Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma Facts for Kids

Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma (later Prince Félix of Luxembourg; 28 September 1893 – 8 April 1970) was the husband of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and the father of her six children, including her successor Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. By birth to his father Robert I, Duke of Parma, he was a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma and one descendant of King Philip V of Spain. Prince Félix was the longest-serving consort of Luxembourg.

Early life
Marriage to Grand Duchess Charlotte
Death
Marriage and children
Titles, honours and awards
- Honours
See also

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 born in Schwarzau am Steinfeld.

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 the loss of his throne, Duke Robert and his family enjoyed considerable wealth, travelling in a private train of more than a dozen cars among his castles at Schwarzau am Steinfeld near Vienna, Villa Pianore [it] 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.

Félix served in the Austrian Dragoons as Lieutenant and Captain, but resigned his commission in November 1918.

Marriage to Grand Duchess Charlotte

On 6 November 1919 in Luxembourg, the prince married his first cousin Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, having been admitted to the nobility of Luxembourg and also made 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).

Felix 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.

During World War II the grand ducal family left Luxembourg shortly before the arrival of Nazi troops, settling in France until their capitulation, in June 1940. Subsequently, the family and the Grand Duchess' ministers received transit visas to Portugal from the Portuguese consul Aristides de Sousa Mendes, in June 1940. They arrived at Vilar Formoso on 23 June 1940. After travelling through Coimbra and Lisbon, the family first stayed in Cascais, in Casa de Santa Maria, owned by Manuel Espírito Santo, who was then the honorary consul for Luxembourg in Portugal. By July they had moved to Monte Estoril, staying at the Chalet Posser de Andrade. On 10 July 1940, Félix, together with his children, Heir Prince Jean, Princess Elisabeth, Princess Marie Adelaide, Princess Marie Gabriele, Prince Charles and Princess Alix, the nanny Justine Reinard and the chauffeur Eugène Niclou, along with his wife Joséphine, boarded the S.S. Trenton headed for New York City, after which they moved to Canada.

Death

Prince Félix died at Fischbach Castle on 8 April 1970. His funeral mass was held at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and he was later buried in the crypt of the cathedral.

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 (1921–2019), who married HRH Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005)
Princess Elizabeth of Luxembourg (1922–2011), who married HSH Franz, Duke of Hohenberg (1927–1977)
Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg (1924–2007), who married Karl Josef Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (1928–2008)
Princess Marie Gabriele of Luxembourg (1925–2023), who married Knud Johan, Count of Holstein-Ledreborg (1919–2001)
Prince Charles of Luxembourg (1927–1977), who married Joan Douglas Dillon (born 1935), the former wife of James Brady Moseley
Princess Alix of Luxembourg (1929–2019), who married Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne (1925–2005)

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
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

Honours

National

Luxembourg: Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
Luxembourg: President of the Luxembourg Red Cross
Parmese Ducal Family: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Louis for Civil Merit

Foreign

Kingdom of Albania Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Fidelity (1931)
Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Family: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen (1917)
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
Norway: Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (1964)
Portugal: Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Benedict of Aviz (24 February 1950)
Sweden: Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (18 July 1951)
Thailand: Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri (17 October 1960)
The Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion

Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma facts for kids

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