Princess Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily

Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily (Luisa Carlotta Maria Isabella; 24 October 1804 – 29 January 1844), was an Italian royal figure, who was Princess of the Two Sicilies, Infanta of Spain, who was a daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies.

Early life

Luisa Carlotta was born at the Palace of Portici, the eldest child of King Francis I and of his wife Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were King Charles IV of Spain and Queen Maria Luisa of Spain. Luisa Carlotta had eleven younger siblings, including King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies.

Princess of Spain

On 12 June 1819 in Madrid, Luisa Carlotta married her maternal uncle Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain. He was ten years older than Luisa Carlotta.

Luisa Carlotta wished for her niece Isabella to become heiress to the Spanish throne instead of her uncle Carlos, and therefore supported the new succession law issued by the king. She was involved in an incident during the sickness of the Spanish monarch regarding this issue: when the Spanish king lay sick expecting death (1832), Luisa Carlotta tried to acquire a document forbidding female succession from prime minister Tadeo Calomarde by force and throw it on the fire. When Calomarde tried to save the document, she struck him in the face, upon which he uttered the well known words: "Madame, white hands don't offend!"

When her niece became queen in 1833 with her sister as regent, the rivalry between the sisters worsened and she left Spain for Paris. Luisa Carlotta died at Madrid at the age of 39.

Issue

She had eleven children:

• Francisco de Asís Luis (1820–1821), died young
• Isabel Fernanda (1821–1897), married Ignacy Gurowski, a Polish count.
• Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz (1822–1902), married Queen Isabella II of Spain
• Enrique, Duke of Seville (1823–1870)
• Luisa Teresa (1824–1900)
• Eduardo Felipe (1826–1830), died young
• Josefina Fernanda (1827–1910)
• María Teresa (1828–1829), died young
• Fernando María (1832–1854)
• María Cristina (1833–1902), married Sebastian Gabriël de Bourbon, great-grandson of King Charles III of Spain
• Amalia (1834–1905), married Prince Adalbert of Bavaria, youngest son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Ancestry