Princess Carolina of Bourbon-Parma, Marchioness of Sala (born 23 June 1974), is the fourth and youngest child of

Princess Irene of the Netherlands Princess Irene of the Netherlands (Irene Emma Elisabeth; born 5 August 1939) is the second child of Juliana of the Netherlands, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Prince Bernhard. In 1964, she converted to ...

and

Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Piacenza (8 April 1930 – 18 August 2010) was the head of the ducal House of Bourbon-Parma from 1977 until his death. Carlos Hugo was a Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain and sought to change the political dir ...

. She is a member of the

House of Bourbon-Parma The House of Bourbon-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, Duke of Guastalla, Guastalla, and Duke of Lucca, Lucca. The House descended from the Fre ...

as well an extended member of the

Dutch royal family The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the country's charter and constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communica ...

. Per a 1996 royal decree issued by Queen Beatrix, she is entitled to the style and title ''

Her Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of add ...

'' Princess Maria Carolina de Bourbon de Parme in The Netherlands as a member of the extended royal family.

Early life

Princess Carolina was born at 23 June 1974 in

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

. She has two older brothers, Prince Carlos, the head of the

, and Prince Jaime. She also has one older sister, Princess Margarita. She was baptised at the Castle of Lignières in France with

Prince Claus of the Netherlands Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer van Amsberg (born Klaus-Georg Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg; 6 September 1926 – 6 October 2002) was Prince consort of the Netherlands, Prince of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until his d ...

Princess Christina of the Netherlands Princess Christina of the Netherlands (Maria Christina; 18 February 1947 – 16 August 2019) was the youngest of four daughters of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She taught singing in New York and was ...

and

Princess Marie des Neiges of Bourbon-Parma Princess Marie des Neiges Madeleine Françoise of Bourbon-Parma, Countess of Castillo de la Mota (Spanish language, Spanish: ''María de las Nieves de Borbón-Parma'', French language, French: ''Marie des Neiges de Bourbon-Parme''; born 29 April ...

as her godparents. In 1981, when she was six, her parents decided to divorce. She moved together with her mother and her brothers and sister to

Soest, Netherlands Soest () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. It is about west of Amersfoort. Population centres The town of Soest The oldest documents me ...

, nearby the then residence of her grandparents the former Queen of the Netherlands Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was Prince consort of the Netherlands, Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen J ...

. Later on they lived for a while in a villa at

Wijk bij Duurstede Wijk bij Duurstede () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Population centres *Cothen *Langbroek *Wijk bij Duurstede Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Wijk bij Du ...

Education and career

Princess Carolina studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and also has an M.Sc. in Forced Migration from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She has had a career at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. For this organisation she was stationed at the UN headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, as well as problematic areas such as

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, and in

Acheh Aceh ( , ; , Jawoë: ; Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the wes ...

(

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) after the

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...

. She is currently employed at the United Nations in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, in the Organisation for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Marriage

On 9 January 2012, it was announced that Princess Carolina would marry ''Albert'' Alphons Ludgerus Brenninkmeijer (born 16 May 1974), a member of the wealthy

Brenninkmeijer family Brenninkmeijer () is a Roman Catholic Dutch, German and Swiss family of manufacturers, which own an international chain of clothing stores. Originally the family came from Tecklenburger Land (Westphalia) in Germany, selling linen in Friesland ...

. The

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Countries maintaining a popul ...

took place on 21 April 2012 at

, while the religious wedding took place at the

San Miniato al Monte San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic ...

on 16 June 2012 in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy. They had two children: * ''Alaïa-Maria'' Irene Cécile Brenninkmeijer, born 20 May 2014 in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. She had a double christening with her cousin Princess Zita Clara of Bourbon-Parma on 4 October 2014 at Noordwijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. Her godparents are Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma,

Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands (''Constantijn Christof Frederik Aschwin''; born 11 October 1969) is the third and youngest son of the former Dutch queen, Beatrix of the Netherlands, Beatrix, and her husband, Claus von Amsberg, and is the ...

, Philippe Brenninkmeijer and Silvia Brenninkmeijer-Arboli. * ''Xavier'' Albert Alphons Brenninkmeijer, born 16 December 2015 in

Other activities

The princess has been seen regularly at important events of the royal house of the Netherlands. In 2001 she was one of the maids of honor at the wedding of Prince Constantijn and Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst; and during the baptism of their daughter, Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau, she was the godmother of the child. She was a witness at the church wedding of her cousin Prince Floris of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, and in 2010, was named as the godmother of Floris' second child, Eliane.

Titles, styles and honours

Already a ducal princess from birth, her father bestowed the

substantive title A substantive title, in the United Kingdom, is a title of nobility which is owned in its own right, as opposed to titles shared among cadets, borne as a courtesy title by a peer's relatives, or acquired through marriage. Current monarchies * ...

''Marchesa di Sala'' ( Marchioness of Sala) upon her on 2 September 1996. In 1996 she was incorporated into the

Dutch nobility The Dutch nobility is a small elite social class consisting of individuals or families recognised as nobility, noble, and with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The existence of nobility was established in the Con ...

by her aunt

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...

, with the highest title of nobility ''Prinses de Bourbon de Parme'' (Princess of Bourbon-Parma) and styled ''Hare Koninklijke Hoogheid'' (''

''). She does not belong to the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...

or the limited

Dutch royal house In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional office and is controlled by the Constitution of the Netherlands. A distinction is made between members of the royal family and members of the royal house. The ...

, but as a granddaughter of Queen Juliana and first cousin of the present

King Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

, she is officially a member of the more extended

. ;Honours * Ducal Family of Parma: Knight of the Parmese Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George * Ducal Family of Parma: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Louis for Civil Merit * : Recipient of the King Willem-Alexander Investiture Medal

Ancestry

References

External links

Official website of the House of Bourbon-ParmaSecond official website of the House of Bourbon-ParmaBiography of Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Carolina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carolina, Marchioness Of Sala 1974 births People from Nijmegen Harvard University alumni Princesses of Bourbon-Parma Princesses of the Netherlands Italian nobility 20th-century Spanish nobility Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Amsterdam alumni