Wedding of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona and Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, 1935

~ Saad719

Embed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty Images

The Wedding of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, the third son and heir of the exiled King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, and Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, daughter of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain and Princess Louise of Orléans, at the Basilica of Santa María de Los Ángeles in Rome on this day in 1935, followed by an Audience with the Pope at the Vatican. This was the third Spanish Royal Wedding in Rome in 1935, after the Wedding of Infanta Beatriz of Spain and the Prince of Civitella-Cesi and the Wedding of Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia. The couple had four children, including the future King Juan Carlos, and eventually returned to Spain in 1976, a year after the Monarchy was restored with their son. The Count passed away in 1993 and the Countess in 2000.

In the evening, there was a Banquet held in honour of Infante Juan and the new Infanta María de las Mercedes (wearing Queen Maria Christina’s Cartier Loop Tiara) at the Grand Hotel in Rome, which was also attended by Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, Prince Christopher and Princess Françoise of Greece, and Prince José Eugenio, Prince Luis and Prince Fernando of Bavaria, among a host of Royal and Noble Guests, though Queen Victoria Eugenie was not present.

Infanta María de las Mercedes’ corbeille de mariage was also displayed for the public and included Queen Maria Christina’s Cartier Loop Tiara, her Pearl Brooch and her Ruby Clip Brooch, which were given to the bride by members of their family.

12

View this post on Instagram

Victoria Eugenia : Her son Don Juan de Borbón Part 1 Don Juan and María de las Mercedes were married on October 12, 1935 in the Basilica of Santa María de Los Ángeles in Roma. The couple chose the Eternal City to say yes, and thousands of Spaniards came there to clothe their ‘king’ on such a remarkable day. In fact, in addition to all those aristocrats, nobles and 'wealthy' people who followed the 'king' in exile, a couple of peasants from each of the Spanish regions, dressed in the typical costumes of each area, traveled to Rome representing the Spanish people. They got married on the day of Hispanidad. Minutes before 11 AM of October 12, 1935, Don Juan de Borbón, arrived in a covered car, dressed in tails and wearing the insignia of the Golden Fleece. His father, King Alfonso XIII and his sister Maria Cristina accompanied him. Moments later, the bride appeared, accompanied by her parents, Carlos de Borbón Dos Sicilias and Luisa de Orleans. The bride wore a designer suit by Worth in silver lamé with antique lace and a long and splendid chiffon veil, supported by a diadem of orange blossom sent from Valencia. The bridal bouquet was made up of gladioli, tuberose and lilies. See part 2

A post shared by HistoryQueen (@queen.ysabel) on

View this post on Instagram

Victoria Eugenia : Her son Don Juan de Borbon y Battenberg – Part 2 The contracting parties made their entrance into the temple while the chords of the nuptial march sounded and occupied two kneelers in front of the main altar, where by the express desire of the bride and groom an image of the Virgin of the Pillar was placed, under whose dedication the young couple wanted to join . The ceremony was conducted by the Archbishop of Florence, Elías Della Costa, and was acted as witnesses by Don Jaime, Duke of Segovia, brother of the groom; Don Fernando de Baviera, uncle of the contracting party; and Don Alfonso and Don Carlos de Borbón, brothers of the bride. After the religious ceremony, the newlyweds, together with the members of their respective families, went to the Vatican, where they were received by their Holiness of the Pope. After the audience, which lasted a quarter of an hour, don Juan and Doña María de las Mercedes went to the Vatican Basilica to pray before the tomb of Saint Peter. At noon the banquet was held at the Grand Hotel in Rome. Among the more than 6,000 guests invited to the link were the heir to the Italian Crown, the Prince of Piedmont; Prince Christopher of Greece; the princes José Eugenio, Luis and Fernando de Baviera y Borbón; Don Alfonso de Orléans, and Don Jenaro, Don Raniero and Don Gabriel de Borbón; the Count of the Andes, the Marquis of Castel Rodrigo; Prince Pius of Savoy, etc. To be continued

A post shared by HistoryQueen (@queen.ysabel) on

Leave a Reply