History
The Royal Order of Francis I was founded on 28 September 1829 as an award of civil merit in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for distinction in public service, science, the arts, agriculture, industry and commerce.
Although the order was a State Order and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist in 1860, the Order continued to be awarded by the exiled King Francis II and his brother and successor Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta, although the latter did so for the last time in 1920, since they were still claiming all the prerogatives of the crown. His successor as head of the Dynasty, Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria who was head of the family from 1934-1960 accepted the de facto existence of the Italian State and abandoned an active pretension to the throne, considering the order to be abeyance. The latter's nephew, Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, and great-nephew Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria continued this policy, as has the latter's son and heir.
Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, much like his father, Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro, head of the line of the family descended from Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro has claimed the title and right of Grand Master and bestowed the order.
Francis I of the Two Sicilies was King of the Two Sicilies from 1825 to 1830 and regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1806 to 1814.
The Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius is a Roman Catholic order of knighthood founded by Charles VII of Naples in 1738. It was the last great dynastic order to be constituted as a chivalric fraternity, with a limitation to Roman Catholics and a direct attachment to the dynasty rather than the state. The founder of the order, Charles VII of Naples, ruled from 1734 until 1759.
The Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civilian and military merit. Today the Order of the Crown has been replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy and is still conferred on new knights by the current head of the house of Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples.
The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, and it is one of the rare orders of knighthood recognized by papal bull, in this case by Pope Gregory XIII. In that bull, Pope Gregory XIII bestowed upon Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and his Savoy successors, the right to confer this knighthood in perpetuity. The Grand Master is, Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, also known as the Duke of Savoy, the eldest son of the last King of Italy, Umberto II of Italy. However Vittorio Emanuele's cousin once removed Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta claims to be grand master as his father claimed to be head of the house of Savoy.
Carlos Maria Alfonso Marcelo de Borbón-Dos Sicilias y de Borbón-Parma, Infante of Spain, Duke of Calabria was, at his death, the last male infante of Spain during the reigns of his cousins King Juan Carlos I and King Felipe VI.
Duke of Calabria was the traditional title of the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Naples after the accession of Robert of Naples. It was also adopted by the heads of certain Houses that had once claimed the Kingdom of Naples in lieu of the royal title.
Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Castro, was head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and pretender to the throne of the extinct Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1934 to 1960.
Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta was the third son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria.
Prince Ranieri Maria Gaetano, Duke of Castro was a claimant to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
Prince Ferdinand of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro was a claimant to the headship of the former Royal House of the Two Sicilies.
The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) (Italian: Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, Spanish: Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Constantinian Angelic Knights of Saint George, is a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Currently, the grand magistry of the order is disputed among the two claimants to the headship of the former reigning House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as heirs of the House of Farnese, namely Prince Pedro and Prince Carlo. The order was one of the rare orders confirmed as a religious-military order in a 1718 papal bull owing to a notable success in liberating Christians in the Peloponnese. Together with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (confirmed by papal bull in 1572) it is one of the three international Catholic Orders that still has this status today. Although it is not an order of chivalry under patronage of the Holy See, membership is restricted to practising Catholics.
Prince Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro is one of the two claimants to the headship of the former House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
The Order of Saint George of the Reunion is an order of knighthood of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It was established to replace the Royal Order of the Two-Sicilies.
Don Carlos, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain was the son of Prince Alfonso of the Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta and his wife Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and nephew of the last King of the Two Sicilies, Francis II.
Prince Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria, is the only son of Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria (1938–2015), and his wife, Princess Anne of Orléans. He is a claimant to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, which ruled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies before the unification of Italy.
Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria was a daughter of the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, and his wife, Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. Her husband, Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria, became the head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on 26 May 1934, thus she was titular queen consort of the Two Sicilies.
Princess Béatrice Marie Caroline Louise Françoise of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is the eldest daughter of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro, Castro-line claimant to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and his wife, Chantal de Chevron-Villette.
Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was a Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies by birth and by her marriage to Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta, claimant to the defunct throne of the Two Sicilies.
The House Order of Albert the Bear was founded in 1836 as a joint House Order by three dukes of Anhalt from separate branches of the family: Henry, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, and Alexander Karl, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg.
