Enrique de Borbón y Castellví, 2nd Duke of Seville explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Most Excellent
The Duke of Seville
Grandee of Spain
Birth Date:3 November 1848
Birth Place:Toulouse, France
Death Place:Red Sea
Succession:2nd Duke of Seville
Tenure:1870–1894
Noble Family:Bourbon
House-Type:Dynasty
Predecessor:Infante Enrique of Spain
Successor:María Luisa de Borbón y Parade
Spouse:Joséphine Parade
Issue:María Luisa de Borbón y Parade, 3rd Duchess of Seville
Marta de Borbón y Parade
Enriqueta de Borbón y Parade, 4th Duchess of Seville
Parents:Infante Enrique of Spain
Elena María de Castellví y Shelly

Enrique de Borbón y Castellví, 2nd Duke of Seville (Spanish; Castilian: Don Enrique Pio Maria Francisco de Paula Luis Antonio de Borbón y Castellví, Duque de Sevilla; 3 October 184812 July 1894), was a Spanish nobleman and military officer who became the second Duke of Seville. He was the eldest son of the controversial Infante Enrique of Spain, who was a grandson of Charles IV of Spain and younger brother of Francis, Duke of Cádiz, king consort of Isabella II of Spain. Despite his family ties, Enrique was never entitled Infante of Spain due to the unequal marriage of his parents, which did not receive approval from Queen Isabella II.

Life and career

Enrique was born in Toulouse, France, the first child of Infante Enrique of Spain (son of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain and Princess Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily) and his morganatic wife, Elena María de Castellví y Shelly (1821–1863), daughter of Antonio de Padua de Castellví y Fernández de Córdoba, Count of Castellá, and Margarita Shelly. His mother was of Valencian and Irish ancestry. His parents had married secretly in Rome, as their union was not approved by Queen Isabella II. Once they returned to Spain, the couple was exiled to Bayonne, and they later settled in Toulouse. He had three brothers and one sister.

His early years were spent between Spain and France. On 12 March 1870, his father challenged Antoine, Duke of Montpensier, to a duel. The duel ended in the shooting and death of his father. Enrique refused to accept the 30,000 pesetas that the Duke of Montepensier offered to pay as compensation. He and his siblings were adopted by their uncle, Francis.[1]

Like his brothers, Enrique proved to have good military skills. Initially, they joined the Carlist army, but after the restoration of the monarchy, he joined the army of his cousin, Alfonso XII.

Enrique, also a friend of Alfonso XII, did not always maintain a good relationship with the latter's widow, Queen Maria Christina, for opposing the appointment of Maria Christina as Regent of Spain. For his attitude, he was imprisoned and deprived of his rank, but he managed to escape to Marseille and thereafter refused to return to Madrid.

Years later, he was rehabilitated and able to return to Spain, but uncomfortable with his position at court, he was sent to the Spanish East Indies (now the Philippines, then a Spanish colony) as governor of Tayabas Province.

Marriage and family

During the exile of his family, he met Joséphine Parade (1840–1939), daughter of Jean Parade and Geneviève Sibié. They married in San Fernando de Jarama (now San Fernando de Henares) on 5 November 1870.

They had three daughters:

Death

Enrique died in 1894 aboard the steamer Montevideo on the Red Sea as a result of an illness contracted in the colonies, while returning to Spain.

Notes and sources

Notes and References

  1. Fuente: La Ilustración Española y Americana 25.3.1870 pag.94 - Don Enrique de Borbón