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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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.

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 had six elder siblings:

• Infanta Maria das Neves (1852 – 1941), married Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime, Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain, no issue
• Infante Miguel, Duke of Braganza (1853 – 1927) married (1) Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis, three children; (2) Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, eight children
• Infanta Maria Theresa (1855 – 1944), third wife of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, two daughters
• Infanta Maria Josepha (1857 – 1943), second wife of Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, five children
• Infanta Adelgundes (1858 – 1946), married Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, no issue
• Infanta Maria Ana (1861 – 1942), married Guillaume, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, had six daughters, including Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde of Luxembourg and Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg who married Maria Antonia’s son Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma

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 had twelve children of their own:

• Princess Maria della Neve Adelaide of Bourbon-Parma (1885 – 1959), Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Solesmes, France
• Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (1886 – 1934), married Hedwige de La Rochefoucauld, had one daughter
• Xavier, Titular Duke of Parma (1889 – 1977), married Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset, had six children including Carlos Hugo, Titular Duke of Parma who married and divorced Princess Irene of the Netherlands, the Carlist claimants to the Spanish throne descend through this line
• Princess Francesca of Bourbon-Parma (1890 – 1978), Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Solesmes, France
• Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma (1892 – 1989), married Karl I, Emperor of Austria, had eight children
• Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma (1893 – 1970), married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, had six children including Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg
• Prince René of Bourbon-Parma (1894 – 1962), married Princess Margrethe of Denmark, had four children including Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma who married King Michael I of Romania
• Princess Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Parma (1895 – 1937), Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Solesmes, France
• Princess Isabella of Bourbon-Parma (1898 – 1984), unmarried
• Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma (1899 – 1967), married Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy, had four children
• Princess Enrichetta of Bourbon-Parma (1903 – 1987), unmarried, hearing disabled
• Prince Gaetano of Bourbon-Parma (1905 – 1958), married and divorced Princess Margarete of Thurn and Taxis, had one daughter

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.

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.

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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. 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.