Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro

Prince Ranieri Maria Gaetano, Duke of Castro (3 December 1883 – 13 January 1973) was a claimant to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Prince Ranieri
Duke of Castro
Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Tenure7 January 1960 – 13 January 1973
PredecessorPrince Ferdinand Pius
SuccessorPrince Ferdinand
Born(1883-12-03)3 December 1883
Cannes, France
Died13 January 1973(1973-01-13) (aged 89)
Roquebrune-sur-Argens, France
Burial
Cimetière du Grand Jas, Cannes
Spouse
Countess Maria Carolina Zamoyska
​
​
(m. 1923; died 1968)​
IssuePrincess Maria del Carmen
Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro
Full name
Italian: Ranieri Maria Benito Giuseppe Labaro Gaetano Francesco Saverio Barbara Niccolo et omnes sancti di Borbone
HouseBourbon-Two Sicilies
FatherPrince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
MotherPrincess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
ReligionRoman Catholic

Biography

He was born in Cannes, France the ninth child but fifth son of Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta and Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1851–1938). Ranieri for a time served in the Royal Spanish Army.

Following the death of his brother Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria on 7 January 1960 Prince Ranieri was declared Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies by all relatives except for Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria and his children, because the Infante's senior branch of the family abdicated their claims in order to be in line for the Spanish throne.[1] He remained head of the house until his death on 13 January 1973 in Lacombe. He handed over the functions associated with the headship of the house to his son in 1966.[2]

Marriage and children

Ranieri married his cousin Countess Maria Carolina Zamoyska (1896–1968) on 12 September 1923 in Vyšné Ružbachy, Slovakia, from the marriage he had two children:

Honours

Arms
  • Heraldry of Prince Ranieri
  • Prince Rainieri's arms
    Until 1960
  • Prince Rainieri's arms
    used in Spain
  • Prince Ranieri's arms as head of the Royal House
    1960-1973

Ancestry

References
  1. Opfell, Olga S. (2001). Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 37–8. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  2. The Dynasty to Present Date Archived 2012-09-14 at Archive.today
Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro
Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon
Born: 3 December 1883 Died: 13 January 1973
Italian nobility
Preceded by
First in line		 Duke of Castro
7 January 1960 – 13 January 1973		 Succeeded by
Prince Ferdinand
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Ferdinand Pius		 — TITULAR —
King of the Two Sicilies
7 January 1960 – 13 January 1973
Reason for succession failure:
Italian Unification under the House of Savoy		 Succeeded by
Ferdinand
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