Prince of Sulmona

The Prince of Sulmona (Italian: Principe di Sulmona) is a noble title in Italy held by the House of Borghese. The title derives its name from Sulmona, a town in Abruzzo. Originally it was created in 1527, during Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor's reign as King of Naples in recognition of the work done by Charles de Lannoy as Viceroy of Naples. In the absence of male heirs descendants of Charles de Lannoy, the title went to the latter's daughter, Mary, as provided for devolution rules of the Holy Empire. Marie de Lannoy who married in 1539 Valenciennes Philippe Lefebvre de Lattre, rebellious Calvinist who distinguished himself in Valenciennes in the War of the Beggars, the titular was not recognized by the Catholic sovereigns and Sulmona returned a free town. However without good cause, the title of Prince of Sulmona, is still claimed by the Lefebvre de Lattre family. Due in large part to the diplomacy of Pope Paul V, the title was recreated for his nephew Marcantonio Borghese by Philip III of Spain (The King Philip III sold the Principality and the Town of Sulmona to the Borghese Family et remained in this family until the end of feudalism ) who was directly ruling the Kingdom of Naples at the time. The title was recognized to the Borghese Family from the Kingdom of Italy after the unification of Italy.

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