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Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma

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Maria Luisa Pia of Bourbon-Parma
Princess consort of Bulgaria
Tenure20 April 1893 – 31 January 1899
Born(1870-01-17)17 January 1870
Rome, Papal States
Died31 January 1899(1899-01-31) (aged 29)
Sofia, Principality of Bulgaria
Burial
Cathedral of St Louis of France
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1893)​
Issue
Names
Italian: Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinanda Francesca Antonietta Margherita Giuseppina Carolina Bianca Lucia Apollonia di Borbone-Parma French: Marie Louise Pia Thérèse Anne Ferdinande Françoise Antoinette Marguerite Joséphine Caroline Blanche Lucie Apolline de Bourbon-Parma English: Mary Louisa Pia Theresa Anne Ferdinanda Frances Antonia Margaret Josephine Caroline Blanche Lucy Apollonia of Bourbon-Parma
HouseBourbon-Parma
FatherRobert I of Parma
MotherPrincess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma (Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinanda Francisca Antonietta Margherita Giuseppina Carolina Biaca Lucia Apollonia di Borbone-Parma; 17 January 1870 – 31 January 1899)[1][2] was the eldest daughter of Robert I, the last reigning Duke of Parma. She became Princess of Bulgaria upon her marriage to Ferdinand I, the then prince-regnant (who became Tsar after the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence in 1908). She was the mother of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria.

Early life

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Marie Louise (right) photographed with her cousins Louise and Blanca

Marie Louise was born in Rome on 17 January 1870 as Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinanda Francesca Antonietta Margherita Giuseppina Carolina Bianca Lucia Apollonia di Borbone-Parma, the eldest daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.[3] The couple produced eleven more children before Maria Pia died in childbirth in 1882. Later, he remarried Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal and had twelve more children.[citation needed]

Marie Louise, who was 12 at the time of her mother's death, was brought up in Biarritz and Switzerland under the care of English governesses. Fluent in five languages, she liked painting and music. Her talents playing the guitar and the piano were judged to be well above the average. She was also well read and knew a lot of Dante and Leopardi by heart.[citation needed]

Marriage

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In 1892, her father arranged her marriage to the then reigning Prince of Bulgaria, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The prince had already been rejected by two of Marie-Louise's first cousins: Archduchess Louise of Austria and Princess Beatrice of Bourbon. The negotiations were conducted between Duke Robert and Ferdinand's mother, Princess Clémentine of Orléans. The engagement was celebrated at the Castle of Schwartzau, the residence of the Bourbon-Parma family in Austria. Marie Louise and Ferdinand had never met prior to that day. Princess Clémentine, who was present on that occasion, described her future daughter-in-law in a letter to Queen Victoria as "Unhappily not very pretty, it is the only thing which is lacking, since she is charming, good, very witty, intelligent and very likable". The wedding took place on 20 April 1893 at the Villa Pianore in Lucca, Italy, the residence of Duke Roberto in Italy. Marie Louise was 23 at the time, nine years younger than Ferdinand. The couple wasted no time producing an heir, with their son Boris born nine months and ten days after their wedding.[4][5]

Family life

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Portrait by Philip de László

It is thought that Marie Louise was not loved by her husband. However, he made sure that in order to secure his lineage on the Bulgarian throne, she would bear him children. Under pressure from his subjects and looking to be recognized as Bulgaria's sovereign by the Russian emperor, Ferdinand wanted to have their eldest son, Boris, converted to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the summer of 1895. Marie Louise, who was pregnant at the time, argued bitterly against her husband's actions, with the support of her father and her mother-in-law.[6][7][8]

Marie Louise and Ferdinand's second child received baptism with Roman Catholic rites. However, unable to avoid Boris's conversion, Marie Louise, who had threatened to leave the country, left Sofia that same day for Beaulieu. In May 1896, Marie Louise returned to Bulgaria. In the summer, she went to London with her husband for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, giving birth the following January to Princess Eudoxia. In July 1898, with her husband and their four-year-old, Boris, they visited St Petersburg at the invitation of Nicholas II of Russia.[9][10]

Death

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Princess Marie Louise in her deathbed

Disillusionment in her private life and bearing four children in five years affected her frail health. Suffering from pneumonia, Marie Louise died in Sofia, 24 hours after giving birth to her fourth child. Aged just 29, she was buried in the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Louis of France, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.[11][12][13]

Children

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ The Atlantic Monthly. Atlantic Monthly Company. 1919.
  2. ↑ The American Whitaker Almanac and Encyclopedia for ... Doubleday, Page & Company. 1915.
  3. ↑ Malte, Marcus (26 March 2019). The Boy. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63206-171-3.
  4. ↑ Page, James (1969). King Simeon II of the Bulgarians. Monarchist Press Association [for] the Monarchist League. ISBN 978-0-9500321-2-2.
  5. ↑ "BULGARIA'S RULER MARRIED; A ROYAL WEDDING AT THE DUKE OF PARMA'S PALACE. Princess Marie Louise Made Queen of Bul- garia by a Wedding Ring -- Magnificent, Presents Made to His Bride by Prince Ferdinand -- A Royal Crown Set with Brilliants and Other Precious Stones -- The Couple to Hold a Magnificent Court at Sofia". The New York Times. 21 April 1893. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  6. ↑ The Duluth Daily Star. The Duluth Daily Star.
  7. ↑ The Pittsburgh Press. The Pittsburgh Press.
  8. ↑ The Sunday Vindicator. The Sunday Vindicator.
  9. ↑ Powell, James. "Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee - The Historical Society of Ottawa". www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  10. ↑ Jelavich, Charles (1952). "Russo-Bulgarian Relations, 1892-1896: With Particular Reference to the Problem of the Bulgarian Succession". The Journal of Modern History. 24 (4): 341–351. ISSN 0022-2801.
  11. ↑ Symonds, Tim (16 October 2012). Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Bulgarian Codex. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 978-1-78092-294-2.
  12. ↑ The Illustrated London News. William Little. 1912.
  13. ↑ "PRINCESS FERDINAND DEAD.; Sorrows of the Consort of Bulgaria's Reigning Prince -- Tragic Fate of Stambuloff Recalled". The New York Times. 1 February 1899. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  14. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  15. ↑ "SOFIA COURT JEERS WAR GUILT DENIALS; Bulgarians Seek to Explain Axis Aid--Prince Cyril Said to Testify Boris Was Slain Explanation Is Derided Poisoning" Details Broadcast". The New York Times. 13 January 1945. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  16. ↑ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (19 September 1946). "King's Aunt to Leave Bulgaria". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 February 2026.

Bibliography

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