House of Bourbon-Parma


The House of Bourbon-Parma is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the French Capetian dynasty in male line. Its name of Bourbon-Parma comes from the main name and the other from the title of Duke of Parma.
The title was held by the Spanish Bourbons as the founder was the great-grandson of Duke Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma.
Since 1964 a cadet branch of the House has reigned as Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Duchy of Parma

The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma.
In 1556, the second Duke, Ottavio Farnese, was given the city of Piacenza, becoming thus also Duke of Piacenza, and so the state was thereafter properly known as the Duchies of Parma and Piacenza.
The Farnese family continued to rule until their extinction in 1731, at which point the duchy was inherited by the young son of the King of Spain, Charles, whose mother Elisabeth was a member of the Farnese family. He ruled until 1735 during the War of the Polish Succession, when Parma was ceded to Emperor Charles VI in exchange for the Two Sicilies.

Temporary Habsburg rule

The Habsburgs only ruled until the conclusion of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, when it was ceded back to the Bourbons in the person of Philip of Spain, Charles's younger brother. As duke Philip, he became the founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma.
In 1796, the duchy was occupied by French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte. In the Treaty of Aranjuez of 1801, duke Ferdinand formally agreed to cede the duchy to Napoleon. The territories were integrated into the Cisalpine Republic until 1802, the Italian Republic, from 1802 until 1805, and the Kingdom of Italy, from 1805 until 1808, until in 1808 the French Empire annexed them and formed out of them the Département of Taro.
In 1814, the duchies were restored under Napoleon's Habsburg wife, Marie Louise, who was to rule them for her lifetime. The duchy was renamed the duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla.

Return to the Bourbons

After Marie Louise's death in 1847, the duchy was restored to the Bourbon-Parma line, which had been ruling the tiny duchy of Lucca. As part of the return the Duchy of Guastalla was transferred to the Duchy of Modena. The Bourbons ruled until 1859, when they were driven out by a revolution following the Sardinian victory in their war against Austria.
The duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla and the duchy of Lucca joined with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the duchy of Modena to form the United Provinces of Central Italy in December 1859, and were annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in March 1860.
The House of Bourbon continues to claim the title of duke of Parma to this day. Carlos-Hugo held the title from 1977 to his death. His son now claims the title.

The Dukes

House of Bourbon-Parma (1731–1735)

DukePortraitBirthMarriagesDeath
Charles, Duke of Parma
1731–1735		20 January 1716
Madrid
son of Philip V of Spain and Elizabeth of Parma		Maria Amalia of Saxony
1738
13 children		14 December 1788
Madrid
aged 72

House of Bourbon-Parma (1748–1802)

During the French ownership of the Duchy of Parma, the title of Duke of Parma was used as an honorary form and style. From 1808, the title was used by Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès. He kept the style of Duc de Parme until 1814. Only in 1847 was the actual title restored to the Bourbons, after a period of being held by Marie Louise of Austria, who was a Habsburg and the second wife of Napoleon I.

House of Bourbon-Parma (1847–1859)

Nominal Dukes of Parma (since 1859)

Family

Since 1964, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon-Parma has reigned agnatically in Luxembourg when upon the abdication of his mother Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, ascended to the throne. Jean was the son of Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, a younger son of Robert I of Parma, and Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. Charlotte's descendants have since reigned as the continued dynasty of Nassau.

In October 2000 Jean abdicated the Luxembourgian throne in favour of his eldest son, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

NamePortraitBirthMarriagesSuccession rightDeath
Jean
12 November 1964 –
7 October 2000		5 January 1921
Colmar-Berg		Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium
9 April 1953
5 children		Son of
Charlotte		23 April 2019
Luxembourg City
aged 98
Henri
7 October 2000 –
Present		16 April 1955
Betzdorf		María Teresa Mestre y Batista
4 February/14 February 1981
5 children		Son of JeanIncumbent