COVID-19 Claims First Royal Victim: Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma

Embed from Getty Images

Prince Sixte Henri of Bourbon-Parma has announced that today, Thursday, 26 March 2020, his sister Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma passed away in Paris from the coronavirus. The princess was eighty-six years-old. Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma was born on 28 July 1933 as the daughter of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma and his wife Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. Marie-Thérèse never married and had no children.

Source: S.A.R. Don Sixto Enrique de Borbón

COVID-19 & The Royals: Archduke Karl Of Austria Has Recovered!

Archduke Karl of Austria

Archduke Karl, the Head of the Imperial House of Austria, has announced that he has recovered from the coronavirus. He was diagnosed earlier in March after testing positive for COVID-19. At that time, he began the required quarantine regimen. Recently, Karl tested negative and is now in the clear, health-wise. Karl of Austria released the following statement:

I have just received a notification that the quarantine has been lifted after a negative corona test. After being infected with the Covid-19 virus, I am officially healthy again after almost three weeks. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who sent me wishes for recovery through various channels. Even if this removes the domestic quarantine for me, it is not a return to normal life for me either. My location makes it necessary to stay at home. This is the best way to curb the spread of the virus. 

In all organizations in Austria in which I hold a management function, the events have been canceled for the next two months. Including the VI. Otto von Habsburg symposium, which should have been devoted to the topic of "freedom." 

Now we have to take responsibility in freedom, take care of ourselves and thus our fellow human beings, and stay at home.

Source: KARL VON HABSBURG OFFIZIELL VON CORONA GENESEN

Karl's son Archduke Ferdinand is currently serving in the Austrian military. Part of Ferdinand's role is in maintaining the nation's food supply chain.

We hope that all of our readers stay safe and healthy during this time!

COVID-19 Claims First Royal Victim: Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma

Embed from Getty Images

Prince Sixte Henri of Bourbon-Parma has announced that today, Thursday, 26 March 2020, his sister Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma passed away in Paris from the coronavirus. The princess was eighty-six years-old. Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma was born on 28 July 1933 as the daughter of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma and his wife Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. Marie-Thérèse never married and had no children.

Source: S.A.R. Don Sixto Enrique de Borbón

In Memory of a Red Princess: The Passing of Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma (1933-2020)

†

Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma

(28 July 1933 - 26 March 2020)

 

Prince Xavier and Princess Madeleine of Bourbon-Parma with their six children.

HRH Princess Marie-Thérèse Cécile Zita Charlotte of Bourbon-Parma was born in Paris on 28 July 1933 as the third child and second daughter of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma (1889-1977) and Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset (1898-1984). Xavier and Madeleine married in 1927 and had six children: Princess Françoise (b.1928; married Prince Eduard von Lobkowicz), Prince Carlos Hugo (1930-2010; married Princess Irene of The Netherlands), Princess Marie-Thérèse, Princess Cécile (b.1935), Princess Marie-des-Neiges (b.1937), and Prince Sixte-Henri (b.1940). Empress Zita of Austria was one of the aunts of Marie-Thérèse; Prince Felix of Luxembourg, husband of Grand Duchess Charlotte, was her uncle; Queen Anne of Romania was among her first cousins.

Embed from Getty Images

Displaying early her independent spirit, Marie-Thérèse quickly became a polyglot, speaking fluent French, English, German, and Spanish. The princess studied philosophy at Oxford University. She then went on to study political science at the Sorbonne in Paris. Marie-Thérèse became a specialist in the legal and political systems in Islamic nations.

Marie-Thérèse

Between 1958-1959, it was frequently rumoured that Princess Marie-Thérèse was on the verge of becoming engaged to King Baudouin of the Belgians. Together with his sister Marie-des-Neiges, the princess had attended a ball at hosted by the Belgian monarch in April 1958. Marie-Thérèse was described at the time as "a Spanish-type beauty. She has lovely wide dark eyes and a magnificent figure. She is intellectual but not a bluestocking." Alas, a royal romance had not flourished: Baudouin went on to marry Spanish aristocrat doña Fabiola Mora y Aragón, and Marie-Thérèse was never to marry.

Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma
Photograph circa 1964

In 1964, the princess attended the wedding of her brother Carlos Hugo to the Dutch princess Irene, daughter of Queen Juliana. Irene's conversion to Roman Catholicism and decision to marry a prince as politically active as Carlos Hugo was understandably met with apprehension in the Netherlands. Displaying a strong loyalty to her brother, Marie-Thérèse supported both Carlos Hugo and Irene as they embarked on married life.

Maria Teresa

Two decades after the death of Infante Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime, Marie-Thérèse's father Xavier assumed the mantle of Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain in the 1950s. Xavier continued to advocate the conservative policies disseminated by the Carlist party. However, as Xavier's health failed, his son Carlos Hugo attempted to turn the tide of the Carlist party towards more liberal and socialist ideals. In this quest, he was supported by his three youngest sisters: Marie-Thérèse, Cécile, and Marie-des-Neiges. Owing to their political views, the royal trio became known by the moniker "the red princesses." In an interview given to El Cuaderno in June 2019, Marie-Thérèse recalled the political evolution that her brother, her sisters, and she set out to effectuate: "We wanted to link the past with modernity, and it seemed to Carlos [Hugo] and all those who accompanied us that what would best translate this historical aspiration today, what our ancestors had wanted, was the concept of self-management. We proposed self-management in three areas: the political, the territorial, and the economic." Marie-Thérèse was not present at the Montejurra massacre in May 1976, when far-right and disaffected members of the Carlist movement opened fire upon a large Carlist gathering. Her brother Carlos Hugo, her sister-in-law Irene, and her sister Marie-des-Neiges were at Montejurra. Marie-Thérèse recalled that her older brother Carlos Hugo had specifically asked her to stay away from this event. The political views of Marie-Thérèse and her brother and two sisters alienated them from her parents and her sister Françoise and brother Sixte-Henri. In May 1981, the princess became a Spanish citizen, and she resided in the country for many years. Eventually, she relocated to France.

The Red Princess and her beloved nieces and nephews.
Left to right: Tjalling ten Cate, Princess Margarita, Prince Carlos Hugo, Prince Jaime, Princess Maria Teresa, Princess Maria Carolina, and Albert Brenninkmeijer in 2014.
Photograph (c) Alamy

Unconventional and unique, Marie-Thérèse was a popular relative amongst her Gotha relations. The princess remained close to her nephews and nieces, the children of Carlos Hugo and Irene. In 2010 and 2013, respectively, she attended the weddings of her nephews, Princes Carlos and Jaime of Bourbon-Parma. In 2016, Marie-Thérèse participated in the festivities in Tirana surrounding the wedding of Crown Prince Leka of Albania and Elia Zaharia.

The Duke and Duchess of Parma with their aunt Princess Marie-Thérèse in 2016.
Photograph (c) Getty Images / Miguel Benitez

Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma passed away at Paris on 26 March 2020 after suffering complications arising from being diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19). The princess was a professor of sociology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Marie-Thérèse is survived by her sisters Françoise, Cécile, and Marie-des-Neiges, as well as by her brother Sixte-Henri. The princess is also survived by her nephews and nieces as well as her great-nieces and great-nephews. Marie-Thérèse was a devout Roman Catholic.

 

 

Requiesce in pace.

Royal Coronavirus Count Grows: The Prince of Wales Tests Positive

Embed from Getty Images

This morning, Clarence House announced that Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has tested positive for coronavirus. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are self-isolating at Balmoral. Charles is said to be experiencing mild symptoms. Camilla was also tested and her results were negative for the virus. In a statement from Buckingham Palace, it was noted that The Queen is in "good health" and last saw her eldest son on 12 March. Her Majesty is at Windsor Castle with the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Prince of Wales is the seventh known royal COVID-19 case:

1. Archduke Karl of Austria (born 1961)
2. Prince Antônio of Orleans and Bragança (born 1950)
3. Prince Francisco of Orleans and Bragança (born 1955)
4. Prince Alberto of Orleans and Bragança (born 1957)
5. Princess Maritza of Orleans and Bragança (born 1961)
6. Prince Albert II of Monaco (born 1958)
7. The Prince of Wales (born 1948)

Prince Charles has been in touch with his sons, the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex. Certain members of staff at Balmoral are self-isolating as a precautionary measure.

Joachim and Marie of Denmark Return Home Due to Son Henrik’s Illness

On Monday, 23 March, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, together with their children Prince Henrik and Princess Athena, returned to Denmark from France. Prince Henrik was examined at the Rigshospitalet for breathing problems caused by asthmatic bronchitis. The prince was also tested for coronavirus. Thankfully, the result was negative.

Death of the Mother of the Head of the House of Bagrationi-Mukransky

☨ 

Doña María de las Mercedes de Zornoza y Ponce de León

(1942 - 2020)

Doña María de las Mercedes de Zornoza y Ponce de León marries Prince George Bagration-Mukhransky Photograph (c) Corbis Images

On 17 March 2020, doña María de las Mercedes de Zornoza y Ponce de León passed away at Madrid. She was seventy-seven years-old. María was born at Madrid on 2 August 1942 as the daughter of don José de Zornoza and doña María de los Dolores Ponce de León y Puicercus (d.Madrid 28 February 2008).

In March 1968, Maria de las Mercedes de Zornoza y Ponce de León married Prince George (Jorge) Bagration-Mukhransky (1944 - 2008). George was the son of Prince Irakly Bagration-Mukhransky (1909 - 1977) and Nobile Maria Antonietta Pasquini dei Conti di Costafiorita (1911 - 1944). George's aunt Leonida married Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia; George's first cousin is Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Head of the Imperial House of Romanov. George and María had three children: Princess Maria Antonieta (b.1969), Prince Irakly (b.1972), and Prince David (b.1976). The couple eventually divorced, and María never remarried. María remained a close friend of her former sister-in-law, Princess Mariam Bagration-Mukhransky, who never really forgave her brother for divorcing his first wife.

María is survived by her three children and two grandsons: Jaime Gaixas y Bagration and Prince Giorgi Bagration-Bagration (b.2011), who is the son of Prince David and Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinsky (b.1976). The marriage of María's son David and the heiress of the Bagration-Gruzinsky branch of the Georgian royal families led to a brief rapprochement between the two leading lines of the Bagrationi royal house.

Sources:

Fallecimiento de S.A.R. la Princesa Da. María de las Mercedes de Georgia (17.III.2020)