| The Royal House of Aragon was founded by James I | | | | Spadafora and from that union descends unbroken |
| of Aragon | | | | the line ofthe House of Paternò. |
| ("The Conqueror") who reigned as King of Aragon | | | | Over the centuries the descent had thrown off |
| 1213 - 1276. | | | | numerousbranches, many of which have intermarried. |
| The Kingdom of Aragon was one of the small | | | | Thus, when thelast Prince of Cassano died, it was not |
| Christian stateswhich arose in the Iberian peninsula | | | | clear who preciselyheld the dynastic right to the jus |
| following the gradualexpulsion of the Moors, who had | | | | majestatis of the Landsof the Crown of Aragon and it |
| held sway in the area in thewake of their conquest of | | | | became urgently necessary thatthe question be |
| the old Visigothic realm of Spainin the eighth century. | | | | answered. |
| Peter III succeeded his father James I to the throne in | | | | A family conclave, on the initiative of the 7th Duke of |
| 1276, and for many years the succession continued | | | | Carcaci Don Francesco Paternò Castello e |
| withoutproblems. But when King Martin I (the Humanist) | | | | Sammartino, wascalled on 14th June 1853, and held in |
| of Aragondied in 1410 he had no children to succeed | | | | Palermo in the palaceof the Marquis of Spedalotto, |
| him, and he hadnot named any successor. The only | | | | head of one of the more seniorbranches of the family. |
| written law of successionwas the Will of James I | | | | After a review of the relevantevidence and a |
| which confirmed the principle ofmale primogeniture, but | | | | wide-ranging discussion, it was the findingof the |
| this was not followed. Six claimantsto the throne | | | | conclave that the royal rights, which had been |
| stepped forward. Through intrigues andpolitical | | | | thesubject of the debate, should be confirmed as |
| gerrymandering the law of succession was setaside, | | | | belonging to |
| and a group of nine electors was put together | | | | Don Mario, son of the Duke of Carcaci's younger |
| todecide upon the respective claims. They met at | | | | brother Don |
| Caspe in | | | | Giovanni and his wife Donna Eleonora Guttadauro of |
| Aragon in 1412, and by the very composition of the | | | | Emmanuel |
| group adecision for one of the claimants, Ferdinand of | | | | Riburdone, the heiress of the House of Guttadauro. |
| Antequera,was assured in advance. He thus came to | | | | Thisconclusion which had received the assent of King |
| power in a mannersimilar to a coup in conflict with the | | | | Ferdinand |
| prevailing order ofsuccession. | | | | II of the Two Sicilies was reached on the recognition |
| This point is also stressed by T.N. Bisson, who for | | | | that |
| manyyears was professor of medieval history at | | | | Don Mario alone had the royal blood of Aragon in his |
| Harvard | | | | veinsfrom two sources, through the separate |
| University. When discussing the "compromise" of | | | | descents of both hismother and his father from King |
| Caspe inhis book "The medieval crown of Aragon" he | | | | James the Conqueror. |
| points out that | | | | A family pact was then signed and registered on 16 |
| " ... the issuem was (or became) political rather than | | | | June 1853in the Chamber of Seals and Royal |
| simplylegal, a utilitarian question of which candidate with | | | | Registers of the Kingdomof the Two Sicilies. It was |
| somedynastic claim would make the best king"(op. cit., | | | | decreed that during the minorityof Don Mario, his father |
| pp. 135- | | | | Don Giovanni should be Regent. |
| 6). | | | | The sealing of the family pact was but one of a series |
| When James Count of Urgel, who should have | | | | ofevents following the death of the last Prince of |
| inherited thethrone after Martin I, died in captivity in 1433 | | | | Cassanowhich determined and confirmed the dynastic |
| thelegitimate line passed to the Duke of Gandia who | | | | rights of the |
| diedwithout heir in 1454. The lawful succession thus | | | | House of Paternò Castello Guttadauro. The |
| passed in | | | | final endorsementcame on 2nd February 1860 when |
| 1454 to the House of Ayerbe where the Princes of | | | | the Royal Commission for |
| Cassanowere heads of the House until their line | | | | Titles of Nobility recommended to the new king Francis |
| became extinct withthe death of Joseph the last | | | | IIthat a petition by "Ecc'mo Sig. Don Mario |
| Prince of Cassano. | | | | Paternò Castello |
| The succession thence passed to the cadet branch of | | | | Guttadauro dei Duchi di Carcaci be granted. The |
| the | | | | petition wasthat the Prince should receive all |
| House of Ayerbe, the line from Peter, the younger son | | | | confirmation of the |
| of | | | | Sovereign's assent for those "chivalrous distinctions" |
| King James the Conqueror in his third marriage. Peter | | | | whichhe wished to bestow. On 11th February 1860 the |
| first | | | | kingapproved the recommendation of the Royal |
| Baron of Ayerbe had a son Michael who in turn sired | | | | Commission anddirected the Secretary of State for |
| a boy, | | | | Sicilian Affairs to giveeffect to his approval. |
| Giovanni the Elder born in 1347 and who in 1398 | | | | In 1996, following the abdication of his father, H.R.H. Don |
| became Vicar | | | | Francesco became Head of the Royal House of |
| General of the Kingdom of Sicily. Giovanni married | | | | Aragon, Majorcaand Sicily as Prince of Emanuel and |
| Sibilla | | | | Duke of Perpignan. |