Francis of Spain

Francis of Spain (Spanish: Francisco de Asís de Borbón; 13 May 1822 - 17 April 1902) was king consort of Queen Isabella II of Spain, Duke of Cadiz in his own right, and titularly king, although Isabella was the ruler, queen regnant.

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 the 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. It is documented that young Isabella would rather have wanted to espouse his younger brother, infante Enrique, Duke of Sevilla, and compained bitterly about her wedded husband's effeminate habits after their first night. 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, Duke of Montpensier.

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 impediments. Other DNA tests than Y chromosome test 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). (However, general DNA tests may show genes neither in Isabella's nor in Francis' DNA, and if there are enough of those, a presumption would exist that such come from other men than Francis.) Since a mother cannot transmit Y chromosome (females do not have it), the Y chromosome DNA in male-line descendants of Alfonso XII could be compared with Y chromosome of male line descendants of, for example, Francis' brother infante Enrique, Duke of Sevilla, and the result in that regard would probably tell volumes about Alfonso XII's paternity (if Francis was not actually his biological father, which in itself is not totally impossible). Daughters do not have Y chromosome, thus testing of them is subject to the probable result of said inconclusiveness. For example, matrilineally inherited mitochondrial DNA would solve nothing, because it came from Isabella in any case, her male mates, whoever they were, having no role as source of it.

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

Bibliography

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

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