Emmanuelle de Dampierre


Emmanuelle de Dampierre was a French-Italian aristocrat. Her husband, Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, was the second son of King Alfonso XIII and the Legitimist pretender to the former French throne. While she and Infante Jaime divorced in 1947 and each subsequently married a second time, their divorce was not recognized by the Spanish and French governments nor by the Catholic Church.

Early life

Emanuela was born on 8 November 1913 at the Palazzo Ruspoli, her maternal family's palace on the Via del Corso in Rome. She was the eldest daughter of the French nobleman Roger de Dampierre, 2nd Duke of San Lorenzo Nuovo, Vicomte de Dampierre and the Italian noblewoman and painter Princess Vittoria Emilia Ipsycrathea Agricola Ruspoli, a daughter of Emanuele Ruspoli, 1st Prince of Poggio Suasa. Both her maternal and paternal families were part of the Papal nobility. She grew up in Paris until her parents divorced in 1930, at which time she returned with her mother to the Palazzo Ruspoli to live with her grandmother Josephine, Princess of Poggio Suasa.

Marriages

On 4 March 1935, she married Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, a member of the Spanish royal family, at the Church of Sant'Ignazio in Rome. The marriage was arranged by their parents. Her husband, the son of King Alfonso XIII, was born deaf and mute, and had had to relinquish his rights to the Spanish throne. Although he renounced his rights to the Spanish throne, her husband was the Legitimist claimant to the former French throne and was granted the Dukedom of Segovia by his father. They had two sons:
In 1947, Emanuelle and Infante Jaime divorced in Bucharest. She married a second time to Antonio Sozzani, a Milanese stockbroker, in Vienna. She and Sozzani divorced in 1967. While her first divorce was legally recognized in Italy, it was not recognized by the Catholic Church nor by the Spanish and French governments.
File:Dukes of Segovia family in 1937.jpg|thumb|The Duke and Duchess of Anjou and Segovia in 1937 with their sons, Alfonso and Gonzalo.

Later life and death

From 1947 until her death in 2012, Emmanuelle was considered, both in Spain, in France and in many European courts, to be the true wife of the Infante.
The 1980s were a very difficult period for Emmanuelle. After three years of separation, her eldest son, Alfonso, and his wife divorced in 1982. Two years later, in 1984, a serious car accident claimed the life of the Duke's eldest son, François de Bourbon, while Alfonso and his second son were seriously injured. Finally, in 1989, Alfonso died of a serious neck injury in a skiing accident in the United States. Many years later, in 2000, Emmanuelle's youngest son, Gonzalo, died from leukemia.
In 2003, Emanuelle published a memoir titled Memorias: Esposa y madre de los Borbones que pudieron reinar en España.
Emmanuelle, called Madame, and her husband used the French Royal coat of arms.
She died on 3 May 2012 in Rome following a long-term illness. She was buried in the Dampierre family vault at the Passy Cemetery in Paris.

Titles, styles and honours

Spain

  • 8 November 1913 - 4 March 1935: Donna Emmanuelle de Dampierre
  • 4 March 1935 - 3 May 2012: Her Excellency The Duchess of Segovia, Grandee of Spain
  • * Her Excellency Emmanuelle de Dampierre, Grandee of Spain

    France (Legitimists)

  • 8 November 1913 - 3 March 1935: Mademoiselle Emmanuelle de Dampierre
  • 4 March 1935 - 29 September 1936: Her Serene Highness The Duchess of Segovia, Grandee of Spain
  • 29 September 1936 - 6 September 1938: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Segovia, Grandee of Spain
  • 6 September 1938 - 28 February 1941: Her Royal Highness The Dauphine of France
  • 28 February 1941 - 20 March 1975: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Anjou and Segovia
  • 20 March 1975 - 3 May 2012: Her Royal Highness The Dowager Duchess of Anjou and Segovia

    Honours

National
; Foreign