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 emerged 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

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

died in 1410, had no succeeding children, and had

he did not name any successor. The only written law of succession.

It was the will of Jaime I that confirmed the principle of

male birthright, but this was not fulfilled. six claimants

the throne took a step forward. Through intrigues and

political manipulation established the law of succession

aside, and a group of nine electors met to

decide on the respective claims. They met in Caspe in

Aragón 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 “The Medieval Crown of Aragon” he 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 Count of 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

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 union descends uninterrupted the line of

Paterno’s House.

Over the centuries, the descent had thrown numerous

branches, many of which have intermarried. So when the

the last Prince of Cassano died, it was unclear 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 is answered.

A family conclave, at the initiative of the 7th 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

family branches. After a review of the corresponding

evidence and extensive discussion, was the finding

of the conclave that real rights, which had been the

topic of debate, 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 by Emmanuel

Riburdone, the heir to the House of Guttadauro. East

conclusion that he had received the assent of King Ferdinand

II of the Two Sicilies was achieved in recognition that

Only don Mario had the royal blood of Aragon in his veins

from two sources, through the separate descents of their two

mother and father of King James the Conqueror.

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

in the Chamber of Royal Records and Seals of the Kingdom

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

of Don Mario, his father Don Giovanni must 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

which determined and confirmed the dynamic rights of the

House of the Paternal Castello Guttadauro. The definitive endorsement

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 grant. On February 11, 1860, 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 the abdication of his father, HRH 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, Mallorca

and Sicily, and his international commitment to the cavalry

and charities, is available at

http://www.moterranordica.org