The title was created on 27 January 1353 by Peter IV of Aragon for his son and heir, the infante John, who was later John I of Aragon. The title, which Peter claimed as Count of Barcelona, passed in the Crown of Aragon; it has been united with the Aragonese title Prince of Girona since 1414, after which its history may be traced under that title.
The Crown of Aragon and its institutions were formally abolished after the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713) with the accession of the first Bourbon king of Spain, by the Nueva Planta decrees, under which all the lands of Aragon were incorporated, as provinces, into a united Spanish administration, as Spain moved towards a more centralized government under the new Bourbon dynasty.
By royal decree[1] from 21 January 1977, the hereditary titles of the former Crown of Aragon were invested in Don Felipe de Borbón, naming him "Prince of Asturias and other titles historically related to the Heir to the Crown of Spain". In the question of succession the Spanish Constitution of 1978 (Title II, art. 57.2) indicates: "The Heir to the Throne, from his birth or the fact that causes his call, has the rank of Prince of Asturias and other titles traditionally linked to the Heirs to the Crown of Spain".
In 1996, on the occasion of an official visit to Cervera, Prince Felipe assumed the title in a public ceremony.
Cervera is the capital of the comarca of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. The title Comte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Leonor, Princess of Asturias. The city is also the birthplace of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champions Márquez brothers, eight-time champion Marc Márquez and two-time champion Álex Márquez. The church of Sant Miquel de Tudela is near Cervera.
The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The current King is Felipe VI since 19 June 2014, after the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos I.
Prince or Princess of Asturias is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent, or heir presumptive to the Spanish Crown. According to the Spanish Constitution of 1978:
Article 57.2: The Crown Prince, from the time of his birth or the event conferring this position upon him, shall hold the title of Prince of Asturias and the other titles traditionally held by the heir to the Crown of Spain.
The count of Barcelona was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Princeps for much of Catalan history, from the 9th century until the 18th century. After 1164, with Alfonso II of Aragon and I of Barcelona, the title of count of Barcelona was united with that of king of Aragon, and after the 16th century, with that of king of Spain.
The Spanish nobility are people who possess a title of nobility confirmed by the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, as well as those individuals appointed to one of Spain's three highest orders of knighthood: the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Order of Charles III and the Order of Isabella the Catholic. Some members of the Spanish nobility possess various titles that may be inherited or not, but the creation and recognition of titles is legally the prerogative of the monarchy of Spain.
The Prince or Princess of Girona is one of the titles of the heir of the Crown of Spain. The title was historically accorded to the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the Crown of Aragon. Current legislation mandates the title of Prince of Asturias to the heir of the Spanish throne but allows for the use of other traditional titles; the current title-holder, therefore, is Leonor, Princess of Girona.
The Spanish royal family constitutes the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon, also known as the House of Bourbon-Anjou. The royal family is headed by King Felipe VI and currently consists of the King; Queen Letizia; their children, Leonor, Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofía; and Felipe's parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. The royal family lives at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, although their official residence is the Royal Palace of Madrid. The membership of the royal family is defined by royal decree and consists of: the King of Spain, the monarch's spouse, the monarch's parents, his children, and the heir to the Spanish throne.
The coat of arms of the King of Spain is the heraldic symbol representing the monarch of Spain. The current version of the monarch's coat of arms was adopted in 2014 but is of much older origin. The arms marshal the arms of the former monarchs of Castile, León, Aragon, and Navarre.
The blazon of the coat of arms of the Princess of Asturias is given by a Royal Decree 979 on 30 October 2015 which was an amendment of the Royal Decree 1511 dated Madrid 21 January 1977, which also created her guidon and her standard.
The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then Castilian king, Ferdinand III, to the vacant Leonese throne. It continued to exist as a separate entity after the personal union in 1469 of the crowns of Castile and Aragon with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs up to the promulgation of the Nueva Planta decrees by Philip V in 1716.
The Prince or Princess of Viana is one of the titles of the heir of the Crown of Spain. Other associated titles originate from the rest of the kingdoms that formed Spain: Prince of Asturias, Prince of Girona, Duke of Montblanc, Count of Cervera and Lord of Balaguer.
The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate male line through Philip, Duke of Anjou, a younger grandson of Louis XIV of France (1638–1715) who established the Bourbon dynasty in Spain in 1700 as Philip V (1683–1746). In 1759, King Philip's younger grandson was appanaged with the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, becoming Ferdinand IV and III (1751–1825), respectively, of those realms. His descendants occupied the joint throne, merged as the "Kingdom of the Two Sicilies" in 1816, until 1861, claimed it thereafter from exile, and constitute the extant Bourbon-Two Sicilies family.
Duke or Duchess of Montblanc is one of the titles of the heir of the Crown of Spain. It is a Spanish title which since the 15th century has been preserved as one of the titles of the heir apparent to, first, the Aragonese crown and, later and currently, the Spanish crown. The title is specifically that of the heir to the Principality of Catalonia, part of the Crown of Aragon.
Lord or Lady of Balaguer is one of the titles of the heir of the Crown of Spain. It is a title historically held by the person first in line to the Kingdom of Majorca, a part of the Crown of Aragon. The current holder is Princess Leonor, elder daughter and heir presumptive of King Felipe VI.
Infante of Spain is a royal title normally granted at birth to the children of reigning and past Spanish monarchs, and to the children of the heir to the Crown. Individuals holding the title of infante also enjoy the style of Royal Highness.
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