Robert I, Duke of Parma
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Robert I (Italian: Roberto I Carlo Luigi Maria di Borbone, Duca di Parma e Piacenza; July 9, 1848 – November 16, 1907) was the last sovereign Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1854 until 1859, until the duchy was annexed to Italy. He was a member of the House of Bourbon, descended from Philip, Duke of Parma the third son of King Philip V of Spain and Elizabeth Farnese.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Florence, Robert was the son of Charles III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France, daughter of Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry and granddaughter of King Charles X of France. He succeeded his father to the ducal throne in 1854 upon the latter's assassination, when he was only six, while his mother stood as regent.
When Duke Robert was eleven years old he was deposed, as Sardinian troops annexed other Italian states, ultimately to form the Kingdom of Italy.
Despite losing his throne, Robert and his family enjoyed considerable wealth, traveling in a private train of more than a dozen cars from his castles at Schwarzau am Steinfeld near Vienna, to Villa Pianore in northwest Italy, and the magnificent château de Chambord in France.
Less than four months after Duke Robert's death in 1907 the Grand Marshal of the Austrian court declared six of the children of his first marriage legally incompetent (they were mentally retarded), at the behest of his widow, Duchess Maria Antonia. Nonetheless, Robert's primary heir was Elias, Duke of Parma, 1880-1959), the youngest son of his first marriage and the only one of his sons to father children of his own. Elias also became the legal guardian of his six elder siblings. Although the eldest half-brothers, Sixte and Xavier, eventually sued their half-brother Elias for trying to obtain a greater share of the ducal fortune, they lost in the French courts, leaving the issue of Robert's second marriage with modest prospects.
Some of his younger sons served in the Austrian armed forces.
[edit] Family
In 1869, in exile, he married Princess Maria Pia of the Two Sicilies (1849-1882), daughter of king Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. Maria Pia belonged to the deposed Royal Family of the Two Sicilies, and was thus a Bourbon, like her husband. She bore him 12 children, before dying in childbirth:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Marie Louise | January 17, 1870 | January 31, 1899 | Married Ferdinand I of Bulgaria and had issue. |
| Prince Ferdinando | March 5, 1871 | April 14, 1871 | Died in childhood. |
| Princess Luisa Maria | March 24, 1872 | June 22, 1943 | She was mentally retarded. |
| Prince Henry (Enrico), Duke of Parma | June 13, 1873 | November 16, 1939 | Titular Duke of Parma 1907-1939. He was mentally retarded, and from 1907 (his father's death), his brother Elias took up the role as head of the family, although Enrico continued to be considered by monarchists as Henry I of Parma. He held the title till his death. |
| Princess Maria Immacolata | July 21, 1874 | May 16, 1914 | She was mentally retarded. |
| Prince Joseph (Giuseppe), Duke of Parma | June 30 1875 | January 7, 1950 | Titular Duke of Parma 1939-1950. He was also mentally retarded, and his brother Elias continued the role as head of the family like he had done with their brother Enrico. |
| Princess Maria Teresa | October 15, 1876 | January 25, 1959 | She was mentally retarded. |
| Princess Maria Pia | October 9, 1877 | January 29, 1915 | She was mentally retarded. |
| Princess Beatrice | January 9, 1879 | March 11, 1946 | Married Pietro Count Lucchesi Palli and had issue. |
| Prince Elias, Duke of Parma | July 23, 1880 | June 27, 1959 | Head of the Ducal Family of Parma (1950-1959) ("Duke Elias of Parma"). Married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria and had issue. |
| Princess Maria Anastasia | August 25 1881 | September 7, 1881 | Died in childhood. |
| Prince Augusto (or Princess Augusta)[1][2][3] | September 22, 1882 | September 22, 1882 | stillborn). Maria Pia died giving birth to this child. |
It is not clear whether the last two children were mentally retarded also, like their other six older siblings.
After his first wife's death in childbirth, he remarried in 1884 to Maria Antonia of Portugal, daughter of the deposed Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. She bore him another 12 children:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Maria della Neve Adelaide | August 5 1885 | February 6, 1959 | A Benedictine nun in the Monastery of Solesmes (France). |
| Prince Sixtus (Sisto, "Sixte") | August 1, 1886 | March 14, 1934 | Married Hedwige de La Rochefoucauld and had a daughter, Isabelle. |
| Prince Xavier, Duke of Parma | May 25, 1889 | May 7, 1977 | Married Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset and had issue. Head of the Ducal Family of Parma (1974-77). Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain. |
| Princess Francesca | April 22 1890 | October 7, 1978 | A Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Solesmes. |
| Princess Zita | May 9, 1892 | March 14, 1989 | Married Emperor Karl of Austria. |
| Prince Felix | October 28, 1893 | April 8, 1970 | Married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, his first cousin (their mothers were sisters). |
| Prince René | October 17, 1894 | July 30, 1962 | Married Princess Margrethe of Denmark and has issue. |
| Princess Maria Antonia | November 7, 1895 | October 19, 1937 | A nun at the Benedictine Monastery of Solesmes (France). |
| Princess Isabella | June 14, 1898 | July 28, 1984 | Died unmarried, was a nun. |
| Prince Louis (Luigi) | December 5, 1899 | December 4, 1967 | Married Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy and had issue. |
| Princess Henrietta Anna | March 8, 1903 | June 13, 1987 | Died unmarried, was deaf and dumb. |
| Prince Thomas (Gaetano was used) | June 11, 1905 | March 9, 1958 | Married Princess Margarete of Thurn and Taxis. They had a daughter, Diana and later divorced. |
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] References
- ^ Sources differ on the child's sex
- ^ Willis, Daniel, The Descendants of Louis XIII, Clearfield Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1999, ISBN 0-8063-4942-5, p. 342.
- ^ Beate Hammond: "Maria Theresia, Elisabeth, Zita - Jugendjahre großer Kaiserinnen", Ueberreuter 2002
[edit] See also
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Robert I, Duke of Parma
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 9 July 1848 Died: 16 November 1907 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles III |
Duke of Parma 1854–1859 |
Succeeded by Annexed by Kingdom of Sardinia |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| New title | — TITULAR — Duke of Parma 1859-1907 Reason for succession failure: Annexed by Kingdom of Sardinia |
Succeeded by Henry |
| Preceded by Charles II (King Louis II of Etruria) |
— TITULAR — King of Etruria 1883-1907 |
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