Emmanuelle de Dampierre (''Victoire Jeanne Emmanuelle Joséphine Pierre Marie''; 8 November 1913 – 3 May 2012) was an Italian-French aristocrat and a member of the

Spanish royal family The Spanish royal family constitutes the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon (), also known as the House of Bourbon-Anjou (). The royal family is headed by King Felipe VI and currently consists of the King; Queen Letizia; their children, Leono ...

. Her husband,

Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia ( Spanish: '' Don'' ''Jaime Leopoldo Isabelino Enrique Alejandro Alberto Alfonso Víctor Acacio Pedro Pablo María de Borbón y Battenberg''; French: ''Jacques Léopold Isabellin Henri Alexandre Albért ...

, was the second son of King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

and the

Legitimist The Legitimists () are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They reject the claim of t ...

pretender to the former French throne. While she and Infante Jaime divorced in 1947 and each subsequently married a second time, their divorce was not recognized by the Spanish and French governments nor by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Early life

Emanuela was born on 8 November 1913 at the

Palazzo Ruspoli The Palazzo Ruspoli is a Renaissance-style, 16th century aristocratic palace located on Via del Corso 418, where Corso intersects with Largo Carlo Goldoni and the Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina, in the Rione IV of Campo Marzio in central Rome, It ...

, her maternal family's palace on the

Via del Corso The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. She was the eldest daughter of the French nobleman Roger de Dampierre, 2nd Duke of

San Lorenzo Nuovo San Lorenzo Nuovo is a small town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in the Latium region of Italy. It is an agricultural center producing potatoes, olive oil, garlic, onions, cereals and grapes. A second source of revenue is tourism. Ge ...

, Vicomte de Dampierre and the Italian noblewoman and HSH, the painter Princess Vittoria Emilia Ipsycrathea Agricola

Ruspoli The House of Ruspoli is historically one of the great aristocratic families of Rome, but is originally from Florence. Following World War II and the fall of Fascism, the newly established Italian Republic officially abolished titles and hereditary ...

, a daughter of

Emanuele Ruspoli, 1st Prince of Poggio Suasa Emanuele Francesco Maria dei Principi Ruspoli, 1st Prince of Poggio Suasa (December 30, 1837 – November 29, 1899) was an Italian people, Italian and a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire who twice served as the ...

. Both her maternal and paternal families were part of the

Papal nobility The papal nobility are the aristocracy of the Holy See, composed of persons holding titles bestowed by the Pope. From the Middle Ages into the nineteenth century, the papacy held direct temporal power in the Papal States, and many titles of papal ...

. She grew up in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

until her parents divorced in 1930, at which time she returned with her mother to the

to live with her grandmother Josephine, Princess of Poggio Suasa. Vittoria Ruspoli

Marriages

On 4 March 1935, she married

, a member of the

, at the Church of Sant'Ignazio in Rome. The marriage was arranged by their parents. Her husband, the son of King

, was born deaf and mute, and had had to relinquish his rights to the Spanish throne. Although he renounced his rights to the Spanish throne, her husband was the

claimant to the former French throne and was granted the Dukedom of Segovia by his father. They had two sons: *

Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz Alfonso, Duke of Anjou, Duke of Cádiz, Grandee of Spain ( Spanish: '' Don Alfonso Jaime Marcelino Manuel Víctor María de Borbón y Dampierre''; French: ''Alphonse Jacques Marcellin Emmanuel Victor Marie de Bourbon''; 20 April 1936 – 30 Janu ...

(20 April 1936 – 20 January 1989) *

Gonzalo, Duke of Aquitaine '' Don'' Gonzalo, Duke of Aquitaine (5 June 1937 – 27 May 2000) (Spanish: ''Gonzalo Víctor Alfonso José Bonifacio Antonio María y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Dampierre''; French: ''Gonzalve Victor Alphonse Joseph Boniface Antoine Marie To ...

(5 June 1937 – 5 March 2000) In 1947, Emanuelle and Infante Jaime divorced in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. She married a second time to Antonio Sozzani, a Milanese stockbroker, in Vienna. She and Sozzani divorced in 1967. While her first divorce was legally recognized in Italy, it was not recognized by the

nor by the Spanish and French governments.

Later life and death

In 2003, Emanuelle published a memoir titled ''Memorias: Esposa y madre de los Borbones que pudieron reinar en España''.

Begoña Aranguren María Begoña Aranguren Gárate (born 1949) is a Spanish journalist and writer, the niece of the philosopher . Biography Begoña Aranguren's father, mining engineer Félix Aranguren Sabas (1903–1984), was president of the Board of Directors of ...

, ''Emanuela de Dampierre, Memorias: Esposa y madre de los Borbones que pudieron reinar en España'' (Madrid: Esfera, 2003), 105. She died on 3 May 2012 in Rome following a long-term illness. She was buried in the Dampierre family vault at the

Passy Cemetery Passy Cemetery () is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), which was closed in 1802. ...

in Paris.

Honours

National * : Dame of the

Order of Queen Maria Luisa The Royal Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa is an Order created by King Charles IV of Spain by royal decree on April 21, 1792, at the request of his wife, Queen Maria Luisa, to reward noble women who distinguished themselves for their ...

* : Dame of the Decoration of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Seville * : Dame of the

Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919. History Early history The present-day I ...

; Foreign * : Bailiff Dame of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

Heraldry

File:Coat of Arms of Emanuela de Dampierre as Duchess of Segovia.svg, Coat of arms of Emmanuelle de Dampierre in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

as Duchess of Segovia (1935-2012). File:Coat of arms of Emmanuelle de Dampierre as Claimant Queen of Spain.png, Coat of arms of Emmanuelle de Dampierre as consort of the Pretender to the Spanish Throne with the

(1941-1969) File:Armoiries de la duchesse d’Anjou et de Ségovie avec ordre de la reine Marie-Louise.png, Coat of arms of Emmanuelle de Dampierre in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as Duchess of Anjou and Segovia with

(1941-2012).

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dampierre, Emmanuelle de 1913 births 2012 deaths 21st-century Roman Catholics Burials at Passy Cemetery Dames of Malta Daughters of dukes Duchesses of Anjou Duchesses of Bourbon French nobility French people of American descent French people of Italian descent French Roman Catholics Grandees of Spain House of Bourbon (Spain) House of Dampierre Italian people of American descent Italian people of French descent Italian Roman Catholics Morganatic spouses Nobility from Rome Princesses by marriage Princesses of France (Bourbon) Ruspoli family Spanish duchesses