FRANCIS OF SPAIN

'Francis I of Spain' (Spanish: ''Francisco de Asís de Borbón''), born Francis of Assisi of Bourbon was born in Aranjuez, Spain on 13 May 1822 and died at Épinay-sur-Seine, France, 17 April 1902). He was consort of Queen Isabella II of Spain with the title of king.

Contents

Family

Marriage

Bibliography

Family

He was the second son of the Infante Francisco de Paula, Duke of Cadiz and Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies.
His 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. Twelve children were born of the marriage, of whom only four reached adulthood:

★ Isabel, Princess of Asturias (1851–1931), married her mother's and father's first cousin Prince Cajetan (Gaetano) of the Two Sicilies.

★ Alfonso XII of Spain (1857 - 1885).

★ Infanta María de la Paz (1862–1946), married her paternal first cousin Prince Louis Ferdinand of Bavaria.

★ Infanta Eulalia (1864–1958), married her maternal first cousin don Antonio de Orléans y Borbón, Infante of Spain.
There has been considerable speculation that some or all of Isabella's children were not fathered by Francis, along with rumours that he was homosexual or had physical impedimenta. DNA tests would possibly solve nothing, as Francis and his wife were first cousins both through their fathers (who were brothers) and their mothers (who were sisters). DNA tests may show doses of genes neither in Isabella's nor in Francis' DNA, and if such are immense enough, a presumption would exist that such come from other men than Francis.
(Regarding adultery, Francis' father, the duke of Cadiz, has been postulated as the biological son of Manuel de Godoy.)
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. In exile, Francis adopted the incognito title of ''Count of Moratalla''. The 1874 restoration placed his son Alfonso XII on the throne.
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.

Bibliography

Bergamini, John D. : ''The Spanish Bourbons: the History of a Tenacious Dynasty'' New York, Putnam, 1974
ISBN 0-399-11365-7