THE IMPERIAL HOUSE OF MEXICO THE HOUSE OF ITURBIDE

Contributors:
Charles Mikos is a member of the non-titled noble branch of the Mikos de Tarrodhaza family and is distantly related to the Baronial branch. A former librarian, he is a member of the Hungarian genealogical society.

Don Teodoro Amerlinck y Zirion is Life President of the Mexican Academy of Genealogy and Heraldry and is the author of the original work on the Emperor Don Agustin. He is an expert on the noble families of Mexico.

David G. Williams is editor of Debrett's Peerage and acknowledged to be on of the world's foremost experts on royal genealogy.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Charles Mikos wishes to thank all those who helped with the preparation of this booklet, in particular Dona Maria Anna and Dona Maria Gizela de Iturbide, Dr. Lajos Gecsenyi of the Oesterreichische Staatsarchiv, Countess Gudenus, Prof. Dr. Istvan Kallay, Baron Tamas Tunkl von Aschbrunn und Hohenstadt and the late Baron Theo Kast von Ebelsberg.

THE IMPERIAL HOUSE OF MEXICO, THE HOUSE OF ITURBIDE

The genealogy of the Iturbide family of Mexico has been extraordinarily neglected and has appeared in very few major genealogical works. Where it has appeared the tables have contained serious errors and omissions. The genealogical table that appears here was compiled by David Williamson of Debrett's Peerage and formerly of Burke's Peerage. Mr. Williamson compiled Burke's Royal Families of the World volumes 1 & 2 and is internationally acknowledged to be one of the foremost experts on royal genealogy. The table produced here is certainly the most complete ever published.

The principle reason for the lack of reference to the former Imperial House of Mexico is surely the brief time that the House actually ruled. This throws up a difficult question for the genealogist and historian namely how long must a house rule before it is considered legitimate. This question must also be viewed with respect to how the ruling house attained power. Using this criteria and examining the circumstances the conclusion must be that the Emperor Agustin I qualifies as a wholly legitimate monarch in which case his family qualified as a legitimate dynasty. The Emperor was elected monarch by the Mexican parliament and acclaimed as such by the people of Mexico. The length of his reign is immaterial. The legitimacy of his family and their prestige in Mexico were sufficient for the Emperor Maximillian to adopt two of the Emperor Agustin's grandsons and to make one his immediate heir.

The ambition of the authors of this booklet is to set the genealogical table straight and to act as a source of record and reference for scholars who may wish to expand upon this neglected subject and dynasty.

This booklet is not meant as a biography of the Emperor Agustin I. In fact, numerous complete biographies in the English language have been produced. One of these is by W. S. Robertson, Iturbide of Mexico, published in 1952 (Duke University Press). It gives a highly critical and one-sided account of the Emperor's life but does include a number of previously unpublished references and has a large bibliography. Another more recent work by Timothy E Anna, professor of history at the University of Manitoba and acknowledged expert on Mexico. The Mexican Empire of Iturbide, published in 1990 by the University of Nebraska Press, is a far more balanced view of the life and career of the Emperor Don Agustin I and is very highly recommended.

Notwithstanding the above, a summary and description of the career and achievements of the Emperor are deemed necessary for this publication.

For the bulk of this booklet sources of information other than in Spanish have been translated into English. However, where the text pertains to heraldic and early genealogical information, we have retained the original Spanish.

THE EMPEROR

Don Agustin de Iturbide, liberator and subsequently Emperor of Mexico, originated from a noble family that has its roots in Navarre. The Iturbide family had been ennobled in 1440 by King Juan II of Aragon. Don Martin de Iturbide was Alcalde of the valley of Baztan in 1432 and exercised jurisdiction in the King's name.

The Iturbide family continued to hold high office in the Basque lands from the 15th century onwards and many prominent members of the family are recorded in the archives of Pamplona. Don Juan de Iturbide and two of his sons fall as heroes at the battle of Lepanto in 1571.

Don Jose de Iturbide y Alvarez de Eulate married Dona Maria Josepha de Arregui y de Gastelu. Their son, Don Jose Joaquin, was born in January or February 1739 and baptized on February 6th. In 1766, he emigrated to Mexico and settled in the town of Valladolid (today Moralia).

By 1786, Don Jose Joaquin was a member of the municipal council and owner of a hacienda at Quirio. He married in 1772 Dona Maria Josepha de Aramburu y Carillo de Figueroa also of a noble family originating from Navarre and Biscaya. On the 27th of September 1783, their son Agustin was born. Don Agustin was educated at the college of San Nicolas and at the officer's academy. In 1797 he was commissioned second Lieutenant. In 1805 he married a Spanish noblewoman, Dona Anna Maria Josepha de Huarte y Nuniz, a grand daughter of the Marquis de Altamira and daughter of the powerful nobleman Isidro de Huarte, provincial Intendment of the district. In 1806, Don Agustin was promoted to full Lieutenant and in 1810 to Captain. Between 1810 and 1816, Don Agustin distinguished himself in putting down insurrections by rebels calling for the independence of Mexico. As a result of these successful actions, he mad a number of enemies. IN 1813 the viceroy promoted Don Agustin to Colonel and mad him commander of the newly-created regiment of Calaya. In 1814, Don Agustin was made joint-commander of the royalist forces that defeated the army of Jose Maria Morelos at Turuaran. In 1815 he was made supreme commander of the armies of the north. Between 1816 and 1820, Don Agustin became increasingly sympathetic to the cause of independence for Mexico. In 1821, Don Agustin was made supreme commander of all Mexican forces and in the same year he drew up the Plan of Iguala, which called for an independent Mexico under King Ferdinand VII. The major points of the plan of Iguala were called the three guarantees and these were religion, independence and union. A new army called the army of the three guarantees was created in order to protect and implement the plan. Don Agustin was commander of this army.

As indicated, the plan envisaged Mexico being an independent monarchy under the Spanish King, or in case of his refusal, under another Prince of the House of Borbon. Should that prove impossible, the throne of Mexico was to be offered to a member of another reigning catholic European dynasty. In the meantime, Mexico would continue to be ruled by the viceroy but under the terms of the plan of Iguala and with the help of the army of the three guarantees.

King Ferdinand VII reject the plan but sent Juan O'Donoju as his viceroy (captain general) to Mexico. Eventually after much negotiation Juan O'Donoju agreed to the plan of Iguala in a treaty known as the treaty of Cordoba. However, King Ferdinand VII later rejected this compromise saying that despite having given him a free hand, O'Donoju was not really authorized to sign it. Simultaneously, the King rejected the offer of the crown of an independent Mexico and forbade any of his family from accepting the position.

Nonetheless, in September 1821, Mexico was declared an independent State. There were many Mexicans who at the time of independence and out of gratitude to Don Agustin as liberator of Mexico suggested offering the vacant throne to him. Don Agustin however turned t his offer down saying that he still recognized King Ferdinand VII as his monarch. Over the next few months, it became obvious that on suitable candidate from the house of Borbon could be persuaded to accept the throne so that the lobby for Don Agustin grew stronger. On the night of the 18th of May 1822, a mass demonstration led by the regiment of Celaya, whose commander was Don Agustin, marched through the streets and demanded that their commander-in-chief accept the throne. In later years, Don Agustin's enemies claimed unjustly that he had instigated this demonstration himself. However, it is an undeniable fact that the highest commanders of the army wanted Don Agustin to accept the throne and so did the mass of the population of Mexico City and the country as a whole. As a result the congress was convened to discuss the candidatures for the throne of Mexico. After a long and lively debate the congress proclaimed Don Agustin Emperor of Mexico by divined providence and by the congress of the nation. Very few monarchs then or now could demonstrate such legitimate credentials. The Emperor was called to the throne not only by popular acclaim but by the democratic vote of the congress.

The coronation of Don Agustin as Emperor and his wife Dona Ana Maria as Empress took place amid much pomp and circumstance on the 21st of July 1822 at the cathedral of Mexico City. The Archbishop Fonte presided over the anointing of the Emperor who crowned himself.

Following the coronation of Don Agustin, political and financial instability continued to bedevil an independent Mexico. Don Agustin was accused of assuming too much power for himself interestingly these accusations were leveled by individuals jealous of his position. In the early spring of 1823,, Don Agustin in response to criticism that he was responsible for much of the unrest in the country offered his abdication. On the 19th of March his abdication was accepted by his opponents in the government. Noting that his presence in Mexico would always serve as a focus for disturbances he said he would gladly leave the country if that would help ease the situation. Both the army and the common people of Mexico protested at the abdication of the Emperor as they were still very much in his favor. But by that time the Emperor's political opponents had gained the upper hand. Always jealous of the Emperor's popularity and successes, they missed no opportunity to criticize and censure him. After leaving Mexico, the Emperor lived in Italy and later in England where he wrote his memoirs.

Despite his abdication and departure, the situation in Mexico continued to worsen so that the Emperor saw his sacrifice as having been for nothing. Reports coming from Mexico indicated to the Emperor that the masses and army were still behind him and that they viewed him as the only person capable of brining peace and order to an independent Mexico.

Cathedral of Mexico City

On the 11th of May 1824, the Emperor sailed from Southampton aboard the vessel Spring with his wife and two youngest children bound for Mexico. The shop landed at the town of Soto La Marina. News of the Emperor's arrival had been betrayed by spies in England so that the new government commander of the eastern interior provinces, Filip Garza, was waiting for him to arrest him. The politicians in power in Mexico City, terrified of the news of the Emperor's return spreading amongst the people and the army, ordered that the Emperor be executed without trial for having returned to Mexico without the permission of the government. Furthermore, Garza was to carry out the sentence at once and without delay. The Emperor, showing great courage and enormous dignity, was placed before a firing squad of militia and promptly executed. More than a decade later, in October 1838, his remains were buried in a state funeral at the Cathedral of Mexico City.

Following the Emperor's untimely and tragic death, his claim passed to his eldest son, the Prince Imperial.

Born at Valladolid on the 30th September 1807, Don Augustin, the Prince Imperial, was educated at the famous English Roman Catholic boarding school of Ampleforth in Yorkshire. Although the Prince Imperial never married, it is alleged that he fathered an illegitimate daughter by an unknown lady. This illegitimate daughter later married Nicholas Fernandez de Pierola who subsequently became the President of the Republic of Peru. The Prince Imperial served as an attaché in the Mexican legation in London and later as a volunteer he fought with the pontifical army. He died unmarried in New York on 11 December 1866. With the Prince Imperial's death, the succession to the throne passed to his brother, Don Angel. Don Angel, in turn, and at the request of the then-reigning Emperor Maximillian of Mexico, abdicated his rights to his only child, Don Augustin, who had then been adopted by the Emperor Maximillian.

[Here the authors insert an article from Harper's Magazine.]

On September 15, 1865, Maximillian, Emperor of Mexico concluded a secret agreement with the Iturbide family. His goal being the adoption of two of the grandsons of Emperor Augustin I, namely Don Augustin and Don Salvador. Following the conclusion and signing of this agreement, Don Augustin was nominated heir to the throne. The children's title of Prince accorded the family in 1822 was confirmed. Maximillian's idea in making Don Augustin his heir was to combine in one person his own and the native claims. He felt that he could through this measure hold out to the Mexican people the hope that the scepter would descend to a full-blooded Mexican of Imperial lineage.

"Don Augustin had been educated at San Michele and at Ascot school. He later attended university at Georgetown where he graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. During his sojourn in Europe he enjoyed all the social advantages which are given to an Imperial Prince. In 1890, President Diaz, for political reasons, and fearing the growing popularity of Don Augustin in Mexico had him imprisoned for 14 months and later exiled him from Mexico, confiscating most of his property. Don Augustin went into exile in Washington, DC and was for many years professor of French and Spanish at his old alma mater, Georgetown University. Following his exile he suffered from a severed nervous condition which progressively got worse and eventually led to a complete physical breakdown. In the spring of 1925 he died. He was buried in Philadelphia next to his grandmother the Empress" (the above taken from W. Coleman Neville, Miniatures of Georgetown, published in Washington, 1934.)

Don Augustin had married Maria Louise Kearney but this union remained childless. Upon his death, his claim to the throne passed to the descendent of the other adopted grandson of the Emperor Augustin, Don Salvador. Don Salvador had been adopted as co-heir along with his cousin Don Augustin by the Emperor Maximillian in 1865.

Don Salvador de Iturbide, Prince of Mexico, was born at Mexico City, the son of the Emperor Augustin I's 8th child and third son, Don Salvador, by his wife Dona Rosario de Marzan y Guisasola. Don Salvador was adopted joint heir (or second heir) along with his cousin Don Augustin by the Emperor Maximillian in 1865.

Following the fall of the second Empire, Don Salvador remained in Europe. He was educated at the College of St. Barbe in Paris. After the completion of his studies, he moved to Vienna and petitioned the Emperor Franz Josef for a pension that he deemed was due him as the adopted son and heir of the Emperor Franz Josef's murdered brother, Maximillian. Whilst in Vienna he was befriended by the Baron Gyula Gaspar Mikos de Tarrodhaza who had just returned from a long journey through South America. Baron Gyula Gaspar was hoping to obtain various letters of introduction from Don Salvador for his next trip to Argentina, Chile and Peru.

The Baron invited Don Salvador to his family's home in Mikos Szeplak. Here Don Salvador was introduced to the Baron's sister, the Baroness Gizella. The introduction turned to romance and on the 21st of June 1871, Don Salvador and Baroness Gizela were married at Mikos castle, Mikosd, in Hungary. The best man at the wedding was Don Salvador's closest friend, the Baron Ferdinand Tunkl von Aschbrunn und Hohenstadt, whose son later married his daughter.

Three daughters were born of this union. Following their marriage, Don Salvador and Dona Gizela lived at Mikosd castle which they rented from Baron Johann Mikos. Later, however, Baron Johann decided to sell his estate without mentioning this fact to Don Salvador. Don Slavador took offense and moved his family to Venice, where they rented a plazzo on Canale Grande.

Don Slavador and Dona Gizela became leading figures in Venetian society. Don Salvador become close friends with Don Carlos (XII) the Duke of Madrid and Carlist pretendant to the throne of Spain. Don Carlos awarded both Don Salvador and Dona Gizela the personal order of Carols. A large correspondence between Don Carlos and Don Salvador ensured most of which has survived and is still in the Iturbide private family archives.

Don Salvador was an indefatigable traveler who visited most of Europe's major cities. When not traveling or socializing, he pursed his claim for restitution against the ten government of Mexico. He was awarded a pension by the Emperor Franz Josef but regularly petitioned to have this increased.

In February 1895, whilst visiting Ajaccio in Corsica, he became ill and died aged 45. He is buried at the San Michele cemetery in Venice.

His widow Dona Gizela remained in Venice where she made the acquaintance of Count Emil Jenison-Walworth. On 1 May 1900 they were married at Paddington in London. The Jenison-Walworths were an ancient noble family from Country Durham and appear in the doomsday book. They lost most of their estates at the time of the reformation. In the 18th century, the Jenison-Walworth family emigrated to Germany and were subsequently elevated to the rank of count.

Count Emil Jamison-Walworth died at Nice in 910 and his wife remained in France until 1918 whereupon she returned to Austria and died in a nursing home in Graz in 1921.

The eldest daughter Maria Josepha Sophia became head of the Imperial House of Mexico following the death of her uncle Augustin in 1925.

A modest and very religious lady, she played no political role whatsoever. She married twice and had two daughters. Following the end of the second world war, and despite her very advanced age, she and her second husband were interned by the Romanian Communist government as class enemies of the people. She and her second husband died under mysterious and suspicious circumstances shortly after their internment in 1948.

Her heir according to her will and testament and in accordance to both her daughters' wishes was her only grandson Don Maximiliano von Goetzen-Iturbide. Don Maximiliano has been head of the Imperial House of Mexico for over 40 years but plays no political role and does not pursue any claim. He resides in Australia where he is a successful businessman.

[Here the authors insert a section in Spanish, titled: GENEALOGIA Y HERALDICA DEL PRIMER EMPERADOR DE MEJICO DON AGUSTIN I]

MORE TO COME . . .