Francis II of the Two Sicilies
Francis II (Neapolitan and Italian: Francesco II, christened Francesco d'Assisi Maria Leopoldo; Sicilian: Francischieddu; 16 January 1836 – 27 December 1894) was King of the Two Sicilies. He was the last King of the Two Sicilies as successive invasions by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia ultimately brought an end to his rule, as part of Italian unification. After he was deposed, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Kingdom of Sardinia were merged into the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.
Francis II
22 May 1859 – 20 March 1861
Position abolished
Land seized by Kingdom of Italy under Victor Emmanuel II
20 March 1861 – 27 December 1894
16 January 1836
Royal Palace of Naples, Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
(now Naples, Italy)
27 December 1894 (aged 58)
Arco, Austria-Hungary
(now Arco, Italy)
Princess Maria Cristina Pia
Early life[edit]
The only son and heir of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies by his first wife, Maria Christina of Savoy, Francis II was the last of the Bourbon kings of Naples, where he was born in 1836. His education had been much neglected and he proved a man of weak character, greatly influenced by his stepmother, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, whom he feared, and also by the priests and the camarilla, the reactionary court set.[1]
On 3 February 1859 in Bari, Francis married Duchess Maria Sophie of Bavaria, of the royal Bavarian house of Wittelsbach (a younger sister of Empress Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria) However, their marriage was unhappy. Their only daughter, Maria Cristina, was born ten years after her parents married and lived only three months (24 December 1869 – 28 March 1870).
Overthrow[edit]
Thus, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist, and its territory was incorporated into that of the Kingdom of Sardinia (soon renamed the Kingdom of Italy), and Francis II was deposed. Francis and Maria Sophia first lived in Rome as guests of the Pope, where they maintained a government in exile that was recognised by some Catholic powers including France, Spain, Austria-Hungary and Bavaria.[2] After the Prussian victory against Austria in 1866 and the subsequent expansion of Italian territory, they disbanded this government and left Rome before it was occupied by the Italians in 1870. They led a wandering life from then on by living in Austria, France and Bavaria. In 1894, Francis died at Arco in Trentino (now north-eastern Italy, but at the time in Austria-Hungary). His widow survived him by 31 years and died in Munich.
Upon the death of Francis II, his half-brother, Prince Alfonso, became the pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Cause of beatification and canonization[edit]
On 11 December 2020, the cause of the beatification of King Francis II of the Two Sicilies was introduced by Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe, the Archbishop of Naples. Pope Francis declared the king a Servant of God.[3]
Styles of
Francis II of the Two Sicilies
Your Majesty
