Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (Italian: Urraca Maria Isabella Carolina Aldegonda Carmela, Principessa di Borbone delle Due Sicilie; July 14, 1913, Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria – May 3, 1999, Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Princess Urraca
Born(1913-07-14)July 14, 1913
Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria
DiedMay 3, 1999(1999-05-03) (aged 85)
Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Burial
Filialkirche St. Peter und Paul, Rieden, Swabia, Bavaria, Germany
Full name
Italian: Urraca Maria Isabella Carolina Aldegonda Carmela
HouseBourbon-Two Sicilies
FatherPrince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria
MotherPrincess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria

Early life and family
Princess Urraca with her mother

Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was born on July 14, 1913 at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria. She was the sixth and youngest child of Prince Ferdinand Pius of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria (1869–1960) and his wife Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria (1872–1954). Ferdinand Pius was the Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and pretender to the defunct throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from May 26, 1934 to January 7, 1960. Urraca had five older siblings, four sisters and one brother: Princess Maria Antonietta (1898–1957), Princess Maria Cristina (1899–1985), Prince Ruggiero Maria, Duke of Noto (1901–1914), Princess Barbara Maria (1902–1927), and Princess Lucia (1908–2001).[1]

Through her father, Urraca was a granddaughter of Prince Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta (1841–1934) and his wife Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1851–1938). Urraca was descended from Francis I, King of the Two Sicilies (1777–1830) through her paternal great-grandfathers, Ferdinand II, King of the Two Sicilies (1810–1859) and Prince Francis of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani (1827–1892). Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of Ludwig III, King of Bavaria (1845– 1921) and his wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1849–1919).[1]

Urraca chose not to celebrate her birthday, stating: "How can a Bourbon celebrate on the day of the Bastille's taking?"

Adult life

As the daughter of the heir-apparent, then head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Urraca regularly represented her family at royal and aristocratic functions and charitable events. She attended the funeral of her great uncle Prince Leopold of Bavaria on October 3, 1930 at St. Michael's Church in Munich.[2] Urraca, her mother, and her sister Lucia attended an afternoon dance tea at the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten and the Hungarian Aid Association's Hungarian Ball in Munich in January 1934.[3] She also took part in the closing events of Munich's Carnival celebrations in February 1936.[4] On April 16, 1936, Urraca attended the wedding of her first cousin Infante Alfonso of Spain, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies to Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma at the Minoritenkirche in Vienna.[5][6] She was a guest of honor at the Austrian Armed Forces' Spring Parade in April 1936, along with Alfonso XIII of Spain, Princess Maria Anna of Bourbon-Parma, and Prince Elias of Bourbon-Parma.[7] Urraca attended the Baltic Red Cross Ball and the ball of Countess Adelheid Arco-Valley in the Cherubinsälen of the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in February 1938.[8] On October 23, 1957, she attended the wedding of her first cousin Princess Marie Gabrielle of Bavaria and Georg, Prince of Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg in Munich.[9]

On the night of January 10, 1957, Urraca was driving her eldest sister Maria Antonietta to her home in Lindau, Germany when their automobile collided with a truck that had skid on ice near Winterthur, Switzerland. Maria Antonietta was killed in the accident and Urraca was seriously injured.[10][11]

Urraca was also an active supporter of Duosicilian historical societies and other royalty and nobility organizations. In October 1993, she attended a conference of over 200 Italian nobles and aristocrats at the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Rome, which advocated for the nobility's renewed leadership in the defense of Catholic principles in political and cultural institutions.[12] Her first cousin once removed and claimant to the Duosicilian throne, Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, was also in attendance.[12] In February 1994, Urraca traveled to Gaeta where she participated in a tribute to the centenary of the death of Francis II, King of the Two Sicilies and an observation of the 133rd anniversary of the conclusion of the Siege of Gaeta which marked the victory of the Kingdom of Sardinia over Two Sicilies.[13]

Death, interment and legacy
Filialkirche St. Peter und Paul cemetery

Urraca died on May 3, 1999 in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.[1] She was interred in the cemetery of the Filialkirche St. Peter und Paul in Rieden, Swabia alongside her sister Maria Antonietta, her parents Ferdinand Pius and Maria Ludwig Theresia, and her brother Ruggiero Maria. Urraca's burial site was marked with a simple wooden cross affixed with a small brass plaque bearing her name, until it was replaced by a large cross-shaped headstone with a similar small brass plaque.

In 2013, the Institute of Historical Research of the Two Sicilies held a mass and graveside service at Filialkirche St. Peter und Paul to pay tribute to Urraca on the centenary of her birth and the 14th anniversary of her death. Members of the Bavarian Royal Family and of the Duosicilian nobility were in attendance.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles
  • July 14, 1913 – May 3, 1999: Her Royal Highness Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies[1]

Honours

Ancestry

References
  1. Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. "GENEALOGY OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF BOURBON - TWO SICILIES" (PDF). Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "Todesfälle". Wiener Salonblatt (in German). Vienna. October 12, 1930. pp. 13–14. Retrieved November 4, 2017 – via Austrian National Library.
  3. "Münchner Fasching". Wiener Salonblatt (in German). Vienna. February 11, 1934. pp. 9–10. Retrieved November 3, 2017 – via Austrian National Library.
  4. "Münchner Karneval". Wiener Salonblatt (in German). Vienna. March 7, 1930. pp. 7–9. Retrieved November 5, 2017 – via Austrian National Library.
  5. "Mariage de S.A.R. l'Infant Alphonse de Bourbon avec S.A.R. la Princesse Alice de Bourbon-Parme". Le Figaro (in French). Paris. April 17, 1936. p. 2. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017 – via European Library.
  6. "Die Vermählung der Prinzessin Älice von Bourbon von Parma mit Infanten Alfons von Spanien Prinzen von Bourbon-Sizilien". Wiener Salonblatt (in German). Vienna. April 19, 1936. pp. 6–7. Retrieved November 5, 2017 – via Austrian National Library.
  7. "Ehrengäste bei der Frühjahrsparade des Bundesheeres". Wiener Salonblatt (in German). Vienna. May 3, 1936. p. 13. Retrieved November 4, 2017 – via Austrian National Library.
  8. "München". Wiener Salonblatt (in German). Vienna. March 6, 1938. pp. 10–11. Retrieved November 3, 2017 – via Austrian National Library.
  9. "Princess Maria And Prince Georg Wed In Munich". The Times Record. Troy, New York. October 23, 1957. p. 69. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Princess Dies in Car Crash in Switzerland". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. January 13, 1957. p. 38F. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Princess Killed in Accident". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis. January 13, 1957. p. 16A. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "L'ULTIMA ARISTOCRAZIA 'ORA L'ITALIA CI CHIAMA'". la Repubblica (in Italian). Rome. October 31, 1993. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  13. "VIVA IL RE FRANCESCHIELLO' A GAETA NOSTALGIA IN PIAZZA". la Repubblica (in Italian). Rome. February 13, 1994. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
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