Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria


Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria, was head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and pretender to the throne of the extinct Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1934 to 1960.

Family

Ferdinand was the eldest child and son of Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta and his wife Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was a grandson of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and an older brother of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Maria Immaculata, Princess Johann Georg of Saxony, Maria Cristina, Archduchess Peter Ferdinand of Austria, Maria di Grazia, Princess Imperial of Brazil, Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, Prince Philip of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and Prince Gabriel of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Marriage and issue

Ferdinand married Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria, daughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria on 31 May 1897. They had six children:
Ferdinand and Maria lived for many years at Villa Amsee, Lindau. It was there that he died in 1960.
Following Ferdinand's death, the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was claimed by both his nephew Alfonso and his brother Ranieri. It remains disputed between the descendants of Alfonso and Ranieri today.

Honours

Ancestry