Robert I, Duke of Parma

Robert I (, , 9 July 1848 – 16 November 1907) was the last sovereign Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1854 until 1859, when the duchy was annexed to Sardinia-Piedmont during the Risorgimento. He was a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma and descended from Philip, Duke of Parma, the third son of King Philip V of Spain and Queen Elisabeth Farnese.

Biography Robert I as Duke of Parma with his mother Louise Marie Thérèse in 1854.

Early life Born in Florence, Robert was the elder son of Charles III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse d'Artois, 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. The duchess initially dismissed some of her unpopular husband's most reactionary advisers, but was surprised by the Mazzini uprisings in July 1854 and then reverted to a harshly repressive policy that continued until the Second Italian War of Independence.

When Robert was eleven years old, he was deposed, as Piedmontese 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.

Death and legacy Less than four months after Robert's death in November 1907, the Grand Marshal of the Austrian court declared six of the children of his first marriage legally incompetent (they had severe intellectual disabilities), at the behest of his widow, Maria Antonia. Nonetheless, Robert's primary heir was his son Elias, the youngest son of his first marriage and the only one of his sons by that marriage to beget children of his own. Elias also became the legal guardian of his six elder siblings. Elias had eight children, seven of whom lived to advanced age, but only one of them got married, a daughter who had three children.

The two eldest sons of Robert's second marriage, Sixte and Xavier, eventually sued their older half-brother Elias for trying to obtain a greater share of the ducal fortune. They lost in the French courts, leaving the children of Robert's second marriage with very modest wealth, and the need to earn a living; some of his younger sons served in the Austrian armed forces. Nevertheless, two of the children born of the second marriage made extraordinary marriages: Felix married the grand-duchess of Luxembourg shortly after her accession and is the great-grandfather of the present grand duke. Zita married the last Emperor of Austria; the present claimant is her grandson.

Marriages and issue

First marriage On 5 April 1869, while in exile in Rome, he married Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1849–1882), daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. thumb

She was his half first cousin once removed, as her father (Ferdinand II) and Robert's maternal grandmother (Caroline, Duchess of Berry) were half-siblings, both being children of Francis I of the Two Sicilies from his two different wives.

Maria Pia belonged to the deposed royal family of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies and was thus a Bourbon, like her husband. She gave birth to 12 children, many of whom had intellectual disabilities, before dying in childbirth in 1882: 145x145px Princess Maria Luisa 17 January 1870 Married Ferdinand I, Prince (later Tsar) of Bulgaria and had issue. Ferdinando, Prince of Piacenza 5 March 1871 Heir of Parma in 1871. Died in infancy. Princess Luisa Maria 24 March 1872 center 115x115px Henry, Duke of Parma 13 June 1873 Titular pretender of Parma 1907-1939. From 1907 (his father's death), his brother Elias took up the role as head of the family, although Henry continued to be considered the nominal pretender to the ducal throne. He held the title until his death. Princess Maria Immacolata 21 July 1874 center 124x124px Joseph, Duke of Parma 30 June 1875 Titular pretender of Parma 1939-1950. His brother Elias continued the role as head of the family as he had done with their brother Henry. Princess Maria Teresa 15 October 1876 Princess Maria Pia 9 October 1877 center 128x128px Elias, Duke of Parma 23 July 1880 Titular pretender of Parma 1950–1959. Married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria and had issue. Last surviving child of his father's first marriage. Princess Maria Anastasia 25 August 1881 Died in infancy. Prince Augusto 22 September 1882 (stillborn). Maria Pia died giving birth to this child. thumb Second marriage After his first wife's death in childbirth, he remarried on 15 October 1884 to Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, daughter of the deposed King Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. Maria Antonia was his second cousin once removed as her paternal grandmother (Carlota Joaquina of Spain) and Robert's great-grandmother (Maria Luisa of Spain) were siblings, both being daughters of Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. She had another 12 children: Name Birth Death Notes Princess Maria Adelaide 5 August 1885 A Benedictine nun at St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes.center 125x125px Xavier, Duke of Parma 25 May 1889 Titular pretender of Parma 1974–1977. Married Countess Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset and had issue. Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain.center 118x118px Princess Francesca 22 April 1890 A Benedictine nun at St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes.center 118x118px Princess Zita 9 May 1892 Married Emperor Charles I of Austria. Last surviving child of her father's two marriages.center 118x118px Princess Maria Antonia 7 November 1895 A Benedictine nun at St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes. Princess Isabella 14 June 1898 Died unmarried.center 138x138px Prince Luigi 5 December 1899 Married Princess Maria Francesca of Savoy and had issue. Princess Henrietta Anna 8 March 1903 Died unmarried. Prince Gaetano 11 June 1905 Married Princess Margarete of Thurn and Taxis, daughter of Alessandro, 1st Duke of Castel Duino. They had a daughter, Diana (who married Prince Franz Joseph, son of Frederick, Prince of Hohenzollern) and later divorced.

Honours Grand Prefect of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 19 January 1854 Duchy of Modena and Reggio: Grand Cross of the Order of the Eagle of Este, 1856 Knight of the Order of St. Hubert, 1897 Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 9 November 1899 Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit, unknown date.

Ancestry

Patrilineal descent

Robert's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.

Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Duke Robert were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Robert, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house.

Robert is a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a sub-branch of the House of Bourbon-Spain, itself originally a branch of the House of Bourbon, and thus of the Capetian dynasty and of the Robertians.

Robert's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Dukes of Parma as well as the Kings of Spain, France, and Navarre. The line can be traced back more than 1,200 years from Robert of Hesbaye to the present day, through Kings of France & Navarre, Spain and Two-Sicilies, Dukes of Parma and Grand-Dukes of Luxembourg, Princes of Orléans and Emperors of Brazil. It is one of the oldest in Europe.

Robert II of Worms and Rheingau (Robert of Hesbaye), 770 - 807 Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808 - 834 Robert IV the Strong, 820 - 866 Robert I of France, 866 - 923 Hugh the Great, 895 - 956 Hugh Capet, 941 - 996 Robert II of France, 972 - 1031 Henry I of France, 1008–1060 Philip I of France, 1053–1108 Louis VI of France, 1081–1137 Louis VII of France, 1120–1180 Philip II of France, 1165–1223 Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226 Louis IX of France, 1215–1270 Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317 Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, 1279–1342 James I, Count of La Marche, 1319–1362 John I, Count of La Marche, 1344–1393 Louis, Count of Vendôme, 1376–1446 Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428–1478 François, Count of Vendôme, 1470–1495 Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537 Antoine, King of Navarre, Duke of Vendôme, 1518–1562 Henry IV, King of France and of Navarre, 1553–1610 Louis XIII, King of France and Navarre, 1601–1643 Louis XIV, King of France and Navarre, 1638–1715 Louis, Grand Dauphin of France, 1661–1711 Philip V of Spain, 1683–1746 Philip, Duke of Parma, 1720–1765 Ferdinand, Duke of Parma, 1751–1802 Louis of Etruria, 1773–1803 Charles II, Duke of Parma, 1799–1883 Charles III, Duke of Parma, 1823–1854 Robert I, Duke of Parma, 1848–1907