Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma

Félix of Bourbon-Parma
Prince consort of Luxembourg
Tenure	6 November 1919 – 12 November 1964
Born	28 October 1893 Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria-Hungary
Died	8 April 1970 (aged 76) Fischbach Castle, Luxembourg
Burial	Notre-Dame Cathedral
Spouse	Charlotte of Luxembourg
Issue	Jean of Luxembourg Princess Elisabeth Princess Marie-Adélaide Princess Marie Gabriele Prince Charles Princess Alix
Full name Félix Marie Vincent
House	House of Bourbon-Parma
Father	Robert I of Parma
Mother	Maria Antonia of Portugal
Religion	Catholicism

Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma^[1] (Félix Marie Vincent; 28 September 1893 in Schwarzau am Steinfeld^[2] – 8 April 1970 in Schloss Fischbach), 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.

Early life

Prince Félix was one of the 24 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.

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.

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.^[3]

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). Had 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.

Titles, honours and awards

• 28 October 1893 - 5 November 1919: His Royal Highness Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma
• 5 November 1919 - 6 November 1919: His Royal Highness Prince Felix of Luxembourg, Prince of Bourbon-Parma
• 6 November 1919 - 12 November 1964: His Royal Highness The Prince Consort of Luxembourg
• 12 November 1964 - 8 April 1970: His Royal Highness Prince Felix of Luxembourg, Prince of Bourbon-Parma

National honours

•  Luxembourg: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau^[4]
•  Duchy of Parma: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Louis for Civil Merit

Foreign honours

•  Belgium: Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold^[5]
•  Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Aviz

Awards

•  Luxembourg: President of the Luxembourg Red Cross

Ancestry

Ancestors of Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma

16. Louis of Etruria               8. Charles II, Duke of Parma                       17. Maria Louisa, Duchess of Lucca               4. Charles III, Duke of Parma                             18. Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia               9. Maria Teresa of Savoy                       19. Maria Theresa of Austria-Este               2. Robert I, Duke of Parma                                   20. Charles X of France               10. Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry                       21. Marie Thérèse of Savoy               5. Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France                             22. Francis I of the Two Sicilies               11. Princess Caroline Ferdinande Louise of the Two Sicilies                       23. Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria               1. Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma                                         24. Peter III of Portugal               12. John VI of Portugal                       25. Maria I of Portugal               6. Miguel of Portugal                             26. Charles IV of Spain               13. Infanta Charlotte of Spain                       27. Princess Maria Luisa of Parma               3. Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal                                   28. Charles Thomas, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg               14. Constantine, Hereditary Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg                       29. Countess Sophie Luise of Windisch-Graetz               7. Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg                             30. Charles Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg               15. Princess Agnes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg                       31. Countess Amalie Henriette of Solms-Baruth

Patrilineal descent

Patrilineal descent

Felix'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 Prince Felix were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Robertian, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house. Felix 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. Felix'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, 800 - 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 Saint 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 of Navarre, 1518–1562 Henry IV of France, 1553–1610 Louis XIII of France, 1601–1643 Louis XIV of France, 1638–1715 Louis, Dauphin of France (1661-1711), 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 Felix of Bourbon-Parma, 1893–1970

Footnotes and references

1. Arrêté grand-ducal du 17 juillet 1945 – "Legilux" Legal information website of the Luxembourg government
2. birth record in church book of parish Schwarzau am Steinfeld, p. 02-Taufe_0031
3. Juncker, Jean-Claude (15 February 2007). "Réponse à la question parlementaire no.1220 du 4 août 2006 de Messieurs les Députés Gast Gibéryen et Roby Mehlen" (PDF) (in French). Investigateur. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
4. http://www.angelfire.com/vt/luxenthronement/part1.html
5. "Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxemburg". forum.alexanderpalace.org. Retrieved 21 December 2015.

External links