Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma, who became the first royal to die of coronavirus, will receive a small private funeral service in Paris, France. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures, the relatives of the Princess who mostly live in Switzerland and the Netherlands are not allowed to attend the funeral.
The 86-year old Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma became a victim of the corona COVID-19 virus and died on Thursday the 26th of March in her home in Paris, France. It was her brother, Prince Sixte Henri who announced the passing of his sister on his Facebook page on Thursday evening. She is the first royal, albeit from a non-reigning family, to die from the coronavirus.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the strict measures that are in place to end the spread of the virus, the funeral of the Princess will be a small and private ceremony. Due to the travel restrictions, her relatives who reside mainly in Switzerland and the Netherlands will not be able to attend the funeral. The Bourbon-Parma family plans to hold a memorial service to make sure that all the relatives can say their goodbyes. It is not known when the memorial service will be able to take place as the corona pandemic is not yet under control.
Princess Marie-Thérèse of Bourbon-Parma was born in Paris on 28 July 1933 as the third child and second daughter of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma and his wife Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. As a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma, she is related to many royal houses in Europe. Her father Prince Xavier, and later her brother Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma became the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain during the Franco regime. After Juan Carlos became the King of Spain, the Princess received the Spanish nationality and resided in the country for many years before moving to France.
In addition, Princess Marie-Thérèse was the niece of Empress Zita of Austria and Prince Felix of Luxembourg as well. The late Queen Anne of Romania was a first cousin of Princess Marie-Thérèse. She was also the aunt of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma, a cousin of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma, as head of the Royal House of Bourbon-Parma also wrote a tribute to his aunt:
“Her death is a great loss and we are deeply saddened. Princess Marie-Thérèse has long been deeply involved in the struggle for democratization, social justice and freedom in Spain. In that life mission, she supported both her own father and her brother and our father Prince Carlos Hugo. (..) We very much admire our aunt for her erudition and dedication, for her continued committed to people, peace and prosperity in the world. (…) Above all, we will greatly miss her commitment, support and love. We cherish the wonderful memories we had with her and our children. Marie-Thérèse died in peace. We wish our dear aunt this peace forever.”
