⭐ ✅ Un romance real: veinte años de matrimonio del duque y la duquesa de Calabria

Los duques de Calabria en el Palacio Real de Madrid, 2019. Fotografía (c) Bekia.

¡Hoy, el Príncipe Pedro y la Princesa Sofía de Borbón-Dos Sicilias, Duque y Duquesa de Calabria, celebran su vigésimo aniversario!

Doña Sofía llega a la boda con su padre Don José Manuel Landaluce.

El duque de Noto llega a la boda.

El 30 de marzo de 2001, el Príncipe Pedro, Duque de Noto, y Doña Sofía Landaluce y Melgarejo se casaron en la capilla del Real Club Puerto de Hierro de Madrid. La ceremonia religiosa fue oficiada por el padre Marco Álvarez de Toledo y Marone, nieto de la Infanta Cristina de España. Don José Manuel Landaluce actuó como padrino de la pareja y la Princesa Ana, Duquesa de Calabria, como madrina. A la boda asistieron, entre otros, el Príncipe de Asturias (hoy Rey Felipe VI de España), la Infanta Elena y su marido Don Jaime, y la Infanta Margarita y su marido el Dr. Carlos Zurita.

Pedro y Sofía.

Born in 1968, Prince Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Noto, was the only son of Infante Carlos of Spain, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and his wife Princess Anne d’Orléans. Pedro’s paternal grandparents were Infante Alfonso of Spain, Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and his wife Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma. Pedro’s maternal grandparents were Prince Henri d’Orléans, Count of Paris, and his wife Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Bragança. Born in 1973, Doña Sofía Landaluce y Melgarejo was the daughter of Don José Manuel Landaluce y Dominguez and his wife Doña Blanca Melgarejo y Gonzales. Sofía’s paternal grandparents were Don Francisco Landaluce y Asensio and Doña Manuela Dominguez. Sofía’s maternal grandparents were Don Carlos Melgarejo y Tordesillas (a son of the 5th Duke de San Fernando de Quiroga) and Doña Emilia Gonzáles y Gonzáles de Jonte. The marriage of the Duke of Noto and Doña Sofía Landaluce y Melgarejo was the crowning of a loving relationship of almost ten years, which had began in 1991. Pedro and Sofía had known one another since they were teenagers. A strong bond formed between them formed: their romance commenced when Pedro was twenty-three and Sofía was eighteen. In 1993, the couple welcomed the arrival of their first child, a son: Jaime (now Duke of Noto). Pedro’s father Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, hoped for a royal bride for his only son and heir; therefore, paternal and dynastic approval for the couple to marry was not immediately forthcoming.

Pedro and Sofía with their son Jaime.

Despite the lack of approval, Pedro and Sofía maintained their relationship. Sofía focused on raising their son Jaime, and Pedro regularly spent time with his beloved and their child. Over the years, Sofía won over her eventual father-in-law Carlos. The dedication of Pedro and Sofía to one another and their child, as well as their desire to be married, was ultimately victorious. Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, served as one of the witnesses to the couple when they married in 2001.

The Duke and Duchess of Calabria with their children, 2015.

After their marriage, the Duke and Duchess of Noto had a further six children: Prince Juan (b.2003), Prince Pablo (b.2004), Prince Pedro (b.2007), Princess Sofia (b.2008), Princess Blanca (b.2011), and Princess Maria (b.2015). Although the children of the Notos were initially not considered to be dynasts, the Duke of Calabria decided after 2004 that the children of his son and daughter-in-law should, in fact (and rightfully so), be styled as Royal Highnesses and Prince(ss) of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

The Duke and Duchess of Calabria arrive at the funeral of Infanta Alicia, 2017. Photograph (c) Getty Images/Europa Press Entertainment.

En 2015, falleció el padre de Pedro, el infante Carlos. El príncipe Pedro le sucedió como jefe de la Casa Real de Borbón-Dos Sicilias; él y su esposa Sofía pasaron a ser duques de Calabria. En 2020, la pareja anunció el compromiso de su hijo mayor, el príncipe Jaime, duque de Noto, con Lady Charlotte Lindesay-Bethune. La boda estaba prevista originalmente para el verano de 2021; sin embargo, debido a la pandemia mundial de coronavirus, el matrimonio tuvo que retrasarse.