[9] Their family remained grand masters of the order until 1698 when Giovanni Andrea II, who also claimed the titles of "Prince of Macedonia", "Duke of Thessaly" and "Count of Drivasto, Durazzo etc."

Its incorporation as a religious order of the Catholic Church hereditary in the House of Farnese and its heirs, the Bourbons, dates from the transfer to Francesco Farnese on 11 January 1698, an act confirmed in an imperial diploma, "Agnoscimus et notum facimus", of the emperor, Leopold I, dated 5 August 1699, and the apostolic brief, "Sincerae Fidei", issued by Pope Innocent XII on 24 October 1699.

These confirmed the succession of the grand magistry to the Farnese family and its heirs as an ecclesiastical office (therefore limited to males) and, crucially, did not tie it to tenure of sovereignty of the Duchy of Parma.

[citation needed] In 1910, Pope Pius X appointed the first of three successive cardinal protectors and, in 1913, approved a series of privileges for the chaplains of the order.

Whether the "Pragmatic Decree" applied to Prince Carlo's situation in 1900, and whether the grand magistry of the order was included in such a renunciation, are both issues in dispute, yet within the world of academia, the latter has been, almost without exception, ruled in favour of the Hispano-Neapolitan branch.

[13] The Act of Cannes literally states: Before Us, Don Alfonso de Borbón, Count of Caserta... Head of the Royal House and Dynasty of the Two Sicilies... His Royal Highness Prince Don Carlos, our beloved Son, appears and declares that, having to marry HRH Infanta María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, and assuming by such marriage the nationality and quality of Spanish Prince, understands to renounce as by this Act solemnly renounces, by himself and by his heirs and successors, all the right and reason to the eventual succession to the Crown of the Two Sicilies and to all the assets of the Royal House that are in Italy and elsewhere, and this according to our Laws, constitutions and Family customs, in execution of the Pragmatic Sanction of King Charles III, our Augustus ancestor, of October 6, 1759, the prescriptions of which he freely and spontaneously declares to subscribe and obey.

He also declares, in particular, to renounce for himself, his heirs and successors to the assets and values existing in Italy, Vienna and Monaco (Bavaria) and destined by His Majesty King Francis II (may God have welcomed his soul), to the foundation of a majorat for the Head of the Dynasty and of the Family of the Two Sicilies and for the constitution of an endowment fund in favor of the Royal Princesses and granddaughters of our August Father King Ferdinand (may God have welcomed his soul), of marriageable age; but preserving his rights to the part of the assets that were bequeathed to him by his late uncle King Francis II, in the event that the Italian Government, which improperly retains them, makes the due restitution and the same everything that may arrive to him by other testamentary legacies.

This act was signed despite an official statement in the Spanish parliament (Cortes) by the minister of justice that no renunciation was necessary and if one was made it would be null and void.

Supporters of the late Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria and his only son and heir, Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria assert that Prince Carlo's renunciation was conditional on his actually inheriting both the Spanish and Two Sicilies crowns and/or that, even in that circumstances, such a renunciation did not include the position of grand master of the Constantinian order, which they regard as separate from the crown.

Indeed, the Act of Cannes never mentioned the order at all, although most authors argue that even if it had, its grand magistry is by nature a Farnesian family legacy that is not linked to the throne of the Two Sicilies.

], headed by Prince Pedro, which asserts that the renunciation was conditioned on facts that never arose, and that the order and the crown are governed by separate rules.

[19] In 1983 King Juan Carlos I instructed the head of the royal household, the Marquess of Mondéjar to request five high Spanish institutions to determine to "whom should descend the Headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies".

The first of these to report was the Institute of Genealogy "Salazar y Castro" of the "Superior Council of Scientific Investigation" on 8 March 1983, followed by the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation on 6 May 1983.

Don Carlos de Borbón, Duque de Calabria" stating "In the interests of historical truth and with the intention of clarifying the problem of to whom corresponds the Headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and the Grand Mastership of the Constantinian Order of St George, by order of His Majesty the King, and as Head of His Household, I have received the declarations and opinions of (then names the five institutions)...

The unanimous agreement of the opinions and reports issued by the highest authorities and corporations of the Spanish State competent in the matter, recognise in the person of Your Royal Highness the title of the Headship of the House of Bourbon Two Sicilies and of the Grand Mastership of the Constantinian Order of Saint George."

The United States Department of the Army has included the Order among those for which authorisation may be given to wear the decorations on the official list of such awards, under Spain.

When asked to explain the source of this information, the editor of the Libro d'Oro (Roberto Colonello Bertini Frassoni) wrote on 5 January 1989 that it had been provided by Achille Di Lorenzo, grand chancellor of the Franco-Neapolitan Constantinian Order.

Another letter dated 15 October 1987 distributed at the same time and supposedly from a Curia official, Archbishop, now Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, also stated that Prince Ferdinand was the grand a master and Di Lorenzo the grand chancellor; this letter was subsequently denounced by Re as a forgery and Cardinal Re has since become a member of the Spanish Order, several times celebrating Masses of the Order.

[citation needed] This version of the Order was formerly led by a British Catholic public relations advisor as its "magistral delegate", and has awarded him other honours.

On average between 100 and 150 applications are recommended by the Committee in each of its two sessions per year non-governmental organizations to hold consultative status at the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations.

The final intention was to work towards a future where the two branches might co-operate together (although the revival of the Order of Francis I has never been accepted by the senior, Spanish line.

The succession to the Constantinian Grand Mastership was confirmed by an Imperial Bull and a Papal Brief, and by the Bull Militantis Ecclesiae, and required that the Grand Mastership, an ecclesiastical office in canon law, could only be held by males and must pass by primogeniture to the heirs of the House of Farnese; the purported change to the succession by Prince Carlo has not been approved by the Holy See.