Princess Maria di Grazia (Full
Italian name: ''Maria delle Grazie Pia Chiara Anna Teresa Isabella Luitgarda Apollonia Agata Cecilia Filomena Antonia Lucia Cristina Caterina di Borbone''
) (12 August 1878 – 20 June 1973) was a
princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and princess of Orléans-Braganza through her marriage to
Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza.
Family
Maria was the daughter of
Prince Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta and his wife
Princess Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. She was usually called “Maria Pia”. Her father, the third son of King
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, became Head of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies with the death of his elder brother, King
Francis II, in 1894. At the time of his birth, however, the Sicilian Royal Family was already exiled in France due to
Italian Unification
The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
, which took place in 1861.
Marriage and issue
Maria married
Prince Luiz Maria of Orléans-Braganza, son of
Prince Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu and
Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, on 4 November 1908 in
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
, France. They had three children:
*
Prince ''Pedro Henrique'' Afonso Felipe Maria Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza (13 September 1909 – 5 July 1981) married
Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria (1914–2011) at
Nymphenburg Palace on 19 August 1937. They had twelve children.
*Prince ''Luiz Gastão'' Antônio Maria Filipe Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza (19 February 1911 – 8 September 1931)
*
Princess ''Pia Maria'' Raniera Isabella Antonia Vitoria Thereza Amélia Gerarda Raimunda Anna Micaela Rafaela Gabriela Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza (4 March 1913 – 24 October 2000) married René, Count de Nicolay at
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 ...
on 12 August 1933. They had three sons.
Later life
Prince Luís died in 1920 leaving Maria a widow for the remainder of her life. In 1922, Maria accompanied the
Brazilian Imperial Family to Brazil for the country's centennial celebrations of its independence. During the course of the trip, the
Count of Eu died while recumbent upon her shoulder. Princess Maria preferred to live with her children in France, where they could have a better education. She died at her country house in Mandelieu and was later buried at the Orléans Mausoleum at Dreux, with her husband. She was short of her 95th birthday.
Ancestry
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Grazia Of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Princess
1878 births
1973 deaths
People from Cannes
House of Orléans-Braganza
Princesses of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
French Roman Catholics
Burials at the Chapelle royale de Dreux