Category Archives: Parma Royals

Isabella of Parma, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Isabella of Parma, Archduchess of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Princess Isabella of Parma, Infanta of Spain was the first wife of the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor who was also the ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands. Isabella died before Joseph became Holy Roman Emperor. Isabella Maria Luisa Antonietta Ferdinanda Giuseppina Saveria Dominica Giovanna was born on December 31, 1741, at Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, Kingdom of Spain. She was the eldest of the three children and the elder of the two daughters of Infante Felipe of Spain, from 1748 until his death also Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, and his first cousin once removed Princess Louise Élisabeth of France. Isabella’s paternal grandparents were Felipe V, King of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Her maternal grandparents were Louis XV, King of France and Marie Leszczyńska.

Isabella had two younger siblings:

Isabella’s maternal grandparents Felipe V, King of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese of Parma who were important during the early years of her life; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella’s mother was only fourteen years old when she gave birth to Isabella. Two months later, Isabella’s father left to fight in the War of the Austrian Succession and did not return until Isabella was eight years old. Just a child herself, Isabella’s mother showed little affection toward Isabella and probably found the baby to be a burden. For the first seven years of her life, Isabella was raised at the Madrid court of her paternal grandfather Felipe V, King of Spain. Her paternal grandmother Queen Elisabeth was the primary influence in young Isabella’s life.

Following the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Isabella’s father became Duke of Parma and Piacenza, a title formerly belonging to the House of Farnese, his mother’s family. Isabella was now a Princess of Parma and a member of the new House of Bourbon-Parma. Isabella and her mother arrived in Parma in November 1749.

Isabella’s family in Parma in 1757; Isabella, age 16, standing in a light purple dress. Left to right are Isabella’s brother Ferdinando and sister Maria Luisa, her mother Louise Élisabeth of France, her father Felipe of Spain, Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, and the children’s governess Marie Catherine de Bassecourt, Marchioness of Borghetto.

Isabella was well educated. She was eager to learn and was interested in many things. She read the writings of Italian and French philosophers and had an understanding of mathematics and military matters. Isabella was very musical and excelled at singing and playing the violin and the harpsichord. She drew, painted, and began to write about serious topics. As an adult, Isabella wrote on various topics including an analysis of her life, her philosophy, and the state of the world around her. Isabella wrote a humorous autobiography Les Aventures de l’étourderie (The Adventures of Amazement). In her Christian Reflections, she wrote about her thoughts on many religious questions, especially death.

Over and over again, Isabella expressed her desire to become a nun but other plans were in the works for her. To strengthen the relations between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs, Isabella’s grandfather King Louis XV of France and Maria Theresa of Austria, ruler in her own right of the Habsburg hereditary lands, Holy Roman Empress by her marriage to Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor and in reality the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire because her husband left the ruling to her, arranged a marriage between Isabella and Maria Theresa’s eldest son Archduke Joseph of Austria, the future Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and future ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands.

Isabella’s husband, then Archduke Joseph of Austria, after her death Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

A proxy marriage was held on September 5, 1760, at Padua Cathedral in Padua, then in the Republic of Venice, now in Italy. Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, who had a successful military career in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire and as a diplomat for the Holy Roman Empire, was given the honor of escorting Isabella to Vienna, Austria. On October 6, 1760, at the Augustinerkirche (Augustinian Church) in Vienna, Austria, the two 18-year-olds Joseph and Isabella were married by the Papal Nuncio Cardinal Vitaliano Borromeo.

Isabella and her elder daughter Archduchess Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph and Isabella had two daughters but neither survived childhood:

Left to right: Isabella’s husband Joseph, her mother-in-law Maria Theresa, Isabella, and Joseph’s sister Maria Christina in 1763; Credit – Wikipedia

Joseph adored his wife but Isabella hated the strict court ceremonies and was very reserved toward Joseph. Joseph’s sister Archduchess Maria Christina was Isabella’s best friend and closest confidante. Some modern historians believe that Isabella and Maria Christina likely had a romantic, and possibly a sexual relationship. They exchanged letters and small notes in French but only the nearly two hundred letters and notes written by Isabella have survived. Isabella’s letters and notes show a deep affection toward Maria Christina and are characteristic of a romantic-sexual relationship. See Wikipedia: Relationship with Archduchess Maria Christina and scroll down to A selection of quotes by Isabella in letters to Marie cited by Badinter as supporting a love affair.

Isabella had a very difficult first pregnancy with her first child Maria Theresa, suffering from many physical symptoms, depression, and a lingering fear of death. This was only worsened by her inexperienced husband not understanding her problems. Isabella had miscarriages in August 1762 and January 1763. Her mother-in-law Maria Theresa, who had given birth to sixteen children, was so worried that she advised her son Joseph to wait for six months before trying for another child. However, Isabella was soon again pregnant.

It was a tradition that the imperial court spent the summer at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna but away from the more populated central part of Vienna. In 1763, warm weather lasted well into the autumn and the court returned to Hofburg Palace, located in central Vienna, on November 14, 1763. Isabella would have preferred to remain at the more isolated Schönbrunn Palace. She was six months pregnant and there were reports of smallpox cases in and around Vienna. After returning to Hofburg Palace, Isabella developed a fever on November 18, 1763, and it soon became clear that she had smallpox. Isabella’s high fever induced labor three months early, and on November 22, 1763, she gave birth to a premature second daughter. The baby was baptized Maria Christina, as Isabella requested, but died the same day.

Following the birth, Isabella was rarely conscious but during her moments of consciousness, she displayed extraordinary courage. Joseph, who had already had smallpox, stayed by her side and took care of her without a break. On November 27, 1763, one month and three days before her 22nd birthday, Isabella died from smallpox at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Because her body was still infectious, it was buried quickly without an autopsy or embalming in the Maria Theresa Crypt at the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. The tiny coffin of her daughter Maria Christina was placed under Isabella’s coffin. In 1770, when Isabella’s elder daughter Maria Theresa died at the age of seven from pleurisy, her coffin was placed next to her mother’s and younger sister’s coffins.

Isabella’s tomb in the middle with the coffin of her younger daughter Maria Christina sticking out underneath. To the right is the tomb of Isabella’s elder daughter Maria Theresa who died in 1770; Credit – By C.Stadler/Bwag – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28671919

Joseph was devastated by Isabella’s death and never fully recovered. In a letter to Isabella’s father, Joseph wrote: “I have lost everything. My adorable wife and only friend is no more. (…) What a frightful separation! Can I survive it? Yes, and only to be unhappy all my life. (…) There is nothing I will enjoy ever again.” At his mother’s insistence, Joseph married again to his second cousin Maria Josepha of Bavaria, daughter of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Elector of Bavaria and Maria Amalie of Austria. On May 28, 1767, after only two years of a childless marriage, Maria Josepha died of smallpox, as had her predecessor Isabella. Joseph never remarried.

Smallpox, now eradicated, was a serious contagious disease that killed many and left many survivors scarred. The disease knew no class boundaries and royalty was as likely to suffer from it as the common folk. (See Unofficial Royalty: Royal Deaths from Smallpox.) Smallpox was a leading cause of death in the 18th century. It killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans each year in the 18th century. Before Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine that contained the cowpox virus in 1796 and that ultimately led to the eradication of smallpox, there was another way to possibly prevent smallpox called variolation and it was first seen in China in the fifteenth century. In 1716, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu accompanied her husband to Turkey where he was to serve as the British ambassador. While she was in Turkey, Lady Mary observed the Turkish practice of smallpox variolation or inoculation and she brought the practice back to Great Britain. Lady Mary persuaded Caroline, Princess of Wales (wife of the future King George II) to arrange to have the inoculation tested using prisoners and orphans, all of whom survived the inoculation. In 1722, King George I allowed the inoculation of two of his grandchildren, the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales and they survived. Variolation gained acceptance and was used until Edward Jenner developed his much safer vaccination using the cowpox virus instead of the smallpox virus.

The tragedy of Isabella’s death and the death of Joseph’s second wife from smallpox along with the earlier deaths from smallpox of four of Joseph’s siblings, and the suffering of the Habsburg family members who had survived smallpox, contributed to Maria Theresa’s decision to have the younger members of the Habsburg family inoculated, and the subsequent acceptance of variolation in Austria, thus saving many lives.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor also King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/joseph-ii-holy-roman-emperor-also-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 04 September 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) Smallpox knew no class boundaries, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-illnesses-and-deaths/smallpox-knew-no-class-boundaries/ (Accessed: 04 September 2023).
  • Isabella von Bourbon-Parma (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_von_Bourbon-Parma (Accessed: 04 September 2023).
  • Princess Isabella of Parma (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Isabella_of_Parma (Accessed: 04 September 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Prince Roberto Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Roberto Hugo was the head of the house of Bourbon-Parma and pretender to the former throne of the Duchy of Parma from 1959 until 1974.

source: Wikipedia

Prince Roberto Hugo was born on August 7, 1909 at Weilburg Palace in Baden bei Wien, Austria. He was the second son of Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria. Roberto Hugo had eight siblings:

  • Princess Maria Elisabetta (1904) – unmarried
  • Prince Carlo Luigi (1905) – died in childhood
  • Princess Maria Francesca (1906) – unmarried
  • Princess Maria Antonia (1911) – married Prince Gottffried of Thurn und Taxis, had issue
  • Prince Francesco Alfonso (1913) – unmarried
  • Princess Giovanna Isabella (1916) – unmarried
  • Princess Alicia Maria (1917) – married Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Calabria, had issue
  • Princess Maria Cristina (1925) – unmarried

He succeeded his father as head of the House of Bourbon-Parma and pretender to the throne in 1950, and took over the management of the family’s estates. He never married.

Roberto Hugo died in Vienna on November 25, 1974. As he had no heirs, he was succeeded by his half-uncle, Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma.

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Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Prince Elia of Bourbon-Parma was head of the House of Bourbon-Parma and pretender to the former ducal throne of Parma from 1950 until his death in 1959. Additionally, he served as regent from 1907-1950 for two of his elder brothers, Enrico and Giuseppe, who were mentally disabled.

source: Wikipedia

Prince Elia Roberto Carlo Maria of Bourbon-Parma was born on July 23, 1880 in Biarritz, Switzerland, the fourth son of Roberto I, Duke of Parma and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He had eleven siblings:

  • Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1870 – 1899), married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), had four children including Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria,
  • Ferdinando, Prince of Piacenza (born and died 1871 ), died in infancy
  • Princess Luisa Maria of Bourbon-Parma (1872 – 1943), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Enrico, Titular Duke of Parma (1873 – 1939), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias took up the role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Parma (1874 – 1914), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Giuseppe, Titular Duke of Parma (1875 – 1950), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias continued his role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma (1876 – 1959), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma (1877 – 1915), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Beatrice of Bourbon-Parma (1879 – 1946), married Count Pietro Lucchesi-Palli, had four children
  • Princess Maria Anastasia of Bourbon-Parma (born and died 1881), died in infancy
  • Prince Augusto of Bourbon-Parma (stillborn 1882)

He also had 12 siblings from his father’s second marriage to Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal:

Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria. source: Wikipedia

Elia married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria on May 25, 1903 in Vienna. She was the daughter of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen and Princess Isabella of Croÿ. The couple had nine children:

  • Princess Maria Elisabetta (1904) – unmarried
  • Prince Carlo Luigi (1905) – died in childhood
  • Princess Maria Francesca (1906) – unmarried
  • Prince Roberto Hugo, Duke of Parma (1909) – unmarried
  • Princess Maria Antonia (1911) – married Prince Gottffried of Thurn und Taxis, had issue
  • Prince Francesco Alfonso (1913) – unmarried
  • Princess Giovanna Isabella (1916) – unmarried
  • Princess Alicia Maria (1917) – married Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Calabria, had issue
  • Princess Maria Cristina (1925) – unmarried

When Elia’s father Roberto I died in 1907, the headship of the family passed to Elia’s eldest living brother, Enrico. However, Enrico, and several of his siblings, were mentally disabled. Within just a few months, the Austrian court declared that Enrico and several of his siblings were legally incompetent. Elia served as regent for two of his elder brothers – Elia and Giuseppe, before legitimately becoming head of the house in 1950.

A dispute emerged between Elia and his younger half-brothers over the distribution of their father’s estate. An agreement was reached in 1910, in which Elia received half of the estate while the rest would be divided amongst the others. Elia’s half included the famed Château de Chambord in France, which was later confiscated during World War I as enemy property. Several years later, Elia’s half-brothers sued him to gain a larger share of their father’s estate, claiming that their 1910 agreement was in violation of French law. The French court initially ruled in their favor, but it was overturned in 1928. Four years later, the appeal was upheld because the brothers had entered into a valid agreement willingly in 1910, thus superseding the French law of equal division. This decision also recognized Elia’s claim to Chambord. While the chateau was not returned to him, he was compensated with a payment of 11 million francs.

Prince Elia died on June 27, 1959 in Friedberg, Austria, and is buried nearby in Mönichkirchen. He was succeeded by his second son, Robert Hugo.

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Duchy of Parma Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Prince Giuseppe of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Prince Giuseppe of Bourbon-Parma was the titular Duke of Parma from 1939 until his death in 1950. As he was mentally disabled, his younger brother Elia served as regent.

source: Wikipedia

Prince Giuseppe was the third son of Roberto I, the last reigning Duke of Parma, and his first wife, Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was born at Wartegg Castle in Rorschach, Switzerland on June 13, 1873. He had 11 siblings:

  • Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1870 – 1899), married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), had four children including Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria,
  • Ferdinando, Prince of Piacenza (born and died 1871 ), died in infancy
  • Princess Luisa Maria of Bourbon-Parma (1872 – 1943), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Enrico, Titular Duke of Parma (1873 – 1939), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias took up the role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Parma (1874 – 1914), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma (1876 – 1959), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma (1877 – 1915), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Beatrice of Bourbon-Parma (1879 – 1946), married Count Pietro Lucchesi-Palli, had four children
  • Elias, Titular Duke of Parma (1880 – 1959), married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, had eight children, from 1907 to 1950, he served as regent for the claims of his two older disabled brothers, Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Anastasia of Bourbon-Parma (born and died 1881), died in infancy
  • Prince Augusto of Bourbon-Parma (stillborn 1882)

He also had 12 siblings from his father’s second marriage to Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal:

Giuseppe succeeded his elder brother, Enrico, as titular Duke of Parma and head of the house. However, a few months after their father’s death in 1907, Giuseppe and five of his siblings were all declared legally incompetent due to their mental disabilities. His younger brother, Elia, became guardian of the six siblings, and served as regent during the tenure of both Enrico and Giuseppe.

Unmarried and childless, Giuseppe died on January 7, 1950 in Pianore, near Lucca, Italy. As he was unmarried and had no children, he was succeeded as titular Duke of Parma by his brother Elia.

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Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma was the titular Duke of Parma from 1907 until his death in 1939. As he was mentally disabled, his younger brother Elia served as regent.

source: Wikipedia

Prince Enrico was the second son of Roberto I, the last reigning Duke of Parma, and his first wife, Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was born at Wartegg Castle in Rorschach, Switzerland on June 13, 1873. He had 11 siblings:

  • Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1870 – 1899), married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), had four children including Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria,
  • Ferdinando, Prince of Piacenza (born and died 1871 ), died in infancy
  • Princess Luisa Maria of Bourbon-Parma (1872 – 1943), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Parma (1874 – 1914), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Giuseppe, Titular Duke of Parma (1875 – 1950), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias continued his role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma (1876 – 1959), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma (1877 – 1915), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Beatrice of Bourbon-Parma (1879 – 1946), married Count Pietro Lucchesi-Palli, had four children
  • Elias, Titular Duke of Parma (1880 – 1959), married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, had eight children, from 1907 to 1950, he served as regent for the claims of his two older disabled brothers, Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Anastasia of Bourbon-Parma (born and died 1881), died in infancy
  • Prince Augusto of Bourbon-Parma (stillborn 1882)

He also had 12 siblings from his father’s second marriage to Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal:

Enrico, as the oldest surviving son, succeeded his father Roberto I as titular Duke of Parma and head of the house. Just a few months later, at the request of Roberto’s second wife, Enrico and several of his full siblings were declared legally incompetent due to their mental disabilities. Enrico’s younger brother, Elia, became guardian of the six siblings, and took on the role of head of house and served as regent during Enrico’s tenure.

Unmarried and childless, Enrico died on November 16, 1939 in Pianore, near Lucca, Italy. He was succeeded as titular Duke of Parma by his brother Giuseppe, who was also mentally disabled. Their younger brother Elia once again served as regent.

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Duchy of Parma Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa of Parma, the wife of King Carlos IV of Spain, was born on December 9, 1751, in Parma, Duchy of Parma, now in Italy. She was the youngest of the three children and the second of the two daughters of Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma (founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma) and Louise Élisabeth of France. Maria Luisa’s paternal grandparents were King Felipe V of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. King Felipe V, the founder of the Spanish House of Bourbon, was born a French prince, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, who was the son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV of France. Her maternal grandparents were King Louis XV of France and Maria Leszczyńska. Maria Luisa was given the names Luisa Maria Teresa Anna for her maternal grandparents and her mother’s twin sister Anne Henriette of France. Called Luisa by her family, she is known in history as Maria Luisa.

Left to Right: Maria Luisa’s brother Ferdinando, Maria Luisa, her mother Louise Élisabeth of France, her father Felipe, Duke of Parma, her older sister Isabella of Parma, and the children’s governess Marie Catherine de Bassecourt, Marchioness of Borghetto (on the right); Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had two older siblings:

Maria Luisa of Parma, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa’s French mother wanted to arrange a betrothal between Maria Luisa and her first cousin Louis Joseph, Duke of Burgundy. Louis Joseph was the same age as Maria Luisa, was also a grandchild of King Louis XV of France, and was second in the line of the French succession after his father Louis, Dauphin of France. However, neither of them became King of France. Ten-year-old Louis Joseph died from tuberculosis in 1761 and four years later, his father Louis, Dauphin of France also died from tuberculosis.

Maria Luisa’s husband, the future King Carlos IV of Spain, circa 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1762, Maria Luisa was betrothed to her first cousin, the future King Carlos IV of Spain, the son of King Carlos III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. The marriage was intended to strengthen the relationships between the Bourbons ruling in Spain and Parma. When Maria Luisa’s older sister Isabella died in 1763 from smallpox, it was suggested that Maria Luisa should marry her sister’s widower, the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. However, the match was eventually rejected and the betrothal of Maria Luisa and Carlos was confirmed. The not-quite-seventeen-year-old Carlos and the not-quite fourteen-year-old Maria Luisa were married on September 4, 1765, at the La Granja Palace in San Ildefonso, Spain.

The Family of Carlos IV by Francisco de Goya, circa 1800. L to R: Infante Carlos, Count of Molina; the artist Francisco de Goya at the easel; the future King Fernando VII, Infanta Maria Josepha (sister of Carlos IV); a young woman whose face cannot be seen who is representing the future wife of King Fernando VII; Infanta Maria Isabel; Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Portugal; Infante Francisco de Paula; King Carlos IV; Infante Antonio Pascual (brother of Carlos IV); Carlota Joaquina or her sister Infanta Maria Amalia; Carlo Ludovico of Parma (husband of Maria Luisa); Infanta Maria Luisa; child in the arms of Maria Luisa, her son, the future Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa had twenty-three pregnancies. Thirteen of the pregnancies resulted in live births, including a set of twins. The other ten pregnancies ended in miscarriages. Of the fourteen children who were born alive, only seven survived childhood:

Upon her arrival at the Spanish court, Maria Luisa immediately became the first lady of the court. Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, the mother of her husband, had died from tuberculosis in 1760, and Maria Luisa’s father-in-law King Carlos III never remarried. It was obvious that Maria Luisa was intelligent and ambitious, and had a dominant personality, and her father-in-law attempted to control her and limit her personal freedom, but with little success. Maria Luisa was strong and intellectual and she completely controlled her husband. During the reign of her father-in-law King Carlos III, Maria Luisa led her husband into all sorts of court intrigues.

Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy who ran the Spanish government with Queen Maria Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 14, 1788, King Carlos III of Spain died and was succeeded by his son as King Carlos IV of Spain. Carlos IV would rather hunt than deal with government affairs and the running of the government was left mostly to Queen Maria Luisa and Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. It is probable that de Godoy had a long-term relationship with Maria Luisa and that he was the father of her youngest son Francisco de Paula.

King Carlos IV and Queen Maria Luisa, circa 1802; Credit – Wikipedia

The view of the Spanish monarchy among the Spanish people took a rapid decline due to economic troubles, rumors about a relationship between Queen Maria Luisa and de Godoy, and King Carlos IV’s incompetence. Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando, Prince of Asturias
was anxious to take over from his father and jealous of Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy. He unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow his father in 1807. After riots and a revolt, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son King Fernando VII on March 19, 1808. However, less than two months later, Carlos IV and his son Fernando VII were summoned to a meeting with Napoleon I, Emperor of the French on May 7, 1808, at the Castle of Marracq in Bayonne, France, where he forced them both to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.

Carlos IV’s eldest son and heir Fernando as Prince of Asturias, later King Fernando VII of Spain by Francisco de Goya, 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Luisa, her husband the former King Carlos IV, some of their children, and former Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy were held captive first in France, at Compiègne and Fontainebleau, and then in Marseilles and Nice, and finally in Rome, then in the Papal States, now in Italy. Napoleon kept Carlos and Maria Luisa’s son Fernando VII under guard in France for more than five years at the Château de Valençay in France until the Treaty of Valençay on December 11, 1813, provided for the restoration of Fernando VII as King of Spain.

Even after the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King Fernando VII refused to allow his parents to return to Spain. Maria Luisa and Carlos IV settled in Rome at the Palazzo Barberini. On January 2, 1819, at the age of sixty-seven, Maria Luisa died from pneumonia. Her husband Carlos IV died just eighteen days later, on January 20, 1819, aged seventy. Their son King Fernando VII allowed them to return to Spain in death. They were both interred in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain.

Tomb of Maria Luisa of Parka, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Carlos IV, King of Spain. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iv-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Maria Luisa of Parma (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Luisa_of_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • María Luisa de Parma (2023) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Luisa_de_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
  • Philip, Duke of Parma (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip,_Duke_of_Parma (Accessed: January 27, 2023).

Carlos III, King of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, King of Naples, King of Sicily

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Carlos III, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Born Carlos Sebastián, on January 20, 1716, at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in Spain, Carlos III, King of Spain was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Carlo I (1731 – 1735), King of Naples, as Carlo VII (1735 – 1759), and King of Sicily, as Carlo V (1734 – 1759). Carlos III was the eldest of the six children and the eldest of the three sons of Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain and his second wife ​Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. His paternal grandparents were Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the heir apparent to the throne of France, and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. Carlos’ maternal grandparents were Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma and Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg.

Carlos’ father had been born a French prince, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, who was the son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV of France. In 1700, King Carlos II of Spain, from the House of Habsburg, died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the Spanish throne because his mother Maria Theresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Louis, Le Grand Dauphin nor his elder son Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, King Carlos II of Spain, in his will, named the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, 16-year-old Philippe, Duke of Anjou, as his successor. He reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first Bourbon monarch of Spain.

Felipe V of Spain with his second wife Elisabeth and some of his children from his first and second marriages – from left to right: the future Fernando VI, King Felipe V, the future Luis I; Felipe, the future Duke of Parma, Queen Elisabeth, a portrait of the Infanta Mariana Victoria, and the future Carlos III: Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos had five younger siblings:

From his father’s first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy, Carlos had four half-siblings:

Carlos’ parents Felipe V and Elisabeth Farnese in 1739; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos’ mother Elisabeth Farnese of Parma never showed affection toward her two stepsons Luis and Fernando. She considered her stepsons to be obstacles to achieving her main objective: to provide her sons with realms to rule. On January 14, 1724, Felipe V abdicated the Spanish throne to Luis, his seventeen-year-old eldest son from his first marriage, for reasons that are still unclear. Perhaps it was because Felipe V suffered from mental instability and did not wish to reign due to his increasing mental decline. Another theory is that Felipe V was concerned about the succession to the French throne due to several deaths. Although the treaty that ended the War of the Spanish Succession forbade a union of the French and Spanish crowns, perhaps Felipe V hoped that by abdicating the Spanish throne, he could succeed to the French throne if necessary. However, seven months later, Felipe V was forced to once again ascend to the Spanish throne because his son King Luis I died of smallpox and Felipe V’s younger son from his first marriage, the future King Fernando VI, was not yet of legal age.

In 1731, the male line of the House of Farnese ruling in the Duchy of Parma went extinct. The duchy passed to Felipe V, King of Spain whose second wife Elisabeth Farnese was the Farnese heiress. Felipe V made Carlos, his eldest son with Elizabeth Farnese, the Duke of Parma. However, Felipe V traded the Duchy of Parma to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine for the Kingdom of Naples in 1734 and the Kingdom of Sicily in 1735, and Carlos became King of Naples and Sicily. During his reign in Naples and Sicily as Carlo VII or Carlo di Borbone, which the people called him, he tried to reform and modernize the kingdoms, winning the affection of the citizens.

Carlos’ wife Maria Amalia of Saxony; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1738, Carlos’ mother Elisabeth Farnese arranged a marriage for him to fourteen-year-old Maria Amalia of Saxony, daughter of Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony and Maria Josepha of Austria. On May 8, 1738, a proxy marriage was held in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in Germany with the bride’s brother Friedrich Christian of Saxony standing in for Carlos. Shortly afterward, Maria Amalia traveled to the Kingdom of Naples, and on June 19, 1738, at Portella, a village on the border of the Kingdom of Naples, Carlos and Maria Amalia met for the first time and were married.

Three children of Carlos III and Maria Amalia: Francisco Javier, Maria Luisa, and Carlos III’s successor, the future King Carlos IV; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos III and Maria Amalia had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. Their children who were born before Carlos became King of Spain were Princes and Princesses of Naples and Sicily. Their children who survived until Carlos became King of Spain were Infantes and Infantas of Spain.

As Carlos’ father King Felipe V grew older, his mental issues worsened. He experienced episodes of manic depression. During several periods, Felipe V was unable to handle government affairs and Carlos’ mother Elisabeth became the de facto ruler of Spain. Felipe V, King of Spain died of a stroke at the age of 62 on July 9, 1746, and Carlos’ elder half-brother Fernando succeeded to the Spanish throne as Fernando VI, King of Spain, and reigned for thirteen years. However, his marriage to Barbara of Portugal produced no children, and so upon his death in 1759, his elder surviving half-brother succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain.

Carlos abdicating the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old son Ferdinando; Credit – Wikipedia

With great sadness, by both Carlos and the people of Naples and Sicily, Carlos abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old third son Ferdinando with a regency council ruling until his sixteenth birthday. Ferdinando was deposed twice from the throne of Naples: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805, before being restored in 1816 after the defeat of Napoleon. After the 1816 restoration, the two kingdoms were united into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and he reigned as King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies.

On September 27, 1760, a year after arriving in Spain, Carlos’ 35-year-old wife Maria Amalia suddenly died and was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial. Upon Maria Amalia’s death, Carlos said, “In twenty-two years of marriage, this is the first serious upset that Amalia has given me.” After Maria Amalia’s death, Carlos remained unmarried.

When Carlos became King of Spain, he was 43 years old and had ruled Naples and Sicily for twenty-five years, so he had far more experience than his predecessors. King Carlos III challenged the conservative Spanish government with his enlightened reform ideas and faced some opposition. The Spanish court was more rigid and somber than the cosmopolitan court of Naples and Sicily. Carlos III ruled as an enlightened despot, an absolute monarch who incorporated ideas of the Enlightenment. He promoted education, pushed back the influence of the Roman Catholic Church by expelling the Jesuits from the Spanish Empire, and strengthened the Spanish army and navy. Carlos III was responsible for some Spain’s national symbols. In 1770, he declared the Marcha Granadera to be used during official ceremonies. Since that time, it has been Spain’s national anthem except under the Second Republic ( 1931 – 1939 ). Carlos III also chose the colors and design of the Spanish flag as we see it today.

Tomb of Carlos III, King of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Carlos III, King of Spain, survived his wife by twenty-eight years, dying, aged 72, on December 14, 1788, at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Carlos III de España (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_III_de_Espa%C3%B1a (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
  • Charles III of Spain (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III_of_Spain (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Felipe V, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-v-first-bourbon-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
  • Maria Amalia of Saxony (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_of_Saxony (Accessed: December 24, 2022).

Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, the second wife of Felipe V, King of Spain, was born on October 25, 1692, at the Palazzo della Pilotta in Duchy of Parma, now in Parma, Italy. She was the second but the only surviving of the two children and the only daughter of Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma and Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg. Elisabeth’s paternal grandparents were Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Isabella d’Este. Her maternal grandparents were Philipp Wilhelm of Neuburg, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Elisabeth had one older brother who died in early childhood:

  • Alessandro Ignazio Farnese (1691- 1693)

Elisabeth’s father died in 1693, only a month after the death of her brother. In 1696, Elisabeth’s mother Dorothea married her father’s half-brother, Francesco Farnese, who had become Duke of Parma when his father died in 1694. Francesco married his half-brother’s widow because he did not want to give up Dorothea’s dowry should she marry someone else. Their marriage was childless. Because of the lack of male heirs of Elisabeth’s father, her uncle-stepfather, and her youngest uncle, both succeeded one another as Duke of Parma. Changes were legally made for the succession of the Duchy of Parma in the female line through Elisabeth. Eventually, her second son Felipe, Infant of Spain became the Duke of Parma and founded the House of Bourbon-Parma.

Elisabeth as a teenager, circa 1706; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth had a good relationship with her uncle and stepfather Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma. After her marriage, Elisabeth maintained a correspondence with Francesco until his death in 1727. However, Elisabeth had a distant relationship with her mother who treated her very severely. Although Elisabeth had only a mediocre intelligence and was not interested in intellectual pursuits, she spoke German, French, Latin, and Spanish in addition to her native Italian and studied history, geography, philosophy, and religion.

In 1714, Maria Luisa of Savoy, the wife of Felipe V, King of Spain, died from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-five. Thirty-one-year-old Felipe V almost immediately sought a new wife and there was no shortage of possibilities. At this time, the key powerbroker at the Spanish court was Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, Princesse des Ursins, a French courtier and royal favorite known for her political influence. She had dominated Felipe V and his first wife Maria Luisa. The Princesse des Ursins worked with Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, the chief adviser of Felipe V, and they arranged for Felipe V to marry Elisabeth.

Elisabeth’s husband Felipe V, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe V, King of Spain had been born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou. He was the second of the three sons of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the only surviving child of King Louis XIV of France, and the heir apparent to the throne of France. In 1700, Carlos II, King of Spain died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Philippe’s father Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain because his mother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II, King of Spain. However, neither Philippe’s father nor his elder brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, Carlos II, King of Spain, in his will, named 16-year-old Philippe of Anjou, Duke of Anjou as his successor. Felipe V was the first Spanish monarch from the House of Bourbon, which is still the ruling house of Spain.

On September 16, 1714, Elisabeth and Felipe V were married by proxy in the Duchy of Parma. Elisabeth left Parma in September and traveled to Spain by land. On her way to Spain, she was the guest of Antonio I, Prince of Monaco and she visited with her maternal aunt Maria Anna of Neuburg, Dowager Queen of Spain who had settled in Bayonne, France after King Felipe V had exiled her from Spain. On December 24, 1714, ten months after the death of Felipe V’s first wife, Elisabeth and Felipe V were married in Guadalajara, Spain. Felipe V was enthusiastic about his new wife, and Elisabeth soon dominated her weak-willed and indecisive husband. She spent a great deal of time with him, often accompanying him on hunts, where she displayed her excellent riding and shooting skills.

Felipe V of Spain with his wife Elisabeth and some of his children from his first and second marriages – from left to right: the future Fernando VI, King Felipe V, the future Luis I; Felipe, the future Duke of Parma, Queen Elisabeth, a portrait of the Infanta Mariana Victoria, and the future Carlos III: Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth and Felipe V had six children:

Upon her marriage, Elisabeth became the stepmother of Felipe V’s children from his first marriage. By 1719, only two of the four children had survived. Elisabeth never showed affection toward her stepsons. She considered her stepsons to be obstacles to achieving her main objective: to provide her sons with a realm to rule.

Elisabeth’s stepsons:

King Felipe V of Spain experienced episodes of manic depression. During several periods (1717, 1722, 1728, 1731, 1732–33, and 1737), Felipe V was unable to handle government affairs and Elisabeth became the de facto ruler. Elisabeth was not interested in domestic policy and preferred foreign policy, where her goal was to enforce the Spanish presence in the Italian states, combined with her ambition for her own sons, who were initially not expected to succeed in Spain because her stepsons were ahead of them in the line of succession.

On January 14, 1724, Felipe V abdicated the Spanish throne to Luis, his seventeen-year-old eldest son from his first marriage, for reasons that are still unclear. Perhaps it was because Felipe suffered from mental instability and did not wish to reign due to his increasing mental decline. Another theory is that Felipe was concerned about the succession to the French throne due to several deaths. Although the treaty that ended the War of the Spanish Succession forbade a union of the French and Spanish crowns, perhaps Felipe hoped that by abdicating the Spanish throne, he could succeed to the French throne if necessary. However, seven months later, Felipe was forced to once again become King of Spain because King Luis I died of smallpox and Felipe’s younger son from his first marriage, the future King Fernando VI, was not yet of legal age.

Felipe V and Elisabeth in 1739; Credit – Wikipedia

As he grew older, Felipe V’s mental issues worsened and Elisabeth became the permanent de facto ruler of Spain. Only the singing of the Italian castrato opera singer Farinelli (born Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi) brought any peace to Felipe. Farinelli would sing eight or nine arias for Felipe and Elisabeth every night, usually with a trio of musicians.

On July 9, 1746, 62-year-old Felipe V had a stroke and died a few hours later in Elisabeth’s arms. Just thirteen days later, Elisabeth’s 20-year-old daughter Maria Theresa Rafaela died three days after giving birth to a daughter who died two years later. Elisabeth had long feared that when her husband died, she would lose power especially since the heir to the throne, the future King Fernando VI, was not her own son, but Felipe V’s last surviving son from his first marriage. Elisabeth was unpopular with the Spanish people, had ill-treated Fernando, and excluded him from government affairs. After Fernando became king, he allowed Elisabeth to stay in Spain. However, she had to move out of the Royal Palace in Buen Retiro and into the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, known as La Granja.

Elisabeth’s stepson Fernando VI, King of Spain reigned for thirteen years. During the last year of his reign, Fernando VI rapidly lost his mental capacity and was held at the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón, near Madrid, until his death on August 10, 1759. Fernando VI’s marriage to Barbara of Portugal was childless and so upon his death, Elisabeth’s elder surviving son succeeded his half-brother as King Carlos III of Spain.

All subsequent monarchs of Spain from the House of Bourbon are descendants of King Carlos III of Spain. Therefore, Elisabeth is the ancestor of the House of Bourbon that still reigns in Spain. And so Elisabeth achieved the goal she set so long ago. Her elder son became King of Spain and her younger son Felipe became sovereign Duke of Parma and founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma. Although the House of Bourbon-Parma no longer reigns, the pretender to the throne of the Duchy of Parma is Elisabeth’s descendant.

Tomb of Elisabeth and Felipe V, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth spent the last years of her life at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. On July 11, 1766, aged 73, Elisabeth died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Aranjuez, Spain. When Elisabeth’s husband King Felipe V of Spain, born a Prince of France, died, he requested not to be buried at the traditional burial site, the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. Instead, Felipe V requested to be buried in the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, known as La Granja, in the province of Segovia in central Spain. The architecture of La Granja reminded him of the longed-for French court of his childhood. Elisabeth was buried at his side.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Elisabeth Farnese (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Farnese (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
  • Isabel Farnesio (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Farnesio (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Felipe V, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/felipe-v-first-bourbon-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
  • Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odoardo_Farnese,_Hereditary_Prince_of_Parma (Accessed: November 23, 2022).

Maria Antonia of Portugal, Duchess of Parma

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Parma was in today’s northwest Italy and came into existence in 1545 when Pope Paul III made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, territories that previously were a part of the Papal States. The House of Farnese reigned until 1731 when the male line went extinct. The duchy passed to Felipe V, King of Spain from the Spanish House of Bourbon whose second wife Elizabeth Farnese was the Farnese heiress. Felipe V made Carlos, his only son with Elizabeth Farnese, the Duke of Parma. However, in 1738, Felipe V traded the Duchy of Parma to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine for the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily and Carlos became King of Naples and Sicily.

In 1748, the Duchy of Parma was ceded back to the Bourbons. Infante Felipe of Spain became Duke of Parma and was the founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a cadet branch of the Spanish House of Bourbon.  In 1796, the Duchy of Parma was occupied by French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte. It remained in French hands until the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 when the duchy was given to Napoleon’s second wife, Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine. She reigned until her death in 1847 when the Duchy of Parma was restored to the House of Bourbon-Parma. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Maria Antonia of Portugal, Duchess of Parma; Credit – Wikipedia

Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal was the second wife of Roberto I, Duke of Parma from 1854 – 1859 and titular Duke of Parma from 1859 until his death in 1907. As a not-quite-six-year-old, Roberto succeeded his father who was assassinated and then lost his throne five years later due to the Italian unification movement. Maria Antónia Adelaide Camila Carolina Eulália Leopoldina Sofia Inês Francisca de Assis e de Paula Micaela Rafaela Gabriela Gonzaga Gregória Bernardina Benedita Andrea was born at Schloss Bronnbach (link in German) in Bronnbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, now Wertheim am Main in the state of Baden-Württemberg, on November 28, 1862. She was the youngest of the seven children and the sixth of the six daughters of the deposed Miguel I, King of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. Maria Antonia’s paternal grandparents were King João VI of Portugal and Carlota Joaquina of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Hereditary Prince Konstantin of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and Princess Agnes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Maria Antonia’s paternal grandfather King João VI had become King of Portugal in 1816 upon the death of his mother Queen Maria I of Portugal and reigned until his death in 1826. At that time, João VI’s elder son succeeded to the throne as King Pedro IV. Pedro was king for only two months, abdicating in favor of his daughter Queen Maria II of Portugal. Maria Antonia’s father Miguel served as regent for his niece Maria II. As regent, Miguel claimed the Portuguese throne in his own right. This led to a difficult political situation, during which many people were killed, imprisoned, persecuted, or sent into exile, finally culminating in the Portuguese Liberal Wars. Ultimately, Miguel was deposed in 1834 and lived the last thirty-two years of his life in exile.

Maria Antonia’s parents with her two eldest siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

During his exile in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Miguel met Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, who was twenty-nine years younger. They married in 1851, and made their home at Schloss Bronnbach in Bronnbach, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. When Maria Antonia was four years old, her father died while hunting on November 14, 1866. At the time of his death, all of Miguel’s children were under the age of fifteen. Maria Antonia’s mother Adelaide continued to raise her children and arranged some rather brilliant marriages for them despite their dubious status as children of a deposed monarch. Miguel and Adelaide are the ancestors of the current monarchs of Luxembourg, Belgium, and Liechtenstein, as well as pretenders to the thrones of Portugal, Austria, Bavaria, and Italy.

Maria Antonia (on the left) with her sisters Maria Ana and  Adelgundes: Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia had six elder siblings:

Roberto I, titular Duke of Parma, circa 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia and Roberto I, titular Duke of Parma, the son of Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France, were married on October 15, 1884, at Schloss Fischorn (link in German) in Zell am See, Austria. Despite losing his throne and living in exile, Roberto had considerable wealth. He traveled in a private train of more than a dozen cars and had several residences including  Schloss Schwarzau  (link in German) in Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria, Villa Borbone delle Pianore (link in Italian) in Capezzano Pianore, Italy, and Château de Chambord in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France which he inherited from his maternal uncle Prince Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, Count of Chambord. This was Roberto’s second marriage. His first wife Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies had died due to puerperal fever (childbed fever) in 1882, a week after the birth of her twelfth child, a stillborn boy. Upon her marriage to Roberto, Maria Antonia became the stepmother of his nine surviving children from his first marriage who ranged in age from four to fourteen. Six of the children were mentally disabled.

Roberto’s surviving children from his first marriage, the stepchildren of Maria Antonia:

  • Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1870 – 1899), married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), had four children including Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria,
  • Princess Luisa Maria of Bourbon-Parma (1872 – 1943), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Enrico, Titular Duke of Parma (1873 – 1939), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias took up the role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Parma (1874 – 1914), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Giuseppe, Titular Duke of Parma (1875 – 1950), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias continued his role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma (1876 – 1959), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma (1877 – 1915), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Beatrice of Bourbon-Parma (1879 – 1946), married Count Pietro Lucchesi-Palli, had four children
  • Elias, Titular Duke of Parma (1880 – 1959), married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, had eight children, from 1907 to 1950, he served as regent for the claims of his two older disabled brothers, Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma

Maria Antonia and Roberto with their family in 1906; From left to right, first row: Maria Immacolata, Maria Antonia, Isabella, Roberto, Enrichetta, Luigi, Gaetano, Roberto’s second wife Maria Antonia, René, Zita. From left to right, second row: Francesca, Maria Pia, Luisa Maria, Maria Adelaide, Maria Teresa, Giuseppe, Xavier, Enrico, Sixto, Felix; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Antonia and Roberto had twelve children of their own:

Roberto I, former Duke of Parma died, aged 59, at the Villa Borbone (link in Italian) in Viareggio, Kingdom of Italy, on November 16, 1907. He was buried in the chapel at the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Italy. After World War I, when her son-in-law Karl I, Emperor of Austria lost his throne and had to go into exile, Maria Antonia accompanied her daughter Zita, Karl, and their large family, living first in Switzerland and then on the Portuguese island of Madeira where Karl died in 1922 at the age of 34. After the outbreak of World War II, Maria Antonia and Zita moved to Quebec, Canada where they lived in modest circumstances.

Schloss Puchheim, where Maria Antonia is buried; Von Peterhauser at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17239377

After World War II ended, Maria Antonia lived the rest of her life at Berg Castle in Colmar-Berg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Her niece, the daughter of her sister Maria Ana, was Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, the wife of Maria Antonia’s son Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma. In 1952, Maria Antonia celebrated her 90th birthday at Berg Castle. She survived her husband Roberto by 52 years, dying on May 14, 1959, aged 96, at Berg Castle in Colmar-Berg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. She was buried in the chapel at Schloss Puchheim (link in German) in Attnang-Puchheim, Austria. In 1982, restrictions on the Habsburgs entering Austria were eased and after sixty-three years, 90-year-old Zita, former Empress of Austria, could return to Austria for visits. One of the first things she did was to visit his mother’s burial site.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Almanachdegotha.org. 2021. Duchy of Parma – House of Bourbon-Parma. [online] Available at: <http://www.almanachdegotha.org/id29.html> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Infanta Maria Antónia of Portugal – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infanta_Maria_Ant%C3%B3nia_of_Portugal> [Accessed 18 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2015. King Miguel I of Portugal. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-miguel-i-of-portugal/> [Accessed 20 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, S., 2021. Roberto I, Duke of Parma. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/roberto-i-duke-of-parma/> [Accessed 20 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Antonia di Braganza – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Antonia_di_Braganza> [Accessed 20 October 2021].
  • Louda, Jiri and MacLagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. New York: Barnes and Noble.

Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Parma

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Parma was in today’s northwest Italy and came into existence in 1545 when Pope Paul III made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, territories that previously were a part of the Papal States. The House of Farnese reigned until 1731 when the male line went extinct. The duchy passed to Felipe V, King of Spain from the Spanish House of Bourbon whose second wife Elizabeth Farnese was the Farnese heiress. Felipe V made Carlos, his only son with Elizabeth Farnese, the Duke of Parma. However, in 1738, Felipe V traded the Duchy of Parma to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine for the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily and Carlos became King of Naples and Sicily.

In 1748, the Duchy of Parma was ceded back to the Bourbons. Infante Felipe of Spain became Duke of Parma and was the founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a cadet branch of the Spanish House of Bourbon.  In 1796, the Duchy of Parma was occupied by French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte. It remained in French hands until the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 when the duchy was given to Napoleon’s second wife, Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine. She reigned until her death in 1847 when the Duchy of Parma was restored to the House of Bourbon-Parma. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was the first wife of Roberto I, Duke of Parma from 1854 – 1859 and titular Duke of Parma from 1859 until his death in 1907. As a not quite six-year-old, Roberto succeeded his father who was assassinated and then lost his throne five years later due to the Italian unification movement. Maria Pia della Grazia was born in Gaeta, Italy on August 2, 1849. She was the eighth of the twelve children and the third of the four daughters of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Theresa of Austria. Maria Pia’s paternal grandparents were Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg.

Maria Pia’s family, circa 1860, Maria Pia is standing on the left in the first row; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Pia had eleven siblings:

Maria Pia had one half-brother from her father’s first marriage to Maria Cristina of Savoy. Sadly, Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications five days after giving birth to her only child.

Maria Pia’s father Ferdinando II had hesitated for months to have surgery for a strangulated hernia. His hesitancy probably caused his death on May 22, 1859, at the age of 49. During Ferdinando II’s reign, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, began. Shortly before Ferdinando II’s death, the Second War of Italian Independence started. During the reign of Francesco II, Ferdinando II’s son from his first marriage, the 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Maria Pia’s mother Maria Theresa, along with her children, was among the first to leave Naples. She eventually made her way to Rome which was part of the Papal States and not the new Kingdom of Italy. Pope Pius IX placed the Quirinal Palace in Rome at her disposal.

Maria Pia and Roberto on their wedding day; Credit – Wikipedia

While in exile in Rome, negotiations began for the marriage of Maria Pia. After the failed attempts to marry her to an Austrian archduke like her elder sisters Maria Annunziata and Maria Immacolata, Maria Pia was betrothed to her half-first cousin once removed Roberto I, titular Duke of Parma, the son of the assassinated Carlo III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France (granddaughter of King Charles X of France). Despite losing his throne and living in exile, Roberto was quite a catch. He had considerable wealth and traveled in a private train of more than a dozen cars. Roberto had several residences including  Schloss Schwarzau  (link in German) in Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria, Villa Borbone delle Pianore (link in Italian) in Capezzano Pianore, Italy, and Château de Chambord in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France which he inherited from his maternal uncle Prince Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, Count of Chambord. Maria Pia and Roberto were married in Rome, Italy on April 5, 1869.

Maria Pia and her son Elias in 1881; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Pia and Roberto had twelve children. Six of the children were mentally disabled, two died in infancy, and one was stillborn.

  • Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1870 – 1899), married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), had four children including Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria,
  • Ferdinando, Prince of Piacenza (born and died 1871 ), died in infancy
  • Princess Luisa Maria of Bourbon-Parma (1872 – 1943), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Enrico, Titular Duke of Parma (1873 – 1939), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias took up the role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Parma (1874 – 1914), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Giuseppe, Titular Duke of Parma (1875 – 1950), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias continued his role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma (1876 – 1959), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma (1877 – 1915), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Beatrice of Bourbon-Parma (1879 – 1946), married Count Pietro Lucchesi-Palli, had four children
  • Elias, Titular Duke of Parma (1880 – 1959), married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, had eight children, from 1907 to 1950, he served as regent for the claims of his two older disabled brothers, Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Anastasia of Bourbon-Parma (born and died 1881), died in infancy
  • Prince Augusto of Bourbon-Parma (stillborn 1882)

Chapel of the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Italy, where Maria Pia is buried; Credit – Di I, Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27517360

The dangerous practice of close pregnancies and births – twelve children in thirteen years of marriage – made Maria Pia weak and sickly. At the age of 33, Maria Pia died of puerperal fever (childbed fever) on September 29, 1882, in Biarritz, France, a week after giving birth to her last child, a stillborn son. She was buried in the chapel at the Villa Borbone (link in Italian) in Viareggio, Italy. Two years after Maria Pia’s death, Roberto married Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, the daughter of the deposed Miguel I, King of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. Roberto and Maria Antonia also had twelve children but Maria Antonia lived a long life, dying at the age of 96.

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Works Cited

  • Almanachdegotha.org. 2021. Duchy of Parma – House of Bourbon-Parma. [online] Available at: <http://www.almanachdegotha.org/id29.html> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1849–1882) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Pia_of_Bourbon-Two_Sicilies_(1849%E2%80%931882)> [Accessed 18 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinando-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 19 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Roberto I, Duke of Parma. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/roberto-i-duke-of-parma/> [Accessed 19 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Pia di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Pia_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 19 October 2021].
  • Louda, Jiri and MacLagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. New York: Barnes and Noble.