, title = Count of Syracuse , image = Leopold, Count of Syracuse.jpg , caption = Leopold, Count of Syracuse by

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, reign = , coronation = , predecessor = , successor = , succession = , spouse = Maria of Savoy , issue = Princess Maria Isabella , house =

Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, Spanish Bourbons that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate ma ...

, father = Francis I of the Two Sicilies , mother = Maria Isabella of Spain , birth_date = , birth_place =

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Prince Leopold of the Two Sicilies (22 May 1813, in

– 4 December 1860, in

) was a prince of the Two Sicilies and was known as the Count of Syracuse.

Life

Leopold, Count of Syracuse (1813-1860), Neapolitan school, Circa 1825

Leopold was the third son of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife, Maria Isabella of Spain. In 1816, at the creation of the

kingdom 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 a ...

, when he was three years old, he was given the title of Count of Syracuse. At his father's death in November 1830, Leopold's elder brother, Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, named him Lieutenant general in Sicily.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 48 As governor in Palermo, he introduced important reforms.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 78 Fearing his popularity and the desire of Sicily for independence, he was recalled from his position in early 1835.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 79 In April of the same year, he was sent to travel abroad. Ferdinand II considered a marriage between Leopold and his cousin Princess Marie of Orléans, but the negotiations with her father,

Louis-Philippe of France Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

, foundered over the French uprisings in 1834 and Louis-Philippe's refusal to grant Marie her part of the "donation-partage" of his lands (a condition Ferdinand had put in place for the marriage to occur). Leopold was an artist, a skillful sculptor and patron of the arts. He lacked great ambition, preferring to lead a life of pleasure.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 82 Leopold married Princess Maria of Savoy, second-eldest daughter of Prince Joseph Maria of Savoy, Count of Villafranca (son of

Eugenio Eugenio is an Italian and Spanish masculine given name deriving from the Greek ' Eugene'. The name is Eugénio in Portuguese and Eugênio in Brazilian Portuguese. The name's translated literal meaning is well born, or of noble status. Similar de ...

), and his wife Pauline Benedictine de Quélen de Vauguyon, on 16 June 1837 in

. They were ill-matched and their marriage was unhappy. He was an agnostic and liberal. She was conservative and religious, with nothing in common with him. They managed to have only one child, Maria Isabella, who died less than a year after her birth in 1838. From them on they lived separate lives. She retired to live a religious life in almost seclusion at her palace of Chiaia. The Count of Syracuse lived abroad between 1846 and 1850.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 342 In spite of his opposed political tendencies, he was Ferdinand II's favorite brother. When he suffered a stroke in 1854, the king was deeply distressed. The Count recovered. Like his brothers, the counts of Aquila and Trapani, he was a womanizer, but he was not involved in scandals and his brother the King paid his debts regarding him as a lovable black sheep.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 343 He was an hedonistic man described as "large, powerful, with a handsome countenance" Simple in his manners, he was widely popular. He surrounded himself with a court of artists, writers and musicians, who followed him from his palace on the Chiaia to his villa at Sorrento. After the death of Ferdinand II in May 1859, the Count of Syracuse advocated a close alliance with Piedmont.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 388 He had a low opinion of his nephew, Francis II, the new king. Their relationship was cold.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 407Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 469 In April 1860, Leopold urged his nephew Francis II to make liberal concessions.Acton, ''The Last Bourbons of Naples'', p. 471 After few months, he went to Piedmont. He died shortly after in

Ancestry

Notes

References

*Acton, Harold. ''The Last Bourbons of Naples (1825-1861)''. St Martin's Press. London, 1961. ASIN: B0007DKBAO

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold Of Syracuse, Count, Prince Princes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies 1813 births 1860 deaths Nobility from Palermo Neapolitan princes Sicilian princes Counts of Syracuse Italian Roman Catholics Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Burials at the Basilica of Santa Chiara Sons of kings