The Royal House of Aragon was founded by James I of Aragon

(“The Conqueror”) who reigned as King of Aragon 1213 – 1276.

The Kingdom of Aragon was one of the small Christian states

which arose in the Iberian peninsula following the gradual

expulsion of the Moors, who had held sway in the area in the

wake of their conquest of the old Visigothic realm of Spain

in the eighth century.

Peter III succeeded his father James I to the throne in

1276, and for many years the succession continued without

problems. But when King Martin I (the Humanist) of Aragon

died in 1410 he had no children to succeed him, and he had

not named any successor. The only written law of succession

was the Will of James I which confirmed the principle of

male primogeniture, but this was not followed. Six claimants

to the throne stepped forward. Through intrigues and

political gerrymandering the law of succession was set

aside, and a group of nine electors was put together to

decide upon the respective claims. They met at Caspe in

Aragon in 1412, and by the very composition of the group a

decision for one of the claimants, Ferdinand of Antequera,

was assured in advance. He thus came to power in a manner

similar to a coup in conflict with the prevailing order of

succession.

This point is also stressed by T.N. Bisson, who for many

years was professor of medieval history at Harvard

University. When discussing the “compromise” of Caspe in

his book “The medieval crown of Aragon” he points out that

“ … the issuem was (or became) political rather than simply

legal, a utilitarian question of which candidate with some

dynastic claim would make the best king”(op. cit., pp. 135-

6).

When James Count of Urgel, who should have inherited the

throne after Martin I, died in captivity in 1433 the

legitimate line passed to the Duke of Gandia who died

without heir in 1454. The lawful succession thus passed in

1454 to the House of Ayerbe where the Princes of Cassano

were heads of the House until their line became extinct with

the death of Joseph the last Prince of Cassano.

The succession thence passed to the cadet branch of the

House of Ayerbe, the line from Peter, the younger son of

King James the Conqueror in his third marriage. Peter first

Baron of Ayerbe had a son Michael who in turn sired a boy,

Giovanni the Elder born in 1347 and who in 1398 became Vicar

General of the Kingdom of Sicily. Giovanni married Sibilla

Spadafora and from that union descends unbroken the line of

the House of Paternò.

Over the centuries the descent had thrown off numerous

branches, many of which have intermarried. Thus, when the

last Prince of Cassano died, it was not clear who precisely

held the dynastic right to the jus majestatis of the Lands

of the Crown of Aragon and it became urgently necessary that

the question be answered.

A family conclave, on the initiative of the 7th Duke of

Carcaci Don Francesco Paternò Castello e Sammartino, was

called on 14th June 1853, and held in Palermo in the palace

of the Marquis of Spedalotto, head of one of the more senior

branches of the family. After a review of the relevant

evidence and a wide-ranging discussion, it was the finding

of the conclave that the royal rights, which had been the

subject of the debate, should be confirmed as belonging to

Don Mario, son of the Duke of Carcaci’s younger brother Don

Giovanni and his wife Donna Eleonora Guttadauro of Emmanuel

Riburdone, the heiress of the House of Guttadauro. This

conclusion which had received the assent of King Ferdinand

II of the Two Sicilies was reached on the recognition that

Don Mario alone had the royal blood of Aragon in his veins

from two sources, through the separate descents of both his

mother and his father from King James the Conqueror.

A family pact was then signed and registered on 16 June 1853

in the Chamber of Seals and Royal Registers of the Kingdom

of the Two Sicilies. It was decreed that during the minority

of Don Mario, his father Don Giovanni should be Regent.

The sealing of the family pact was but one of a series of

events following the death of the last Prince of Cassano

which determined and confirmed the dynastic rights of the

House of Paternò Castello Guttadauro. The final endorsement

came on 2nd February 1860 when the Royal Commission for

Titles of Nobility recommended to the new king Francis II

that a petition by “Ecc’mo Sig. Don Mario Paternò Castello

Guttadauro dei Duchi di Carcaci be granted. The petition was

that the Prince should receive all confirmation of the

Sovereign’s assent for those “chivalrous distinctions” which

he wished to bestow. On 11th February 1860 the king

approved the recommendation of the Royal Commission and

directed the Secretary of State for Sicilian Affairs to give

effect to his approval.

In 1996, following the abdication of his father, H.R.H. Don

Francesco became Head of the Royal House of Aragon, Majorca

and Sicily as Prince of Emanuel and Duke of Perpignan.

More information about the Royal House of Aragon, Majorca

and Sicily, and their international commitment to chivalric

and charitable work, is available at

http://www.mocterranordica.org

Jan-Olov von Wowern lives in Stockholm, Sweden, and is active in European charitable and nobiliary work. He is the author of several book and articles on genealogical issues. Further information about the Royal House of Aragon is available at http://www.mocterranordica.org.

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