Princess Marie-Françoise Antoinette Jeanne Madeleine of Bourbon-Parma, known upon her marriage as Princess Edouard de Lobkowicz ( French: ''Marie-Françoise de Bourbon-Parme''; born 19 August 1928) is a French humanitarian and philanthropist. 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 ...

by birth and of the House of Lobkowicz by marriage, her religious wedding in 1960 was the first Bourbon wedding to take place at

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

since the wedding of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry to

Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry (Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Luise; 5 November 1798 – Brunsee, Styria, Austria 16 April 1870) was an Italian princess of the House of Bourbon who married into the French royal family, an ...

in 1816 during the Bourbon Restoration. After escaping the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

with the assistance of

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

, Marie-Françoise helped settle refugees in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

who fled the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In the 1980s, while her husband,

Prince Edouard de Lobkowicz Prince Edouard de Lobkowicz (12 June 1926 – 2 April 2010) was an Austrian-American diplomat and investment banker. A member of the House of Lobkowicz, he served as the ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to Lebanon. Early life ...

, was serving as the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

's ambassador to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, she was involved in the construction and development of twelve medical and social centers owned by the Order. Princess Marie-Françoise founded the Malte Liban Association, a Catholic organization that raises money for medical clinics serving the poor in Lebanon, in 1987. She served as a delegate to 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 ...

from 1990 to 1995.

Early life and family

Marie-Françoise was born on 19 August 1928 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

as the first child of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, and Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. Her father was the titular

Duke of Parma The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a List of historic states of Italy, historical state of Northern Italy. It was created by Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) for his son Pier Luigi Farnese, Du ...

, the

Carlist Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

Pretender to the Spanish throne, and the Head of the

. Her mother, as the daughter of Georges de Bourbon-Busset, Count de Lignières, was a member of the non-dynastic Bourbon-Busset line of the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

. She is a direct descendant of Saint Louis IX and

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. She is the elder sister of Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, Princess Marie-Thérèse, Princess Cécile Marie, Princess Marie des Neiges, and Prince Sixtus Henry, Duke of Aranjuez. During the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, her father was arrested by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and later deported to the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

. After his detainment, she fled to Austria with assistance from

during the exodus of Hungarians during the

. She then settled in

Humanitarian work

While living in West Berlin, after escaping the Hungarian Revolution, Marie-Françoise volunteered with Catholic Relief Services to hold Russian refugees who escaped the

. In 1980, she and her family moved to Lebanon, where her husband was appointed ambassador for the

. In Lebanon she became involved in the construction and development of twelve medical-social centers owned by the Order. In 1987 she founded the Malte Liban Association, a Catholic organization which raises money for the medical clinics serving the poor. Marie-Françoise was a member of the Saint-Siège delegation of the

from 1990 to 1995.

Personal life

On 11 December 1959 Marie-Françoise married

in a

civil ceremony A civil, or registrar, ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United Kingdom, this person is typically called a registrar. In the United States, civil ceremonies may be performe ...

in Besson, Allier. A religious ceremony was held on 7 January 1960 at

.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'', Fürstlicher Häuser Band XVIII, 189. Their wedding was the first Bourbon wedding to take place at the cathedral since the wedding of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, to

in 1816. They had four children: * Prince Marie ''Edouard-Xavier'' Ferdinand Auguste Gaspard (18 October 1960, Paris – 27 April 1984, Ivry-sur-Seine) * Prince Marie ''Robert Emanuel'' Joseph Michel Benoît Melchior (31 December 1961, Paris – 29 October 1988, Bhannes, Lebanon) * Prince Marie ''Charles-Henri'' Hugues Xavier Benoît Michel Edouard Joseph Balthazar (born 17 May 1964, Paris) * Princess ''Marie Gabrielle'' Anita Olga Thérèse Lisieux Gaspara (born 11 June 1967, Paris) Marie-Françoise's oldest son, Edouard-Xavier, was murdered in Paris in 1984. Her second son, Robert Emanuel, died in 1988 from a brain tumor. Her husband died in 2010. Marie-Françoise lives alternating between

and

Later life

Princess Marie-Françoise participated in events held by the

in France, including visiting the Château de Nérac in August 2014. In September 2015, she attended a garden party in Souvigny for a family reunion of the various branches of the House of Bourbon. Her son Charles-Henri, Prince Louis, Duke of Anjou and Princess Marie-Marguerite, Duchess of Anjou were also attended. On 17 September 2018, Princess Marie-Françoise visited the Imam Sadr Foundation in

. Princess Marie-Françoise also spoke to various personalities working at the facility and toured the foundation complex. Marie-Françoise also attended the wedding of

Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon, Prince of Montfort (born ''Jean-Christophe Louis Ferdinand Albéric Napoléon Bonaparte''; 11 July 1986) is a French businessman and the disputed head of the Imperial House of France, and as such the heir of ...

and Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg on 19 October 2019 in

. On 28 September 2022, the Princess attended a religious service for the 35th anniversary of the founding of her association Malte Liban, at the Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Church, Paris. The Princess received congratulations from those present who attended the service. From 5 to 9 May 2023, Princess Marie-Françoise attended the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

's pilgrimage to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

, participating in prayers and masses and meeting many people. Marie-Françoise's relations with her brother Prince Carlos Hugo and with her sisters Princess Marie Thérèse, Princess Cécile Marie and Princess Marie des Neiges were strained due to their opposing views on

Carlism Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

. Their relationship had deteriorated to the point that Marie-Françoise did not attend Carlos Hugo's funeral in 2010. However in 2018, Marie-Françoise reconciled with her three younger sisters. She attended the funerals of her sisters Marie Thérèse in April 2020 and Cécile Marie in September 2021. She arrived at the funeral of the latter with her sister Marie des Neiges.

Honours

* : **

Dame Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the

* : **

Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour * : ** OESSG Cavaliere BAR

Dame of Commandery of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

Ancestry

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 Françoise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie-Françoise, Princess of Bourbon-Parma 1928 births 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Living people Austrian princesses Carlists Dames of Malta Exiled royalty Founders of charities French anti-communists French expatriates in Lebanon French people of Italian descent French people of Spanish descent French refugees French Roman Catholics Lobkowicz family Nobility from Paris People of Vichy France Philanthropists from Paris Princesses of Bourbon-Parma French women philanthropists