The Knights and Volunteers of the Guard of Honour at the Royal Tombs of the Bourbon Sovereigns of the Delegation of Naples and Campania prayed in memory of Queen Maria Sofia Wittelsbach of Bourbon and King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon.
Despite the betrayals and corruptions, the figure of Queen Maria Sofia, the last Sovereign of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, has always been radiant. When she was just nineteen years old, she fought heroically in Gaeta with her husband, King Francis II of Bourbon, thanks to her courage and determination, helping all the injured or dying soldiers and those infected with typhus. Nothing stopped her, not even the dangers caused by bombs. Her humanity brought her even closer to her soldiers.
Ferdinand IV of Bourbon was one of the Sovereigns closest to the People. A pioneer in the defence of workers’ rights, he was the first King of Europe who created and introduced a special law for the workers of the Royal Colony of San Leucio, aimed not only at industrial profit, but also at the optimal living conditions of its workers. Ferdinand IV’s reign began on 10 October 1759. He is the founder of the ‘Nunziatella’ Military College, continued the work that had launched by his father Charles, i.e. the process of social, economic, political and cultural modernisation of the Kingdom of Naples, achieving important goals that were recognised by the whole Europe.