by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Parma was in today’s northwest Italy and came into existence in 1545 when Pope Paul III made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, territories that previously were a part of the Papal States. The House of Farnese reigned until 1731 when the male line went extinct. The duchy passed to Felipe V, King of Spain from the Spanish House of Bourbon whose second wife Elizabeth Farnese was the Farnese heiress. Felipe V made Carlos, his only son with Elizabeth Farnese, the Duke of Parma. However, in 1738, Felipe V traded the Duchy of Parma to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine for the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily and Carlos became King of Naples and Sicily.

In 1748, the Duchy of Parma was ceded back to the Bourbons. Infante Felipe of Spain became Duke of Parma and was the founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a cadet branch of the Spanish House of Bourbon.  In 1796, the Duchy of Parma was occupied by French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte. It remained in French hands until the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 when the duchy was given to Napoleon’s second wife, Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine. She reigned until her death in 1847 when the Duchy of Parma was restored to the House of Bourbon-Parma. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Carlo Ludovico was King of Etruria (1803 – 1807), Duke of Lucca (1824 – 1847) and Duke of Parma (1847 – 1849). Carlo Ludovico Ferdinando was born on December 22, 1799, at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. He was the elder of the two children and the only son of Ludovico of Parma (King of Etruria from 1801 – 1803) and Maria Luisa of Spain, Duchess of Lucca in her own right. Carlo Ludovico’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinando, Duke of Parma and Maria Amalia of Austria. His maternal grandparents were Carlos IV, King of Spain and Maria Luisa of Austria.

Carlo Ludovico had one younger sister:

• Luisa Carlota of Parma (1802 – 1857) married Hereditary Prince Maximilian of Saxony, no children

Carlo Ludovico’s parents married in 1795 and stayed in Spain during the early years of their marriage. In 1796, the Duchy of Parma was occupied by French troops. Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to gain Spain as an ally against Great Britain, and so he proposed to compensate the Spanish House of Bourbon for their loss of the Duchy of Parma with the Kingdom of Etruria, a new state that he created from part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Carlo Ludovico’s father Ludovico was invested as King of Etruria in 1801 and the family moved to Florence, the capital of the Kingdom of Etruria.

However, Ludovico’s reign as King of Etruria did not last long. In ill health since his childhood, 29-year-old Ludovico died in 1803. He was succeeded by his three-year-old son Carlo Ludovico as King Ludovico II of Etruria, under the regency of his mother Maria Luisa. In 1807, Napoleon dissolved the Kingdom of Etruria. Carlo Ludovico, his mother, and his sister returned to Spain. Shortly after their arrival, Napoleon ordered all members of the Spanish royal family to be brought to France and placed under house arrest. Napoleon then created his brother Joseph Bonaparte King of Spain.

After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the Duchy of Parma was not returned to the Bourbon-Parma family. Instead, the Congress of Vienna gave it to Napoleon’s second wife Marie-Louise of Austria. The Congress of Vienna compensated Maria Luisa and her son Carlo Ludovico with the smaller Duchy of Lucca, which was carved out of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. However, Maria Luisa refused this compromise for more than two years. Finally, in 1817, Maria Luisa accepted the compromise. Upon the death of Marie-Louise of Austria, the Duchy of Parma would revert to Carlo Ludovico and the House of Bourbon-Parma. Maria Luisa became Duchess of Lucca in her own right and Carlo Ludovico would succeed to the Duchy of Lucca upon her death. However, the Duchy of Lucca would be annexed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany when the Bourbon-Parma family regained possession of the Duchy of Parma.

On September 5, 1820, Carlo Ludovico married Maria Teresa of Savoy, one of the twin daughters of King Vittorio Emanuele I of Sardinia and Maria Teresa of Austria-Este. The marriage was a mismatch. Maria Teresa was very religious and Carlo Ludovico lived for his own pleasure. The couple lived apart during most of their marriage.

Carlo Ludovico and Maria Teresa had two children:

• Luisa Francesca (1821 – 1823), died in early childhood
• Carlos III, Duke of Parma (1823 – 1854), married Louise Marie Thérèse of France, had four children, assassinated

In 1824, Carlo Ludovico’s mother died and he became the reigning Duke of Lucca. However, he had no interest in reigning. He left the Duchy of Lucca in the hands of his government ministers and instead traveled around Europe. In 1847, Carlo Ludovico ceded the Duchy of Lucca to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany for financial compensation. Two months later, in December 1847, at the death of Napoleon’s second wife Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma, he succeeded her as the reigning Duke of Parma according to the stipulations of the Congress of Vienna. However, the reign of Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma was short. He was very unpopular with the citizens of Parma, and within a few months, he was ousted by a revolution. Carlo Ludovico regained control of Parma with the help of Austrian troops but finally abdicated in favor of his son Carlo III, Duke of Parma on March 14, 1849.

After his abdication, Carlo Ludovico lived at Weistropp Castle (link in German), a castle he had purchased in Klipphausen, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. He also spent time in Paris, France, and Nice, France. His only son and successor Carlo III, Duke of Parma was assassinated on March 27, 1854, due to his authoritarian policies. He was succeeded by his six-year-old son Roberto I, Duke of Parma with his mother Louise Marie Thérèse of France acting as regent. Roberto reigned for only five years. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Carlo Ludovico’s wife Maria Teresa of Savoy had lived in religious seclusion. She died on July 16, 1879, aged 75, at her villa in San Martino, Vignale, Italy, and was buried in the Chapel of the Dominican Order at the Verano Cemetery in Rome, Italy. Carlo Ludovico survived his wife by nearly three years, dying in Nice, France on April 16, 1883, at the age of 83. He was buried at the burial site of the House of Bourbon-Parma, the Chapel of the Villa Borbone (link in Italian) in Viareggio, Italy. The chapel was built by Carlo Ludovico’s wife Maria Teresa in memory of their assassinated son Carlo III, Duke of Parma.

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Works Cited

• Almanachdegotha.org. 2021. Duchy of Parma – House of Bourbon-Parma. [online] Available at: <http://www.almanachdegotha.org/id29.html> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles II, Duke of Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II,_Duke_of_Parma> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Duchy of Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Parma> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Luisa, Duchess of Lucca – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Louisa,_Duchess_of_Lucca> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Carlo II di Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_II_di_Parma> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• Louda, Jiri and MacLagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. New York: Barnes and Noble.