Francis of Assisi of Bourbon

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Francis, Duke of Cádiz (Spanish: Francisco de Asís de Borbón; 13 May 1822 – 17 April 1902) was King consort of Spain as spouse of Isabella II of Spain.

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 Bourbon-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, his double first cousin, on 10 October 1846. There is evidence that young Isabella would rather have married his younger brother, Infante Henry, Duke of Sevilla, and complained bitterly about her husband's effeminate habits after their first night together. Nonetheless, twelve children were born of the marriage, of whom five reached adulthood:

Isabella, Princess of Asturias (1851–1931): married her mother's and father's first cousin Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti.

Alfonso XII of Spain (1857–1885).

Maria de Pilar (1861–1879).

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.

Later life

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.

Speculations

There has been considerable speculation that some or all of Isabella's children were not fathered by Francis; this has been bolstered by rumours that Francis was either homosexual or unable to complete the sex act due to physical impediments. As Francis and Isabella were double first cousins (their fathers were brothers and their mothers were sisters) nuclear DNA typing is problematic, as Francis and Isabella shared a significant number of genes, but it does not make it impossible; the main impediment is that nuclear DNA typing for this purpose is most accurate when DNA from both parents is compared with that of their children and not with that of more distant descendants (who also carry the genes of other family lines). In addition, testing would require exhumation of Francis, Isabella, and one or all of their children; this necessity could pose logistical problems.

Y chromosome testing would show whether a putative male-line descendant (such as Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou or Juan Carlos of Spain) was descended from the same male line as Francis, but would not prove that Francis himself (as opposed to Enrique or another male-line family member) was the father of Isabella's children. Mitochondrial DNA testing, a common form of testing used in forensic identification, would not be useful in this case, as mitochondrial DNA is only passed on from the mother.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

[edit]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 complained 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.