The Royal House of Aragon was founded by Jaime I of Aragon
(“The Conqueror”) who reigned as King of Aragon 1213 – 1276.
The Kingdom of Aragon was one of the small Christian states
that arose in the Iberian Peninsula after the gradual
expulsion of the Moors, who had dominated the area in the
following his conquest of the former Visigothic kingdom of Spain
in the eighth century.
Pedro III succeeded his father Jaime I on the throne in
1276, and for many years the succession continued without
issues. But when King Martin I (the Humanist) of Aragon
died in 1410, had no children to succeed him, and had
he did not name any successor. The only written law of succession.
It was the testament of Jaime I that confirmed the principle of
male birthright, but this was not fulfilled. Six plaintiffs
to the throne stepped forward. Through intrigues and
political manipulation the law of succession was established
to one side, and a group of nine electors assembled to
decide on the respective claims. They met in Caspe in
Aragon in 1412, and due to the very composition of the group a
decision of one of the plaintiffs, Fernando de Antequera,
was insured in advance. So he came to power in a way
similar to a coup in conflict with the prevailing order of
succession.
This point is also emphasized by TN Bisson, who for many
years he was a professor of medieval history at Harvard
University. Speaking of Caspe’s “commitment” in
in his book “La corona medieval de Aragón” points out that
“…the issue 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 Jaime Conde de Urgel, who should have inherited the
throne after Martin I, died in captivity in 1433 on
the legitimate line passed to the Duke of Gandia who died
without an heir in 1454. The legitimate succession thus passed in
1454 to the House of Ayerbe where the Princes of Cassano
they were heads of the House until their line died out with
the death of Joseph, the last prince of Cassano.
The succession then passed to the cadet branch of the
House of Ayerbe, the line of Pedro, the youngest son of
King James the Conqueror on his third marriage. peter first
The Baron of Ayerbe had a son, Miguel, who in turn fathered 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 junction descends uninterrupted the line of
Paterno’s House.
Over the centuries, the descent had thrown up numerous
branches, many of which have intermarried. So when the
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 for
the question is answered.
A family conclave, at the initiative of the VII Duke of
Carcaci Don Francesco Paternò Castello e Sammartino, was
convened on June 14, 1853, and held in Palermo in the palace
of the Marquis de Spedalotto, head of one of the oldest
branches of the family. After a review of the corresponding
evidence and extensive discussion, was the finding
of the conclave that the royal rights, which had been the
topic of discussion, must be confirmed as belonging to
Don Mario, son of the younger brother of the Duke of Carcaci, Don
Giovanni and his wife Donna Eleonora Guttadauro de Emmanuel
Riburdone, the heir to the House of Guttadauro. This
conclusion that he had received the assent of King Ferdinand
II of the Two Sicilies was reached in recognition that
Only Don Mario had the royal blood of Aragon in his veins.
from two sources, through the separate descents of its two
mother and father of King James the Conqueror.
A family compact was then signed and registered on June 16, 1853.
in the Chamber of Seals and Royal Records of the Realm
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 just one of a series of
events that followed the death of the last prince of Cassano
that determined and confirmed the dynamic rights of the
House of Paterno Castello Guttadauro. The definitive guarantee
came on February 2, 1860 when the Royal Commission for
Titles of Nobility recommended to the new King Francis II
that at the request of the “Ecc’mo Sig. Don Mario Paternò Castello
Guttadauro dei Duchi di Carcaci be granted. the request was
that the Prince must receive all the confirmation of the
The sovereign’s consent to those “knightly distinctions” that
wanted to bestow. On February 11, 1860, the king
approved the recommendation of the Royal Commission and
ordered the Secretary of State for Sicilian Affairs to give
effect upon approval.
In 1996, after his father’s abdication, HRH Don
Francesco became Head of the Royal House of Aragon, Mallorca
and Sicily as Prince of Emmanuel and Duke of Perpignan.
More information about the Royal House of Aragon, Mallorca
and Sicily, and his international commitment to cavalry
and charities, is available at
http://www.moterranordica.org