Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma
| Félix of Bourbon-Parma | |
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| Tenure | 6 November 1919 – 12 November 1964 (45 years, 6 days) |
| Spouse | Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg |
| Issue | |
| Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Hohenberg Marie-Adélaide, Countess of Donnersmarck Marie Gabriele, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg Prince Charles Alix, Princess of Ligne |
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| House | House of Bourbon-Parma |
| Father | Robert I, Duke of Parma |
| Mother | Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal |
| Born | 28 October 1893 Schwarzau am Steinfeld |
| Died | 8 April 1970 (aged 76) Fischbach |
Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma[1] (given names: Félix Marie Vincent; born: Schwarzau am Steinfeld, 28 September/28 October 1893 – Schloss Fischbach, 8 April 1970), later Prince Félix of Luxembourg, was the husband of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and the father of her six children, including Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the longest serving consort of Luxembourg.
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[edit] Early life
Prince Félix was one of the twenty-four children of the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma, being the duke's sixth child and third son by his second wife, Maria Antonia of Portugal. His maternal grandparents were Miguel of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.
He was also the younger brother (by sixteen months) of Empress Zita of Austria. Of the twelve children of Duke Robert's first marriage to Maria-Pia of the Two Sicilies, three died as infants, six had learning difficulties, and only three married. Despite loss of his throne, Duke Robert and his family enjoyed considerable wealth, traveling in a private train of more than a dozen cars among his castles at Schwarzau am Steinfeld near Vienna, Villa Pianore in northwest Italy, and the magnificent Château de Chambord in France.
| Styles of Prince Félix of Luxembourg |
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
Less than four months after Robert's death in 1907 the Grand Marshal of the Austrian Court declared six of the children of his first marriage legally incompetent, at the behest of Duchess Maria Antonia. Nonetheless, Robert's primary heir was Elias, Duke of Parma, (1880–1959), the youngest son of the first marriage and the only one to father children of his own. Duke Elias also became the legal guardian of his six elder siblings. Although Félix's elder brothers, Prince Sixte and Prince Xavier, eventually sued their half-brother Duke Elias to obtain a greater share of the ducal fortune, they lost in the French courts, leaving Prince Félix with modest prospects.
[edit] Marriage to Grand Duchess Charlotte
On 6 November 1919 in Luxembourg, the prince married his first cousin Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, having become also Prince of Luxembourg by Grand Ducal decree the day before. Unlike some European consorts, Félix neither adopted his wife's dynastic surname (of Nassau), nor relinquished his own title and name "Prince of Bourbon-Parma". His traditional style as a Bourbon prince of the Parmesan branch is the reason that cadet members of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg enjoy the style of Royal Highness (but that style belongs to the Luxembourg monarch and heir apparent by right, as the historical prerogative of grand ducal dynasties).
Félix served in the Austrian Dragoons as lieutenant and captain, but resigned his commission in November 1918. He was President of the Luxembourg Red Cross between 1923 and 1932 and again between 1947 and 1969. He was also Colonel of the Luxembourg Volunteers Company since 1920 and Inspector-General of the Luxembourg Army between 1945 and 1967.
Urban legend has it that Félix lost the Grünewald, a forest owned by the Grand Duchess, at a casino in 1934, but this is false; part of the property was sold, along with Berg Castle, to the Luxembourgian government, with the revenue paying for the upkeep of the grand-ducal household, and was not spent on personal consumption, let alone gambling losses.[2]
[edit] Marriage and children
On 6 November 1919 in Luxembourg, he married Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. They had six children:
- Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (born 1921), who married HRH Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005). Has issue.
- Princess Elizabeth of Luxembourg (1922–2011), who married HSH Franz, Duke of Hohenberg (1927–1977). Has issue.
- Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg (1924–2007), who married Karl Josef Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (1928–2008). Had issue.
- Princess Marie Gabriele of Luxembourg (born 1925), who married Knud Johan, Count of Holstein-Ledreborg (1919–2001). Has issue.
- Prince Charles of Luxembourg (1927–1977), who married Joan Douglas Dillon (born 1935), the former wife of James Brady Moseley. Had issue.
- Princess Alix of Luxembourg (born 1929), who married Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne (1925–2005). Has issue.
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] Footnotes and references
- ^ Arrêté grand-ducal du 17 juillet 1945 - "Legilux" Legal information website of the Luxembourg government
- ^ (French) Juncker, Jean-Claude (2007-02-15). "Réponse à la question parlementaire no.1220 du 4 août 2006 de Messieurs les Députés Gast Gibéryen et Roby Mehlen" (PDF). Investigateur. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927220221/http://www.investigateur.info/Display.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
[edit] External links
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Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma
Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon
Born: 28 October 1893 Died: 31 July 1942 |
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| Luxembourgish royalty | ||
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| Vacant
Title last held by
Marie Anne of Portugal |
Prince consort of Luxembourg 1919–1964 |
Succeeded by Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium |
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