Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies

Queen of Spain from 1829 to 1833

For other people called Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, see Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (disambiguation).

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Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies
Regency		29 September 1833 - 12 October 1840
Successor	Baldomero Espartero
Monarch	Isabella II
Born	27 April 1806 Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily
Died	22 August 1878(1878-08-22) (aged 72) Le Havre, French Third Republic
Burial	El Escorial
Spouses	Ferdinand VII of Spain ​ ​ (m. 1829; died 1833)​ Agustín Fernando Muñoz, 1st Duke of Riánsares ​ ​ (m. 1833; died 1873)​
Issue among others...	Isabella II of Spain Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier María Amparo Muñoz, 1st Countess of Vista Alegre Agustín Muñoz, 1st Duke of Tarancón Fernando Muñoz, 2nd Duke of Tarancón Maria Cristina, Marchioness of La Isabella
Names Maria Cristina Ferdinanda di Borbone
Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Father	Francis I of the Two Sicilies
Mother	María Isabella of Spain

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (

bicameral model of government based on the Bourbon Restoration in France: the Spanish Royal Statute of 1834

.

Early life

Born in

Maria Isabella of Spain

.

Queen of Spain

On 27 May 1829,

Francisco de Paula. Ferdinand VII declared his intention to marry and assembled the Council of Castile, who tasked the King with remarriage. Following Luisa Carlotta's suggestion, Ferdinand VII sent for Maria Christina, his niece, who pleased the King's eyes. The two were wed on 12 December 1829 at the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Atocha.^[1]

With her betrothal and then marriage to Ferdinand VII, Maria Christina became embroiled in the conflict between the

Luisa Fernanda a little over a year later on 30 January 1832. However, in a secret session of the Cortes in 1789, King Charles IV reversed this law with the Pragmatic Sanction. Seeking to secure the succession of an heir of his siring, no matter their gender, Ferdinand VII announced the Pragmatic Sanction in March 1830.^[3]

In July 1832, Maria Christina, Ferdinand VII, their daughters, Maria Francisca and Carlos, and

Maria Teresa, Princess of Beira, set out for the Royal Palace of La Granja. On the trip to La Granja, Ferdinand VII was badly injured by a coach accident. He became ill and increasingly sick over the summer. At one point, Ferdinand VII was found unconscious at the palace chapel. Seeking counsel in the event of Ferdinand VII's death, Maria approached the Carlist Francisco Calomarde, who advised her that the Spanish people would rally behind Carlos. Acting on this, she coerced Ferdinand VII into signing a decree making her regent if he died, with Carlos as her chief adviser. Carlos refused, demanding total governance. Calomarde, with Maria Francisca and Maria Theresa, reissued his warning, coercing King and Queen into repealing the Pragmatic Sanction. When Ferdinand VII appeared to have died, the repealing was announced publicly, and Maria Christina deserted by her courtiers. Ferdinand VII was discovered to be alive, and news of this also spread. Luisa Carlotta, at that time in Andalusia, soon arrived at La Granja and speedily persuaded Ferdinand to re-enact the Pragmatic Sanction and orchestrated Calomarde's dismissal.^[4]

Regency

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Minority of Isabella II of Spain § The regency of Maria Christina

When Ferdinand died on 29 September 1833, Maria Christina became regent for their daughter Isabella. Isabella's claim to the throne was disputed by Carlos, who claimed that his brother Ferdinand had unlawfully changed the succession law to permit females to inherit the crown again (see Carlism). 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 First Carlist War. Despite considerable support for Carlos from conservative elements in Spain, Cristina's side (also known as "Isabelinos") successfully retained the throne for her daughter.

On 28 December 1833, shortly after the death of Ferdinand VII, Maria Christina secretly married an ex-sergeant from the royal guard,

• Maria de los Desamparados, Countess of Vista Alegre (17 November 1834 - 19 August 1864); married Prince Władysław Czartoryski
  (1828–1894).
• Maria de los Milagros, Marchioness of Castillejo (8 November 1835 – 9 July 1903); married Prince Filippo Massimiliano Del Drago of Mazzano and Antuni [it] (1824–1913). Their fourth son Giovanni Battista was known as the Prince del Drago in New York society.
• Agustín Maria, 1st Duke of Tarancón
  (15 March 1837 - 15 July 1855)
• Fernando Maria, 2nd Duke of Riansares and Tarancon
  (27 April 1838 – 7 December 1910); married Eladia Bernaldo de Quirós y González de Cienfuegos (1839–1909).
• Maria Cristina, Marchioness of La Isabella
  (19 April 1840 – 19 December 1921).
• Juan Bautista, Count of Recuerdo (29 August 1841 – 2 April 1863)
• Antonio Muñoz y de Borbón (3 November 1842 – 1847)
• Jose Maria, Count of Gracia (21 December 1843 – 17 December 1863)

Muñoz enlisted in the royal bodyguard, and attracted the attention of Maria Christina. According to one account, he distinguished himself by stopping the runaway horses of her carriage; according to another, he only picked up her handkerchief; a third, scandalous explanation of his fortune has been given.

If Maria Christina had officially made the marriage public, she would have forfeited the regency; but her relations with Muñoz were perfectly well known within the Spanish court. When on 13 August 1836 the soldiers on duty at the La Granja summer palace mutinied and forced the regent to grant a constitution, it was generally, though wrongly, believed that they overcame her reluctance by seizing Muñoz, whom they called her guapo, or fancy man, and threatening to shoot him.

Eventually, news of Maria Christina's marriage to this low-ranking soldier became public. That news made Maria Christina 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 Cortes combined to demand that Maria Christina stand aside from the regency. In 1840 Maria Christina found her position intolerable; she renounced the regency and left Spain with Muñoz. The army commander, General Baldomero Espartero, replaced her as regent.

In 1842 Maria Christina purchased the

Maria Christina's illness returned and she suffered from serious coughing, fainting and fever. She died in Le Havre, France on 22 August 1878. As the mother of Isabella II and consort of Ferdinand VII, Maria Christina was buried in the royal crypt of El Escorial.

• Monument to Maria Christina of Bourbon (Madrid)

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• ISBN 978-1910198117
  .
• Encyclopædia Britannica
• Two Sicilies family tree at the Wayback Machine (archived March 17, 2006)

Media related to Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies at Wikimedia Commons