Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Prince Ranieri
| full name = {{langx|it|Ranieri Maria Benito Giuseppe Labaro Gaetano Francesco Saverio Barbara Niccolo et omnes sancti di Borbone}}
| title = Duke of Castro
| image = Raniero.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Portrayed with a cavalry uniform of the Spanish Army and the Order of Alcántara, c. 1914
| succession = Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (disputed)
| reign-type = Tenure
| reign = 7 January 1960 – 13 January 1973
| predecessor = Prince Ferdinand Pius
| successor = Prince Ferdinand
| spouse = {{marriage|Countess Maria Carolina Zamoyska|1923|1968|end=d.}}
| issue = Princess Maria del Carmen
Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro
| house = Bourbon-Two Sicilies
| father = Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
| mother = Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1883|12|3|df=y}}
| birth_place = Cannes, France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1973|1|13|1883|12|3|df=y}}
| death_place = Roquebrune-sur-Argens, France
| place of burial = Cimetière du Grand Jas, Cannes
| religion = Roman Catholic
}}
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.
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.{{cite book|last1=Opfell|first1=Olga S.|title=Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe|date=2001|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|pages=37–8|isbn=9780786450572 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9UFveIUgktIC&pg=PA37|accessdate=23 August 2016}} 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.[http://www.realcasadiborbone.it/eng/history/the-dinasty-to-present-date-1.php The Dynasty to Present Date] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120914145515/http://www.realcasadiborbone.it/eng/history/the-dinasty-to-present-date-1.php |date=2012-09-14 }}
Marriage and children
Ranieri married his first cousin Countess Maria Carolina Zamoyska (1896–1968) on 12 September 1923 in Vyšné Ružbachy, Slovakia, from the marriage he had two children:
- Princess Maria del Carmen Carolina Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1924–2018).
- Prince Ferdinando Maria Andrea Alfonso Marcus, Duke of Castro (1926–2008).
Honours
- Grand Master of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
- Grand Master of the Order of Saint Januarius
- Grand Master of the Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit
- Grand Master of the Royal Order of Francis I
- Grand Master of the Order of Saint George and Reunion
- Knight of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece
- Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert of Bavaria
- Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
- Bailiff Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
- Knight of the Order of Alcántara
Arms
File:Coat of Arms of Princes of the Two Sicilies (c.1840).svg|Prince Rainieri's arms
Until 1960
File:Coat of Arms of Prince Ranieri of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro.svg|Prince Rainieri's arms
used in Spain
File:Great Royal Coat of Arms of the Two Sicilies.svg|Prince Ranieri's arms as head of the Royal House
1960-1973
Ancestry
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro
|2= 2. Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
|3= 3. Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
|4= 4. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
|5= 5. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
|6= 6. Prince Francis, Count of Trapani
|7= 7. Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria
|8= 8. Francis I of the Two Sicilies
|9= 9. Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain
|10= 10. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
|11= 11. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg
|12= 12. Francis I of the Two Sicilies (= 8)
|13= 13. Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain (= 9)
|14= 14. Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany
|15= 15. Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110308073229/http://www.realcasadiborbone.it/index/indexhome.php Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies]
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|3 December|1883|13 January|1973|House of Bourbon}}
{{s-reg|it}}
{{s-bef|before=First in line}}
{{s-ttl|title=Duke of Castro|years=7 January 1960 – 13 January 1973}}
{{s-aft|after=Prince Ferdinand}}
{{s-pre}}
{{s-bef|before=Ferdinand Pius}}
{{s-tul|title=King of the Two Sicilies|years=7 January 1960 – 13 January 1973|reason=Italian Unification under the House of Savoy}}
{{s-aft|after=Ferdinand}}
{{s-end}}
{{Princes of the Two Sicilies}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranieri Of Castro, Duke, Prince}}
Category:Princes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Category:Pretenders to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain
Category:Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Category:Knights of the Order of Alcántara