Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies was Queen Consort of Spain (1829 to 1833) and Queen Regent of Spain (1833 to 1840).
Originally titled
Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Christina of Naples and Sicily, on December 18, 1816 her title was changed to Princess Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies when her father changed the name of his kingdom. Her Spanish name was
María Cristina de las Dos Sicilias.
Born in
PalermoPalermo is a historic city in Southern Italy, the capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
,
SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
on April 27, 1806, she was the daughter of King
Francis IFrancis I was King of the Two Sicilies from 1825 to 1830.-Biography:...
(In Italian, Francesco I) of the Two Sicilies by his second wife,
Maria Isabella of SpainMaria Isabella of Spain Maria Isabella of Spain Maria Isabella of Spain was a daughter of Charles IV of Spain. She married her first cousin Francis I of the Two Sicilies.-Family:...
.
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies was Queen Consort of Spain (1829 to 1833) and Queen Regent of Spain (1833 to 1840).
Early years
Originally titled
Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Christina of Naples and Sicily, on December 18, 1816 her title was changed to Princess Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies when her father changed the name of his kingdom. Her Spanish name was
María Cristina de las Dos Sicilias.
Born in
PalermoPalermo is a historic city in Southern Italy, the capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
,
SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
on April 27, 1806, she was the daughter of King
Francis IFrancis I was King of the Two Sicilies from 1825 to 1830.-Biography:...
(In Italian, Francesco I) of the Two Sicilies by his second wife,
Maria Isabella of SpainMaria Isabella of Spain Maria Isabella of Spain Maria Isabella of Spain was a daughter of Charles IV of Spain. She married her first cousin Francis I of the Two Sicilies.-Family:...
. She also descended from the Austrian Habsburgs as her grandmother was Queen Marie Caroline and her grandaunt was
Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I....
.
First marriage and regency
Maria Christina married King
Ferdinand VII of Spain|align=right|Ferdinand VII was King of Spain twice, in 1808, and from 1813 to 1833...
on December 11, 1829 in Madrid. Ferdinand was her uncle by birth and by marriage. Like her mother Maria Isabella, Ferdinand was a child of King
Charles IV of Spain (Carlos IV in Spanish)Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...
and his wife,
Maria Luisa of ParmaMaria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain was Queen Consort of Spain from 1788 to 1808 as the wife of King Charles IV of Spain. She was the youngest daughter of Duke Philip I of Parma and his wife, Louise-Élisabeth of France, the eldest daughter of King Louis XV...
. With death of King's third wife on May 27, 1829, Ferdinand's desperation to father an heir for his crown resulted in his fourth marriage just seven months later.
The new queen, Maria Christina, rapidly gave birth to two daughters, Isabella (the future
Queen IsabellaIsabella II was Queen regnant of Spain She was Spain's first and so far only queen regnant, although she is sometimes considered the third Queen Regnant of Spain, as previous monarchs of Leon and Castile were counted...
, 1830–1904) and the Infanta Doña María Luísa Fernanda (1832-1897). When Ferdinand died on September 29, 1833, Maria Christina became regent for their daughter Isabella. Isabella's claim to the throne was disputed by her uncle, the
Infante Don Carlos María Isidro Benito, Count de MolinaThe Infante Carlos of Spain was the second surviving son of King Charles IV of Spain and of his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma. As Carlos V he was the first of the Carlist claimants to the throne of Spain...
, who claimed that his brother Ferdinand had unlawfully changed the succession law to permit females to inherit the crown (see
CarlismCarlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on the Spanish throne. This line descended from Carlos V and was founded due to widespread dissatisfaction with the Alfonsine line of the House of Bourbon...
). Some supporters of Don Carlos went so far as to claim that Ferdinand had actually bequeathed the crown to his brother but that Maria Christina had suppressed that fact. It was further alleged that the Queen had signed her dead husband's name to a decree recognizing Isabella as heir.
Carlos' attempt to seize power resulted in the
Carlist WarsThe Carlist Wars in Spain were the last major European civil wars in which pretenders fought to establish their claim to a throne. Several times during the period from 1833 to 1876 the Carlists — followers of Infante Carlos and his descendants — rallied to the cry of "God, Country, and King" and...
. Despite considerable support for Carlos from the Roman Catholic Church and conservative elements in Spain, Maria Christina successfully retained the throne for her daughter. The Carlist Wars grew from a dispute about the succession into a dispute over the future of Spain. The supporters of Maria Christina and her daughter favored a liberal constitution and progressive social policies. In contrast, Carlos' supporters (called Carlists) favored a return to traditional society and an absolute monarchy. Ultimately, the army's loyalty to Isabella II proved the decisive issue in the war.
Remarriage and downfall
On December 28, 1833, shortly after the death of Ferdinand VII, Maria Christina had secretly married an ex-sergeant from the royal guard, Agustín Fernández Muñoz, Duke of Riansares (1808-1873). Muñoz was given the title Duke of Riansares. Maria Christina and Muñoz had several children together while trying to keep their marriage a secret.
- Maria Amparo, Countess of Vista Alegre
Doña Maria Amparo, Countess of Vista Alegre, was born in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Queen regent Maria Christina of Spain and her secret husband Augustín Fernández Muñoz, Duke of Riansares...
(17 Nov 1834 - 19 Aug 1864)
- Maria de los Milagros, Marchioness of Castillejo (8 November 1835 - 9 July 1903)
- Agustin, Duke of Tarancon (1837 - 15 July 1855)
- Fernando, Duke of Riansares and Tarancon (27 April 1838 - 7 December 1910)
- Maria Christina, Marchioness of Isabella (19 April 1840 - 20 December 1921)
- Juan, Count of Recuerdo (29 August 1844 - 2 April 1863)
- Jose, Count of Garcia (21 December 1846 - 17 December 1863)
Eventually, news of Maria Christina's marriage to this low-ranking soldier became public. That news made the Duchess of Riansares deeply unpopular. Her position was undermined by news of her remarriage and concerns that she was not actually supportive of her liberal ministers and their policies. Eventually, the army, which was the backbone of Isabella II's support, and the liberal leadership in the
CortesThe Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
combined to demand that Maria Christina stand aside from the regency. In 1840, the army commander, General
Baldomero Espartero, Count of LuchanaDon Joaquín Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Alvarez de Toro, 1st Prince of Vergara, 1st Duke of la Victoria, 1st Duke of Morella, 1st Count of Luchana, 1st Viscount of Banderas was a Spanish general and political figure...
, replaced her as regent.
Exile
The new government required the ex-regent to leave Spain. After an unsuccessful attempt to return to power, Maria Christina retired permanently to exile in France after 1844. France remained her primary residence for the remainder of her life.
A revolution forced daughter Isabella II from her throne on September 30, 1868 and she joined her mother in exile in France. Isabella II renounced the throne in favor of her son,
Alfonso XII|align=right|Alfonso XII was king of Spain, reigning from 1875 to 1885, after a coup d'état restored the monarchy and ended the ephemeral First Spanish Republic.Alfonso was the son of Isabella II of Spain, and allegedly,...
, on June 25, 1870. Supporters of Alfonso XII made it clear that neither his mother nor grandmother could play an active role in the effort to restore the monarchy. When Alfonso XII regained the Spanish crown on December 29, 1874, Maria Christina and Isabella II were permitted to return to Spain as visitors but denied permission to live there permanently. Neither was allowed to exercise influence in the Spanish government.
The marriage to Muñoz and the events of Maria Christina's turbulent regency drove a permanent wedge between her and her Spanish royal offspring. Neither Isabella II nor Alphonso XII had much interest in a relationship with the former Queen Regent.
Death and burial
Maria Christina died in
Le HavreLe Havre is a city in north-western France situated on the right bank of the mouth of the Seine River as it flows into the Bay of the Seine in the English Channel. It is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region. The inhabitants of the city are called Havrais or...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
on August 22, 1878. As the widow of
Ferdinand VII|align=right|Ferdinand VII was King of Spain twice, in 1808, and from 1813 to 1833...
and the mother of
Isabella IIIsabella II was Queen regnant of Spain She was Spain's first and so far only queen regnant, although she is sometimes considered the third Queen Regnant of Spain, as previous monarchs of Leon and Castile were counted...
, Maria Christina was buried in the royal crypt of
El Escorial monasteryEl Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school...
.
Ancestry