Infanta María Cristina of Spain


Infanta Maria Cristina of Spain, Countess Marone-Cinzano was the fourth surviving child and youngest daughter of Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and paternal aunt of King Juan Carlos I.

Biography

Early life

Infanta Maria Cristina was born at the Palacio Real in Madrid, Spain. The Spanish royal family left the country in 1931, in the face of Republican demonstrations, settling in Paris, before moving to Fontainebleau.
By 1933 King Alfonso and his daughters, the Infantas Beatriz and Maria Cristina, had moved to Rome. Their father warned would-be suitors of the inherent dangers of hemophilia, from which two of the king's sons, Alfonso and [Infante Infante Gonzalo of Spain|Gonzalo of Spain|Gonzalo], suffered.

Marriage and issue

She renounced her succession rights to the throne of the defunct Spanish crown and, on 10 June 1940, morganatically married Conte Enrico Eugenio Marone-Cinzano in Rome. He had been created 1st Count Marone-Cinzano on 13 May 1940 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. He was the son of Alberto Marone and his wife, Paola Cinzano. Maria Cristina had one step-son, from Enrico's previous marriage to Noemí Rosa de Alcorta y García-Mansilla :
  • Don Alberto, 2nd Count Marone-Cinzano ; married Donna Cristina, dei Conti Camerana, great-granddaughter of Giovanni Agnelli. Had issue.
The marriage of Maria Cristina and Enrico Eugenio produced four daughters:
  • Donna Vittoria Eugenia Alfonsa Alberta del Pilar Enrica Paola dei Conti Marone-Cinzano she married José Carlos Álvarez de Toledo y Gross, 6th Marquess of Casa Loring on 12 January 1961. They have four children and five grandchildren
  • * Vittoria Eugenia Álvarez de Toledo y Marone-Cinzano, 7th Marchioness of Casa Loring she married Alfonso Codorniu y Aguilar on 29 September 1982.
  • ** Jaime Codorniu y Alvarez de Toledo
  • ** Anna Codorniu y Alvarez de Toledo
  • ** Carla Codorniu y Alvarez de Toledo
  • * Francisco de Borja Álvarez de Toledo y Marone-Cinzano, 9th Count of Villapaterna he married Jill Schlanger on 25 July 1993.
  • ** Daniel Álvarez de Toledo y Schlanger
  • ** Jacobo Álvarez de Toledo y Schlanger
  • * Marco Alfonso Álvarez de Toledo y Marone-Cinzano
  • * Gonzalo Álvarez de Toledo y Marone-Cinzano
  • Donna Giovanna Paola Gabriella dei Conti Marone-Cinzano she married Jaime Galobart y Satrústegui on 24 July 1967 and they were divorced in 1980. They have one son and three grandsons. She remarried Luis Ángel Sánchez-Merlo y Ruiz on 4 August 1989.
  • * Alfonso Alberto Galobert y Marone-Cinzano
  • Donna María Theresa Beatrice dei Conti Marone-Cinzano, married in Geneva on 22 April 1967 and divorced in 1989 José María Ruiz de Arana y Montalvo, 17th Duke of Baena, 17th Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor, 15th Marquess of Villamanrique, 13th Marquess of Castromonte, 5th Marquess of Brenes, 11th Count of Sevilla La Nueva and 5th Viscount of Mamblas.
  • * María Cristina Ruiz de Arana y Marone-Cinzano
  • * Isabel Alfonsa Ruiz de Arana y Marone-Cinzano
  • * Ines Ruiz de Arana y Marone-Cinzano
  • Donna Anna Alessandra dei Conti Marone-Cinzano she married Gian Carlo Stavro Santarosa on 7 December 1968 and they were divorced in 1975. They have two daughters. She remarried Fernando Schwartz y Giron in 1985.
  • * Astrid Christina Antonia Santarosa
  • * Yara Christiane Santarosa

Death

Infanta Maria Cristina returned to Spain and spent periods of time there, but never lived there permanently. She died in Madrid of a heart attack on 23 December 1996 during a Christmas reunion of the royal family at the Villa Giralda, the residence of her cousin and sister-in-law, the Countess of Barcelona. A funeral service for the Infanta was held in the chapel of the Royal Palace of Madrid on 24 December and a burial service was held on 26 December in the Marone-Cinzano Pantheon in Turin.

Honours