|
|
|
|
Francis of Spain
|
| |
|
| |
Francis, Duke of Cádiz (; 13 May 1822 - 17 April 1902) was king consort of Spain as spouse of Isabella II of Spain.
Marriage
Francis married Isabella on 10 October 1846.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Francis of Spain' Start a new discussion about 'Francis of Spain' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Francis, Duke of Cádiz (; 13 May 1822 - 17 April 1902) was king consort of Spain as spouse of Isabella II of Spain.
Family
Francis was born at Aranjuez, Spain, the second son of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain, Duke of Cadiz, and of his wife, Princess Luisa Carlotta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was named after Francis of Assisi.
Francis' paternal grandparents were Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. His maternal grandparents were Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabella of Spain. Maria Isabella was a daughter of Charles IV and Maria Luisa.
Marriage
Francis married Isabella on 10 October 1846. There is evidence that young Isabella would rather have married his younger brother, Infante Enrique, Duke of Sevilla, and complained bitterly about her husband's effeminate habits after their first night together. Nonetheless, twelve children were born of the marriage, of whom five of whom reached adulthood:
Later life
Starting in 1864, Francis acted as president of the Spanish Privy Council (Consejo del Reino). In 1868 he went into exile with his wife in France. They were amicably separated and, with time, became good friends, which they had certainly not been while she was Queen regnant. In exile, Francis adopted the incognito title of Count of Moratalla. The 1874 restoration placed his son Alfonso XII on the throne.
Without returning to Spain, Francis took up residence at the château of Épinay-sur-Seine, France, in 1881 and died there in 1902. The castle is currently the Épinay-sur-Seine city hall.
Ancestry
Speculations
There has been considerable speculation that some or all of Isabella's children were not fathered by Francis; this has been bolstered by rumours that Francis was either homosexual or unable to complete the sex act due to physical impediments. As Francis and Isabella were double first cousins (their fathers were brothers and their mothers were sisters) nuclear DNA typing is problematic, as Francis and Isabella shared a significant number of genes, but it does not make it impossible; the main impediment is that nuclear DNA typing for this purpose is most accurate when DNA from both parents is compared with that of their children and not with that of more distant descendants (who also carry the genes of other family lines). In addition, testing would require exhumation of Francis, Isabella, and one or all of their children; this necessity could pose logistical problems.
Y chromosome testing would show whether a putative male-line descendant (such as Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou or Juan Carlos of Spain) was descended from the same male line as Francis, but would not prove that Francis himself (as opposed to Enrique or another male-line family member) was the father of Isabella's children. Mitochondrial DNA testing, a common form of testing used in forensic identification, would not be useful in this case, as mitochondrial DNA is only passed on from the mother.
Bibliography
Bergamini, John D. The Spanish Bourbons: The History of a Tenacious Dynasty. New York: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-399-11365-7
|
| |
|
|
