Princess Marie des Neiges Madeleine Françoise of Bourbon-Parma, Countess of Castillo de la Mota (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''María de las Nieves de Borbón-Parma'', French: ''Marie des Neiges de Bourbon-Parme''; born 29 April 1937) is a French aristocrat, ornithologist, and

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...

activist. She is the youngest daughter of Prince Xavier, Duke of Parma and Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. A progressive Carlist, she supported the liberal reforms to the party made by her elder brother, Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, and rejected the conservative faction of the party created by her younger brother, Prince Sixtus Henry, Duke of Aranjuez. In her youth, she was a prominent socialite in Parisian society. Marie des Neiges has a doctorate in biology and worked as an ornithologist. She is a recipient of the Grand Cross of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...

and the Grand Cross of the Order of Prohibited Legitimacy.

Biography

Princess Marie des Neiges of Bourbon-Parma was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

on 29 April 1937 to Prince Xavier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. Her father was the titular Duke of Parma, the

pretender to the

Spanish throne , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

, and the head of the

House of Bourbon-Parma The House of Bourbon-Parma ( it, Casa di Borbone di Parma) is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the Fren ...

.de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. ‘’Le Petit Gotha’’. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, (French) p. 586-589 Her mother was the daughter of Georges de Bourbon-Busset, Count de Lignières and a member of the non-dynastic

Bourbon-Busset The Bourbon-Busset family is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, being thus agnatic descendants of the Capetian dynasty. Historically, they have been regarded as non-dynastic since decisions rendered by Louis XI of France. Possibly, howe ...

line of the House of Bourbon.Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 416-417, 422. (French). She is a sister of Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, Princess Marie Thérèse, Princess Cécile Marie, Princess Marie Françoise, and Prince Sixtus Henry, Duke of Aranjuez. Her father created her Countess of Castillo de la Mota. Throughout her youth, she was active in

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

and attending various balls, including the Paris Ball held at the French Embassy in Brussels. She was educated in the United States and in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. In 1964, she attending the wedding of

Princess Irene of the Netherlands Princess Irene of the Netherlands (Irene Emma Elisabeth; born 5 August 1939) is the second child of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard. In 1964, she converted to Catholicism and married the then- Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon- ...

and her brother, Prince Carlos Hugo, in Rome. A

, she supported the progressive reforms of her brother, Carlos Hugo, alongside her sisters Cécile Marie and Marie-Thérèse. She denounced the traditionalist agenda and Carlist claim made by her brother, Sixtus Henry. She attended Carlist gatherings around Spain to support political causes. Marie des Neiges was present at the Montejurra massacre on 9 May 1976. In 2016, Marie des Neiges visited the former ducal lands of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

, and was received by the city of

Fontanellato Fontanellato (Parmigiano dialect, Parmigiano: ) is a small town in the province of Parma, in northern Italy. It lies on the plains of the River Po near the Autostrada A1 (Italy), A1 autostrada, about west of Parma towards Piacenza. The town was ...

's mayor, Francesco Trivelloni She had previously visited Parma to attend the baptism of her grandnephew, Prince Charles Henry of Bourbon-Parma. In 2018, Marie des Neiges, Marie Thérèse, and Cécile Marie reconciled with their sister, Marie Françoise, ending their dispute over conflicting approaches on Carlism. The sisters spent a lot of time together after reconciling. As her sister, Cécile Marie, became ill, she helped care for her. She works as a ornithologist and has a doctorate in biology. Princess Marie des Neiges received a Grand Cross of the

, a Grand Cross of the Order of St. Lodovico, and a Grand Cross of the Order of Prohibited Legitimacy.

Ancestry

Honours

* : **

Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio

Senator Grand Cross with necklace of the Angelic Imperial Holy Constantinian Order of St. George ** Alluvione2000

Grand Cross of the Ducal Royal Order of Saint Louis ** Ruban de l’ordre de la Légitimité proscrite

Grand Cross of the Order of Prohibited Legitimacy

References

External links

Official website of the House of Bourbon-ParmaSecond official website of the House of Bourbon-Parma

Biography of Her Royal Highness Princess Marie des Neiges
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie des Neiges of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Living people 1937 births 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Carlists French ornithologists Nobility from Paris Princesses of Bourbon-Parma French people of Italian descent French people of Spanish descent French Roman Catholics Spanish countesses Women ornithologists