was able to live calmly until her 1902 death in Madrid. She is buried at the

San Lorenzo de El Escorial San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba, is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Mount ...

Heraldry

File:Coat of Arms of Infanta Maria Cristina of Spain (1833–1902).svg, Coat of arms as a married woman
(1860-1875) File:Coat of arms of Isabella of Spain (1851–1931) as Infanta and widow.svg, Coat of arms as Infanta and widow
(1875-1902)

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Cristina Of Spain House of Bourbon (Spain) Spanish infantas Portuguese infantas 1833 births 1902 deaths Nobility from Madrid House of Bourbon-Braganza Burials in the Pantheon of Infantes at El Escorial