Duke Roberto I of Parma, and his family of 24 children

[britt.25]

Svetabel, thanks very very much! That´s wonderfu, coming home this evening and finding the pictures!
Where did you get them? They must be from a book about royalty, aren´t they?
It´s the fist time for me to see them! I was always looking with google and looking...and 
One question: Do you have the one with Sixtus and his wife in a bigger format or do you know where to find them bigger?
I would be grateful.

To José: That´s interesting with the affair...I knew about Isabelle and her marriage to Roger, there are several children from the marriage, but I didn´t know about any economical affair...Was it in the press?
It´s strange, because as I remember Isabelle was born in 1922 (or something very similar), so she must already been quite old, when that affair was. What was it about? Do you remember?
Hedwige, her mother interests me, because she is a greatgranddaughter of Francois Blanc and Marie Hensel, two very famous figures in local history of my hometown, and I am going to write about them. Hedwige descends from their daughter Louise, who married a Prince Radziwill, whereas my favourite figure Marie Bonaparte, descends from Marie-Felix Blanc.

Has anyone picture about Hedwigs mother Louise? (I don´t think so...)

I only found one pic of young Isabelle:

[britt.25]

Thanks, a pity that you don´t have them bigger and don´t remember, where you found them. Id you remember, please tell.

Here is Isabelle with the Rochefoucauld family, Roger is the one with the boy in his arms, the son of them, one other boy in the front row is another son of them, but I don´t have adult pictures of the boys.

[grandduchessella]

I think this is Carlos of Bourbon Two-Siciiles (widower of Infanta Mercedes and brother-in-law to Alfonso XIII) and his 2nd wife, Princess Louise of Orleans. They had this almost identical portrait in a Royalty Digest article and it was signed by the two--it was apparently for their wedding anniversary.

[britt.25]

Thanks, I always wondered why the man did not resemble Sixtus!- It was not him!

But the other picture with the wedding is definetely Sixtus, but where does this picture come from ? I would like to have a bigger version or any source...

Anyone an idea?

[britt.25]

Wedding picture of Prince Sixtus and Princess Hedwig of Bourbon-Parma!

What an excellent picture - I've never seen this one before, Marc.  I'll make an attempt at identifying the people in this picture:

front row:  Hedwige de la Rochefoucauld (bride), Prince Sixte (groom), Duchess of Parma

back row:  Don Jaime, Duke of Madrid (cousin of Sixte), bride's mother (nee Princess Louise Radziwill), bride's father (Duke of Doudeauville).

Is Hedwige wearing the famous Bourbon-Parme tiara that she received for her wedding?  It's hard to tell in this photo. 

Strange, because the page photos12 mentiones that the lady next to Sixtus isn´t the Duchess of Parma, but the Duchess of Doudeauville, which would mean the mother of Hedwig. But I fear the description at photos12 is not right. 

[YaBB_Jose]

There is no Felix Blanc. François Blanc was the founder of the Casino and Société des Bains de Mer.
His younger daughter, Marie-Félix, married Pr. Roland Bonaparte and they had a daughter Pss. Marie Bonaparte, the friend of Sigmund Freud, who married Pr. George of Greece.

[britt.25]

José, Thanks very much for mentioning this wonderful genealogical site, there are all the relationships of the royals, I did not know so many ansistors of Marie Bonaparte and Hedwige de la Rochefaucauld...! Must be a wonderful site!
Thanks for answering the question about Francois Blanc, which was asked by TampaBay. I has overseen it...Francois Blanc is an interesting topic for me, as there are the connections to my hometown. Blanc firstly built the Casino here at Bad Homburg and then it was the example for Monte Carlo.
Can you tell me more about the mentioned Société des Bains de Mer? What is it exactly?
It´s funny, if one considers that at the beginning there were only two simple brothers Louis and Francois Blanc speculating at the stock market ....and the result of all they did was Monte Carlo at the End. It´s such a fascinating story, like a tale, Louis Blanc had a bad health an died quite early, but always assisted  his brother.... The really famous one was Francois B. There is a picture of him at the wall of our Casino and a statue of Marie Hensel in the park, but it´s very bad and does not resemble her. 
Has anyone got a better picture of Hedwige, this one, we sent here, seems a bit blurry.

[YaBB_Jose]

La Société des Bains de Mer is the holding that runs Monaco.
In the 60s Onassis tried to control it buy buying a large amount of shares. He would have full control of most of Monaco's economy which in these days relied mostly on the casino revenues.
Pr. Rainier was not amused of course and there was a "cold war" between the Prince and Onassis.
In the end, via a princely decree, Rainier decided to issue a large number of shares to raise the capital of the SBM and kept them for himself, thus gaining control over the society and, therefore, over his country.
I found this interview on the web:

http://www.twst.com/notes/articles/lqs089.html

[britt.25]

Thanks for mentioning this interview. I will read it, when I have more time. I am still reading the book "der Zauberer von Monte Carlo und Bad Homburg" it´s quite interesting. Anybody knows this book. There the story is told 

Dear Danjel,

Thanks! I knew this picture. Do you have others of her or her mother or grandmother???

[britt.25]

Do you maybe know, where the wedding picture of Sixtus and his wife can be found bigger?

It´s at Photos12, but very small, and not good to see. Any idea, where to find this or any other pic of Hedwig in a huger version?

[Eutropius]

Was Prince Sixtus's marriage to Hedwige de La Rochefoucauld initially considered equal/dynastic by Duke Elias?  Or was concession granted later, like in the case of Prince Xavier's marriage?  The Almanach de Gotha from 1933 shows it to be dynastic, but I'm not sure if it's credible.... because it also shows Prince Xavier's marriage to Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset as being dynastic, which if I remember correctly, was only conceded much later by Duke Robert.

Thanks in advance.

[YaBB_Jose]

I am looking for pictures of Infanta Alicia's siblings:
Pss.Elizabeth (1904-84)
Pr. Charles-Louis (1905-12)
Pss. Marie Françoise (1904-94)
Duke Robert (II) (1909-74)
Pr. François (1913-39)
Pss. Jeanne-Elizabeth (1916-49)
Pss. Marie-Christinne (1925-   )

What did Charles-Louis and François die of at such early age ?

Thanks in advance

[grandduchessella]

Robert II (photos from royaltyguide.nl)



Marie-Christine

[grandduchessella]

Elias Roberto Carlo Maria Pio Giuseppe was the 10th of 24 of Duke Robert's children (1880-1959); m.1903 Archdss Maria Anna of Austria (1882-1940)


1) Elisabetta (1904-1983)

2) Carlo (1905- 1912)

3) Maria Francesca (1906-1994)

4) Roberto II , Duke of Parma(1909-1974)

5) Francesco (1913-1939)

6) Giovanna [Jeanne] (1916-k.in a shooting accident at Toledana, Spain 1949)

7) Alice (b.1917); m.1936 Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1901-1964)

Maria Cristina (b.1925)

Archduchess Maria Anna was the 2nd daughter of AD Friedrich (1856- 1936) and Princess Isabella of Croy (1856-1931). They married in 1878. Her father was one of the wealthiest of the Habsburgs.

[grandduchessella]

From wikipedia:

"Elias of Bourbon, Titular Duke of Parma (1880-1959) was the head of the Bourbon House of Parma.

His parents were the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma and his first wife Maria Pia of the Two Sicilies, daughter of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies.

Despite loss of his throne, Robert and his family enjoyed considerable wealth, traveling in a private train of more than a dozen cars among his castles at Schwarzau am Steinfeld near Vienna, Villa Pianore in northwest Italy, and the magnificent château de Chambord in France.

Less than four months after Duke 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, Robert's second wife and Elias' stepmother. Nonetheless, Robert's primary heir was Elias, Duke of Parma, 1880-1959), the youngest son of the first marriage and the only one of those sons to father children of his own. Elias also became the legal guardian of his six elder siblings. Although the eldest half-brothers, Sixte and Xavier, eventually sued their half-brother Elias to obtain a greater share of the ducal fortune, they lost in the French courts, leaving the issue of Robert's second marriage with modest prospects."