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| Francis II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 King Francis II,c. 1865 | |||||
| King of the Two Sicilies | |||||
| Reign | 22 May 1859 – 17 March 1861 | ||||
| Predecessor | Ferdinand II | ||||
| Successor | Position abolished Land seized byKingdom of Sardinia underVictor Emmanuel II | ||||
| Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies | |||||
| Tenure | 17 March 1861 – 27 December 1894 | ||||
| Successor | Prince Alfonso | ||||
| Born | (1836-01-16)16 January 1836 Royal Palace of Naples,Two Sicilies | ||||
| Died | 27 December 1894(1894-12-27) (aged 58) Arco, Austria-Hungary | ||||
| Burial | Basilica ofSanta Chiara, Naples | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | Princess Maria Cristina Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies | ||||
| |||||
| House | House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies | ||||
| Father | Ferdinand II | ||||
| Mother | Maria Christina of Savoy | ||||
| Religion | Catholicism | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Francis II (Neapolitan andItalian:Francesco II,Sicilian:Francischieddu; christenedFrancesco d'Assisi Maria Leopoldo; 16 January 1836 – 27 December 1894) was the lastking of the Two Sicilies before theItalian unification, led byGiuseppe Garibaldi andVictor Emmanuel II of Sardinia. After he was deposed, theKingdom of the Two Sicilies and theKingdom of Sardinia were merged into the newly formedKingdom of Italy.
The only son and heir of KingFerdinand II of the Two Sicilies by his first wife,Maria Christina of Savoy, Francis II was the last of theBourbon kings ofNaples, 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, ArchduchessMaria Theresa of Austria, whom he feared, and also by the priests and thecamarilla, the reactionary court set.[1]
On 3 February 1859 inBari, Francis married DuchessMaria Sophie of Bavaria, of the royalBavarian house ofWittelsbach (a younger sister of EmpressElisabeth "Sissi" of Austria). However, their marriage was unhappy. Their only daughter, Maria Cristina Pia, was born ten years after her parents married and lived only three months (24 December 1869 – 28 March 1870).
Francis II took the throne on 22 May 1859, after the death of his father. For the post of prime minister, he at once appointedCarlo Filangieri, who realised the importance of the Franco-Piedmontese victories inLombardy and advised Francis II to accept the alliance with theKingdom of Sardinia proposed byCavour. On 7 June, a part of theSwiss Guard mutinied, and while the king mollified them by promising to redress their grievances, GeneralAlessandro Nunziante gathered his troops, who surrounded the mutineers and shot them down. The incident resulted in the disbanding of the whole Swiss Guard, which was the strongest bulwark of theBourbon dynasty.
Cavour again proposed an alliance to divide thePapal States between Piedmont and Naples (the province ofRome excepted), but Francis rejected the idea, which to him seemed like heresy. Filangieri strongly advocated a constitution as the only measure which might save the dynasty, but on the king's refusal, he resigned.[1]
Meanwhile, the revolutionary parties were conspiring for the overthrow of the Bourbons inCalabria andSicily, andGiuseppe Garibaldi was preparing for a raid in the south of Italy. A conspiracy in Sicily was discovered and the plotters punished with brutal severity, but Rosalino Pilo andFrancesco Crispi, who had organised the movement, escaped execution. When Garibaldi landed atMarsala (May 1860) with hisExpedition of the Thousand, he conquered the island with astonishing ease.[1]
Those events at last coaxed Francis II into granting a constitution, but its promulgation was followed by disorders in Naples and the resignation of several ministers;Liborio Romano became head of the government. The disintegration of the army and navy proceeded apace, and Cavour sent a Piedmontese squadron carrying troops on board to watch over these events. Garibaldi had crossed thestrait of Messina and was advancing northward. After long hesitations and even an appeal to Garibaldi himself and on the advice of Romano, Francis II left Naples on 6 September with his wife, Maria Sophie; the court; and the diplomatic corps (except the French and British ministers) and went by sea toGaeta, where a large part of the army was concentrated.[1]
The next day, Garibaldi entered Naples, was enthusiastically welcomed, and formed a provisional government.[1]
KingVictor Emmanuel II had decided on the invasion of the Papal States and after occupyingUmbria and theMarche, he entered the Neapolitan kingdom. Garibaldi's troops defeated the Neapolitan royalists at theBattle of Volturno, which took place on 1 October 1860, and the Piedmontese capturedCapua.[1]
By late 1860, onlyGaeta,Messina andCivitella del Tronto still held out. TheSiege of Gaeta by the Piedmontese began on 6 November 1860. Both Francis II and his wife behaved with great coolness and courage. Even after the French fleet, whose presence had prevented an attack by sea, was withdrawn, they still resisted. It was not until 13 February 1861 that the fortress capitulated.[1]
Thus, theKingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist, and its territory was incorporated into that of theKingdom of Sardinia (soon renamed theKingdom of Italy), and Francis II was deposed. Francis and Maria Sophie first lived in Rome as guests of the Pope, where they maintained agovernment in exile that was recognised by some Catholic powers, includingFrance,Spain,Austria-Hungary andBavaria.[2] After thePrussian 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 atArco inTrentino (now north-eastern Italy, but at the time in Austria-Hungary). His widow survived him by 31 years and died inMunich.
Upon the death of Francis II, his half-brother,Prince Alfonso, became thepretender to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Francis II of the Two Sicilies | |
|---|---|
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
On 11 December 2020, the cause of the beatification of King Francis II of the Two Sicilies was introduced byCrescenzio Cardinal Sepe, theArchbishop of Naples.Pope Francis declared the king aServant of God.[3]
Francis II was portrayed byGiancarlo Giannini in the 1989 film'O Re which was loosely based on his life. The film was well received and won several awards.[4][5][6]
| Styles of Francis II of the Two Sicilies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
Belgium: Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold,9 June 1855[7]
Spain: Knight of theOrder of the Golden Fleece,15 June 1844[8]
Empire of Brazil: Grand Cross of theOrder of Pedro I
Austrian Empire:[9]
Kingdom of France: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal and MilitaryOrder of Saint Louis
Kingdom of Prussia:[10]
Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight of theOrder of Saint Hubert,1857[11]
Kingdom of Saxony: Knight of theOrder of the Rue Crown,1860[12]
Grand Duchy of Tuscany: Grand Cross of theOrder of St. Joseph[13]
Württemberg: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Württemberg Crown,1864[14]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Villari, Luigi (1911). "Francis II. of the Two Sicilies". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 936.
Media related toFrancis II of the Two Sicilies at Wikimedia CommonsFrancis II of the Two Sicilies Cadet branch of theHouse of Bourbon Born: 16 January 1836 Died: 27 December 1894 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of the Two Sicilies 22 May 1859 – 17 March 1861 | Kingdom Abolished Italian Unification under theHouse of Savoy |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by Himself | — TITULAR — King of the Two Sicilies 17 March 1861 – 27 December 1894 | Succeeded by |
