Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria

Prince Ferdinand Pius (Ferdinando Pio Maria), Duke of Calabria and Castro (25 July 1869, Rome – 7 January 1960, Lindau), 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. Professionally, he was an officer in the Spanish and Bavarian armies.

Family Ferdinand was the eldest child of Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta and his wife Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was a grandson of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and an older brother of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Maria Immaculata, Princess Johann Georg of Saxony, Maria Cristina, Archduchess Peter Ferdinand of Austria, Maria di Grazia, Princess Imperial of Brazil, Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, Prince Philip of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and Prince Gabriel of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Marriage Ferdinand married Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria, daughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria on 31 May 1897. They had six children:

Princess Maria Antonietta (1898–1957) Princess Maria Cristina (1899–1985), married in 1948 to Manuel Sotomayor-Luna, Vice President of Ecuador Prince Ruggiero Maria, Duke of Noto (1901–1914) Princess Barbara Maria Antonietta Luitpolda (1902–1927), married in 1922 to Count Franz Xaver zu Stolberg-Wernigerode Princess Lucia Maria Raniera (1908–2001), married in 1938 to Prince Eugenio of Savoy, Duke of Ancona Princess Urraca Maria Isabella Carolina Aldegonda (1913–1999)

Ferdinand and Maria lived for many years at Villa Amsee, Lindau. It was there that he died in 1960.

Disputed succession Following Ferdinand's death, the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was claimed by both his nephew Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, and his brother Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, and remains disputed between their descendants. The basis of Alfonso’s claim was that his late father, Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1870–1949), had been Ferdinand's next oldest brother. But Henri, Count of Paris, upheld the claim of Ferdinand's younger brother, Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro (1883–1973), contending that Carlos had renounced his rights of succession for himself and his descendants in 1901 when he married the Spanish heiress presumptive María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias. The Count of Paris was well aware that his own claim to the French throne depended on the validity of the renunciation in 1713 of Philip V of Spain, in favor of the junior House of Orléans.

Military service

Ferdinand initially served in the Spanish Army, and after leaving service held the honorary rank of Comandante of the General Staff of the Spanish Army. On 1 March 1911, he was named Inhaber (honorary chief) of the Royal Bavarian 6th Field Artillery Regiment (Königlich Bayerisches 6. Feld-Artillerie-Regiment "Prinz Ferdinand von Bourbon, Herzog von Calabrien"), which was renamed in honor of him. He held the rank of Oberstleutnant à la suite of the Bavarian Army.

In World War I, he saw action initially in 1914 on the Western Front at Arras and La Bassée. On 27 May 1915, he was promoted to Oberst à la suite of the Army and on 6 June 1915 he was named Ordonnanzoffizier (aide-de-camp or orderly officer) on the staff of the newly-formed 11th Bavarian Infantry Division. Military Merit Order, Officer's Cross with and Swords (1 January 1918) Kingdom of Italy: Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, Knight Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion Ottoman Empire: Liakat Medal in Gold with Sabers War Medal Kingdom of Prussia: Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class Papal States: Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Grand Cross Tuscany: Order of Saint Joseph, Grand Cross

Arms

Ancestry