Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince of Civitella-Cesi (7 December 1911 – 1 May/12 May 1986) was an Italian banking heir and a member of the

House of Torlonia 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia. The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first influ ...

About

Born in Rome on 7 December 1911, Torlonia was the son of Marino Torlonia, 4th Prince di Civitella-Cesi and his American wife,

Mary Elsie Moore Mary Elsie Moore, Princess di Civitella-Cesi (October 22, 1889 – December 21, 1941), was an American railroad equipment heiress who married and divorced Italian Prince Don Marino Torlonia, 4th Prince of Civitella-Cesi. Early life Mary Elsie Moo ...

. Don Alessandro's youngest sister was ''Donna'' Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi, grandmother of the American actress Brooke Shields. Thus he was Shields's grand-uncle. On the death of his father in 1933, he inherited large estates as well as his father's princely and other titles. In 1941, when his mother was dying in New York City, Torlonia took a high speed boat from Portugal and was arrested in error by

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

, thinking he was an enemy of the state and taken to

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

. In the 1980s, Torlonia held the title as the "richest man in Rome", as he was the heir to a banking fortune. He died in the

Palazzo Torlonia __NOTOC__ Palazzo Torlonia (also known as the Palazzo Giraud, Giraud-Torlonia or Castellesi) is a 16th-century Renaissance town house in Via della Conciliazione, Rome, Italy. Built for Cardinal Adriano Castellesi da Corneto from 1496, the archit ...

, Rome, in 1986.

Marriage and children

On 14 January 1935, ''Don'' Alessandro

morganatically 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 spou ...

married in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

the

Infanta Beatriz of Spain Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Princess of Civitella-Cesi (''Beatriz Isabel Federica Alfonsa Eugénie Cristina Maria Teresia Bienvenida Ladislàa de Borbón y Battenberg''; 22 June 1909 – 22 November 2002) was a daughter of King Alfonso XIII of Spain ...

(1909–2002), a daughter of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and of Princess

Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Republic was proclaimed. A Hessi ...

. ''Don'' Alessandro and Infanta Beatriz had four children: * ''Donna'' Alessandra ("Sandra") Vittoria Torlonia (1936–2014),Muere Sandra Torlonia
/ref> married to Count Clemente Lecquio di Assaba (1925–1971); their son is Alessandro Lecquio di Assaba and their daughter Desideria Lecquio di Assaba. * Marco Torlonia, 6th Prince di Civitella-Cesi, (1937–2014) who married firstly ''Donna'' Orsetta Caracciolo dei principi di Castagneto, secondly Philippa Catherine McDonald and thirdly Blažena Anna Helena Svitáková. * ''Don'' Marino Riccardo Francesco Giuseppe Torlonia (1939–1995) * ''Donna'' Olimpia Emmanuela Enrichetta Maria Torlonia (born 1943), who married the French millionaire Paul-Annik Weiller, son of Paul-Louis Weiller. They have issue: ** Sibilla Weiller (born 1968), wife of

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (''Guillaume Marie Louis Christian''; born 1 May 1963) is the third son and youngest child of Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg. Life Prince Guillaume was born in Betzdorf Cast ...

Ancestry

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince Di Civitella-Cesi Morganatic spouses Civitella-Cesi, Prince Civitella-Cesi, Prince Alessandro 5th Prince Di Civitella-Cesi Civitella-Cesi Princes of Civitella-Cesi