Infanta Maria Cristina of Spain, Countess Marone-Cinzano (''María Cristina Teresa Alejandra María de Guadalupe María de la Concepción Ildefonsa Victoria Eugenia de Borbón y Battenberg''; 12 December 1911 – 23 December 1996) was the fourth surviving child and youngest daughter of

Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII ( Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also ...

and

Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Re ...

and paternal aunt of

King Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Sp ...

Biography

Early life

Infanta Maria Cristina was born at the

Palacio Real The Royal Palace of Madrid () is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Eu ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

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 ...

. The Spanish royal family left the country in 1931, in the face of Republican demonstrations, settling 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 ...

, before moving to

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

. By 1933 King Alfonso and his daughters, the Infantas Beatriz and Maria Cristina, had moved to

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, ...

. Their father warned would-be suitors of the inherent dangers of

hemophilia Haemophilia (British English), or hemophilia (American English) (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a long ...

, from which two of the king's sons,

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

and

Gonzalo Gonzalo may refer to: * Gonzalo (name) * Gonzalo, Dominican Republic, a small town * Isla Gonzalo, a subantarctic island operated by the Chilean Navy * Hurricane Gonzalo, 2014 See also

* Gonzalez (disambiguation) * Gonzales (disambiguatio ...

, suffered.

Marriage and issue

She renounced her succession rights to the throne of the defunct Spanish crown and, on 10 June 1940,

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse ...

married Conte Enrico Eugenio Marone-Cinzano (15 March 1895 Turin – 23 October 1968 Geneva) in Rome. He had been created 1st ''

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

'' Marone-Cinzano on 13 May 1940 by

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...

. He was the son of Alberto Marone and his wife, Paola Cinzano. Maria Cristina had one step-son, from Enrico's previous marriage to Noemí Rosa de Alcorta y García-Mansilla (1907-1929): *

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

Alberto, 2nd Count Marone-Cinzano (1929-1989); married Donna Cristina, dei Conti Camerana (b. 1935), great-granddaughter of

Giovanni Agnelli Giovanni Agnelli (13 August 1866 – 16 December 1945) was an Italian industrialist and principal founder of Fiat S.p.A., established in 1899. Under his leadership, Fiat became a cornerstone of Italy's automotive industry, significantly contr ...

. Had issue. The marriage of Maria Cristina and Enrico Eugenio produced four daughters: *Donna Vittoria Eugenia Alfonsa Alberta del Pilar Enrica Paola dei Conti Marone-Cinzano (b.

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, 5 March 1941) she married José Carlos Álvarez de Toledo y Gross, 6th

Marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...

of Casa Loring (1929–2000) on 12 January 1961. They have four children and five grandchildren *Donna Giovanna Paola Gabriella dei Conti Marone-Cinzano (b. 31 January 1943) she married Jaime Galobart y Satrústegui (4 February 1935) on 24 July 1967 and they were divorced in 1980. They have one son and three grandsons. She remarried Luis Ángel Sánchez-Merlo y Ruiz (b.

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, 10 October 1947) on 4 August 1989. *Donna María Theresa Beatrice dei Conti Marone-Cinzano (b. Lausanne, 4 January 1945), married in Geneva on 22 April 1967 and divorced in 1989 José María Ruiz de Arana y Montalvo (Madrid, 27 April 1933 – Madrid, 30 April 2004), 17th

Duke of Baena Duke of Baena () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1566 by Philip II to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba II, who was the 7th Lord of Baena, 5th Count of Cabra and 3rd Duke of Ses ...

, 17th

Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor () is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility, Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1625 by Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV to Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, Gaspar de Guz ...

, 15th Marquess of Villamanrique, 13th Marquess of Castromonte, 5th Marquess of Brenes, 11th Count of Sevilla La Nueva and 5th Viscount of Mamblas. They have three daughters and five grandchildren. *Donna Anna Alessandra (Anna Sandra) dei Conti Marone-Cinzano (b. Turin, 21 December 1948) she married Gian Carlo Stavro Santarosa on 7 December 1968 and they were divorced in 1975. They have two daughters. She remarried Fernando Schwartz y Giron in 1985.

Death

Infanta Maria Cristina returned to Spain and spent periods of time there, but never lived there permanently. She died in Madrid of a heart attack on 23 December 1996 during a Christmas reunion of the royal family at the ''Villa Giralda'', the residence of her cousin and sister-in-law, the Countess of Barcelona. A funeral service for the Infanta was held in the chapel of the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid () is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Eu ...

on 24 December and a burial service was held on 26 December in the Marone-Cinzano Pantheon in Turin.

Honours

* : 1,112th Dame Grand Cross 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 ...

Arms

File:Coat of Arms of Spanish Infantas (1700-1931), Ornaments as single women.svg, Coat of arms used before her marriage File:Coat of Arms of Infanta María Cristina of Spain, Countess Marone-Cinzano.svg, Coat of arms used as Countess of Marone File:Coat of Arms of Infantas Dowager of Spain (1931-1977).svg, Coat of arms used as Dowager in the exile File:Coat of Arms of Widow Infantas (1977-2002).svg, Coat of arms used during King Juan Carlos's reign

Ancestry

References

External links

El Pais, ''La Familia Real asiste al entierro de la infanta María Cristina en Turín'', 27 December 1996

El Pais; ''Funeral en la capilla del Palacio Real por la infanta María Cristina'', 26 December 1996

El Pais, ''Muere a los 85 años en Madrid la infanta María Cristina de Borbón,La tía del Rey sufrió un infarto en Casa de la condesa de Barcelona'', 24 December 1996
* Enrique González Fernández
Homenaje a la Infanta María Cristina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Cristina of Spain, Infanta Spanish infantas House of Bourbon (Spain) 1911 births 1996 deaths Daughters of kings