Princess Maria Carolina of Parma

Princess Carolina of Parma (Caroline Maria Teresa Giuseppa; 22 November 1770 – 1 March 1804) was a Princess of Parma by birth, and Princess of Saxony by marriage to Prince Maximilian of Saxony. She was the eldest child of Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma, and Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria.

Biography Her full baptismal name was Carolina Maria Teresa Giuseppa Giovanna. She was named after her godparents, her paternal great-uncle Charles III of Spain and her maternal grandmother Empress Maria Theresa.

Carolina was the eldest child of Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma and his wife Maria Amalia of Austria. When Maria Amalia's sister Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen, and her husband, Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen, visited Parma in 1776, Prince Albert wrote in his journal the following about Carolina: "Her (Maria Amalia's) eldest daughter is the most beautiful child one can imagine, yet she has an air of gloom and sadness about her, that one can only look at her with a sense of melancholy". Carolina and her brother Louis were the favorites of their parents. They were personally instructed in religion by their father, despite the fact that their younger children were actually more interested in the subject than them. In 1778, her brother Luigi hit his head on a marble table while playing with Carolina, and afterward suffered from epilepsy.

The mother of Carolina preferred her to marry a German prince. Reportedly, however, her marriage was not arranged. Instead, her mother introduced Carolina to Maximilian during his frequent trips to Italy, and when the Parmesan Ducal family visited Saxony in the late 1780s, Carolina was able to spend time with Maximilian and reportedly fell in love with him. Consequently, she was described as eager to marry him, and her mother Amalia gave her permission despite the fact that Maximilian was not the heir to a throne. The marriage and life of Carolina in Saxony are described as happy and harmonious. When her mother moved to Prague in 1804, she was able to have more contact with her, though she was not able to visit her before her death.

Princess Carolina died of fever on March 1, 1804 in Dresden. More than two decades after, her husband married her niece Princess Maria Luisa Carlota of Parma.

Marriage and issue Carolina married on 22 April 1792 in Parma (by proxy) and on 9 May (in person) Prince Maximilian of Saxony, fifth and youngest son of Elector Frederick Christian of Saxony. They had seven children; two of their sons became Kings of Saxony and one of their daughters married the King of Spain.

Ancestry