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 III, Duke of Parma reigned for only five years and was assassinated for his authoritarian policies. Ferdinando Carlo Vittorio Giuseppe Maria Baldassarre was born on January 14, 1823, at the Villa delle Pianore (link in Italian) near Lucca in the Duchy of Lucca, now in Italy. He was the only son and the second of the two children of Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma and Maria Teresa of Savoy. Carlo’s paternal grandparents were  Ludovico of Parma (King of Etruria from 1801 – 1803) and Maria Luisa of Spain, Duchess of Lucca in her own right. His maternal grandparents were Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este.

Carlo had one elder sister who died in childhood:

• Luisa Francesca of Parma (1821 – 1823), died in early childhood

The marriage of Carlo’s parents was a mismatch. His mother Maria Teresa was very religious and a secular member of the Dominican Order. His father Carlo Ludovico lived for his own pleasure and preferred entertainment and travel over praying. Carlo spent much of the first ten years of his life accompanying his parents on their frequent trips throughout Europe. The seemingly endless travels all over Europe shattered his mother’s nervous system. In 1833, Maria Teresa stopped accompanying her husband Carlo Ludovico on his travels. Eventually, Carlo’s mother permanently left the court, surrounded herself with priests and nuns, and dedicated her life to religion. After 1840 she lived in complete religious seclusion and Carlo saw her infrequently.

By 1845, Carlo’s father was in financial difficulty so he decided to marry his son to a princess with a large dowry. The chosen bride was Louise Marie Therese of France. She was the daughter of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry and Marie Caroline of Naples and Sicily. Louise Marie Therese’s paternal grandparents were King Charles X of France (grandson of King Louis XV and brother of King Louis XVI) and Maria Theresa of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Clementina of Austria. Carlo and Louise Marie Therese were married on November 10, 1845, at Schloss Frohsdorff in Lanzenkirchen in Austria, the home in exile of the bride’s aunt by marriage and guardian Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, Duchess of Angoulême, the only surviving child of the guillotined King Louis XVI of France.

Carlo and Louise Therese Marie had four children:

• Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma (1847 – 1893), married Infante Carlos, Duke of Madrid, had five children
• Roberto I, Duke of Parma (1848 – 1907), married (1) Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had twelve children including Princess Maria Luisa who married Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (2) Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, had twelve children including Princess Zita who married, Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and Prince Felix  who married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg
• Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma (1849 – 1935), married Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had ten children
• Prince Enrico, Count of Bardi (1851 – 1905), married (1) Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, died three months after marriage (2) Infanta Adelgundes of Portugal, Duchess of Guimarães, no children

In December 1847, Napoleon’s second wife Marie-Louise of Austria, reigning Duchess of Parma died. As stipulated by the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the Duchy of Parma was restored to the House of Bourbon-Parma and Carlo’s father became Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma. 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 II 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.

The authoritarian policies of Carlo III, Duke of Parma made him unpopular. He placed Parma under martial law, inflicted heavy penalties on the members of the former provisional government, closed the university, and instituted persecution policies. Plots to remove Carlo III from power began to circulate in 1853. His personal life was also in trouble. Carlo had separated from his wife who had become obese. He began an open affair with Countess Emma Guadagni. The marriage of Carlo and Louise Marie Therese became completely irreconcilable when Carlo took his mistress on a semi-official visit to Queen Isabella II of Spain in December 1853.

Every afternoon, Carlo would take a walk on the streets of Parma accompanied only by an aide-de-camp, and Sunday, March 26, 1854, was no different. As he was returning to the palace, he stopped to speak with a person and saluted two soldiers who were passing by. Carlo was then attacked by two men from behind. One of the men knocked him down and stabbed him in the stomach with a knife. Everything happened so fast that initially, Carlo did not realize what had happened. In the confusion, the two men escaped by running in opposite directions and mixing with the crowd.

Carlo fell to the ground in a pool of blood with the blade still in his stomach. He was carried back to the palace where he received treatment. Carlo asked the doctors if his life was in danger, and lying, the doctors assured him that it was not, and he passed out. However, in moments of consciousness, Carlo realized the seriousness of his condition. He received the last rites and was able to see his wife and children. After much suffering, which he endured bravely, thirty-one-year-old Carlo III, Duke of Parma died the following evening, March 27, 1854, at 5:30 p.m. He was buried at the Chapel of the Villa Borbone (link in Italian) in Viareggio, Italy.

Ireneo Bochi and Antonio Carra, Carlo’s murderers, escaped prosecution. They were briefly arrested but since they looked similar, witnesses were confused and deemed unreliable. Bochi and Carra did not act for political reasons but were hired killers. However, exactly who paid them remains unknown.

Carlo’s six-year-old son Roberto became Duke of Parma with his mother as regent but had a short reign. 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’s wife Louise Marie Therese of France survived him by ten years, dying on February 1, 1864, at the age of 44. Carlo’s parents lived long lives. His mother Maria Teresa of Savoy continued to live a secluded, religious life and died on July 16, 1879, aged 75. His father, the former Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma died on April 16, 1883, at the age of 83.

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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 III, Duke of Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III,_Duke_of_Parma> [Accessed 13 October 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlo-ii-ludovico-duke-of-parma/> [Accessed 13 October 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Maria Teresa of Savoy, Duchess of Parma. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-teresa-of-savoy-duchess-of-parma/> [Accessed 13 October 2021].
• It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Carlo III di Parma – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_III_di_Parma> [Accessed 13 October 2021].
• Louda, Jiri and MacLagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. New York: Barnes and Noble.