BORBÓN, Josefa Fernanda de

Josefa Fernanda de Borbón y Borbón was a Spanish royal, artist, and composer who lived a life marked by independence and political exile. Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez to Infante Francisco de Paula and Princess Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies, she was a granddaughter of King Charles IV of Spain and the sister of Francis, Duke of Cádiz, the king consort to Queen Isabella II. Affectionately known within her family as "Pepita," her early life was disrupted by intense dynastic rivalries, forcing her family into an initial period of exile in Paris during her youth.
Josefa Fernanda was recognized in court circles for her artistic and musical talents. As a visual artist, she presented several watercolor flower paintings at an exhibition organized by the Liceo Artístico y Literario de Madrid in 1846. As a composer, she wrote several musical pieces, most notably a waltz that she dedicated to her aunt, the Queen Regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies.
Her life took a dramatic turn in June 1848 when she chose to secretly marry José Güell y Renté, a Cuban-born journalist, poet, and lawyer. Because the marriage was morganatic and performed without the required consent of Queen Isabella II, it violated royal pragmatics. Consequently, a royal decree stripped her of her titles, honors, and privileges as an Infanta of Spain. The couple was officially banished from the Spanish court and exiled to France, where they settled in Paris and had three children together.
The family remained in exile until 1855, when a new royal decree pardoned them and restored Josefa Fernanda’s status and title as an Infanta. She spent her later years maintaining her independent lifestyle and split her time between Spain and France. Josefa Fernanda passed away on June 10, 1910, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and was buried at the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.