Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse, or any children born of the marriage. The concept is most prevalent in German-speaking territories and countries most influenced by the customs of the German-speaking realms.
The House of Savoy is an Italian royal house that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansions the family grew in power, first ruling a small Alpine county northwest of Italy and later gaining absolute rule of the Kingdom of Sicily. During the years 1713 to 1720, they were handed the island of Sardinia and would exercise direct rule from then onward.
Amadeo I, also known as Amadeus, was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The only king of Spain to come from the House of Savoy, he was the second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy and was known for most of his life as the Duke of Aosta, the usual title for a second son in the Savoyard dynasty.
Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta was a prince of Italy's reigning House of Savoy and an officer of the Royal Italian Navy. The second son of Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta, he was granted the title Duke of Spoleto on 22 September 1904. He inherited the title Duke of Aosta on 3 March 1942 following the death of his brother Prince Amedeo in a British prisoner of war camp in Nairobi.
Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, was an Italian mountaineer and explorer, briefly Infante of Spain as son of Amadeo I of Spain, member of the royal House of Savoy and cousin of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III. He is known for his Arctic explorations and for his mountaineering expeditions, particularly to Mount Saint Elias and K2. He also served as an Italian admiral during World War I. He created Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi in Italian Somalia during his last years of life.
Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este was an Italian princess, the first-born child of Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, and Princess Anne d'Orléans.
The nobility of Italy comprised individuals and their families of the Italian Peninsula, and the islands linked with it, recognized by the sovereigns of the Italian city-states since the Middle Ages, and by the kings of Italy after the unification of the region into a single state, the Kingdom of Italy.
Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta was the third Duke of Aosta and a first cousin once removed of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. During World War II, he was the Italian Viceroy of Italian East Africa.
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark was the fifth child and second daughter of Constantine I of Greece and his wife, the former Princess Sophie of Prussia. She was a member of the royal families of Greece and Italy. From 1941 to 1943, she was also officially Queen Consort of Croatia.
Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta, 5th Duke of Aosta was a claimant to the headship of the House of Savoy, the family which ruled Italy from 1861 to 1946. Until 7 July 2006, Amedeo was styled Duke of Aosta; on that date he declared himself Duke of Savoy, a title that was disputed between him and his third cousin, Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, only son of King Umberto II of Italy.
Prince Emanuele Filiberto Vittorio Eugenio Alberto Genova Giuseppe Maria di Savoia, 2nd Duke of Aosta was an Italian general and member of the House of Savoy, as the son of Amadeo I, and was also a cousin of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Filiberto was also commander of the Italian Third Army during World War I, which earned him the title of the "Undefeated Duke". After the war he became a Marshal of Italy.
Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, 6th Duke of Aosta is an Italian businessman and one of two claimants to be head of the House of Savoy. Since November 2019, he has served as the Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to Russia.
Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy-Aosta, Infante of Spain, Count of Turin was a grandchild of King Victor Emmanuel II and a member of the House of Savoy. He was a cousin of Victor Emmanuel III.
The House of Merode is one of the most prominent families of the Belgian nobility. It originates from the village of Merode, which is now in the municipality of Langerwehe in Germany. Over the past five centuries, different branches bore noble titles and had estates on the territories of the modern-day states of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Austria. Through marriage, the house is connected with many prominent European noble families. The House of Merode played an important role in the history of the Southern Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium.
Maria Vittoria Carlotta Enrichetta Giovanna dal Pozzo, 6th Princess of Cisterna d'Asti and of Belriguardo, was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen of Spain from 16 November 1870 until 11 February 1873 as the wife of King Amadeo I. Maria Vittoria inherited her princely title after the death of her father. In 1867, she married Amadeo, then Duke of Aosta, second son of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. In 1870, her husband became the king of Spain, making her queen consort. King Amadeo abdicated after a reign of less than three years, and he and Maria Vittoria returned to Italy. She died in Sanremo, Italy, in 1876.
Maria Letizia Bonaparte was one of three children born to Prince Napoléon and his wife Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. In 1888, she married Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, the former king of Spain and her uncle. Following her marriage, Maria Letizia became Duchess of Aosta. Their marriage was instrumental in almost reviving French hopes of reinstating the Bonaparte dynasty into a position of power, as seen in the days of Napoleon III.
The Duchess of Aosta is the wife of the Duke of Aosta, a title created by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor in the 13th century. The Duchy of Aosta had already been ruled by the House of Savoy for some time; it is a corner of the Italian Alps now bordering France and Switzerland, essentially the same as the Aosta Valley. The title of duke tended to be given to the second son of the ruler, reverting to the head of the house, until Amadeo I of Spain, the first and only King of Spain from the House of Savoy. He was the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and was known for most of his life as the Duke of Aosta. He was elected by the Spanish parliament as King of Spain in 1870, but abdicated in 1873. He created a new Aosta branch of the House of Savoy, which retains the title, although it is not legally recognised.
Carlo Emanuele dal Pozzo, 5th Prince of La Cisterna was a nobleman and politician in the Kingdom of Sardinia. His other titles were 5th Principe di Belriguardo, 6th Marchese di Voghera, 6th Conte di Reano, 8th Conte di Ponderano, 8th Conte di Bonvicino, 6th Conte di Neive, 6th Conte di Perno, among others.
Countess Louise de Mérode was a member of the House of Merode by birth and Princess della Cisterna by marriage.
Prince of Vergara was a life title in the Peerage of Spain, granted in 1872 by Amadeo I to Baldomero Espartero, who was Regent of Spain from 1840 to 1843. The title makes reference to the Convention of Vergara, a symbolic embrace between Espartero and Rafael Maroto which put an end to the First Carlist War in 1839.
