Prince Gaetano of Bourbon-Parma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Prince Gaetan of Bourbon-Parma |
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| Born | 11 June 1905 Villa Pianore, Lucca, Italy |
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| Died | 9 March 1958 (aged 52) Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France |
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| Spouse |
Princess Margarete of Thurn and Taxis
(m. 1931) |
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| Issue | Princess Diana | ||||
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| Father | Robert I, Duke of Parma | ||||
| Mother | Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal | ||||
Prince Gaetan of Bourbon-Parma (born June 11, 1905 – died March 9, 1958) was a prince from the House of Bourbon-Parma. He was the youngest son of Robert I, who was the last Duke of Parma, and his second wife, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. Prince Gaetan grew up and studied in Austria, France, and Luxembourg. He was a soldier who fought in the Spanish Civil War and later joined the U.S. Army during World War II. He took part in the D-Day landings in Normandy. Prince Gaetan passed away at age 52 in a car accident. He had one daughter, Princess Diana.
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Early life and education
Prince Gaetan of Bourbon-Parma was the youngest child of Robert I (1848–1907), the last Duke of Parma. His mother was Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (1862–1959). Gaetan was the youngest of his father's twenty-four children. His father had married two times and had twelve children with each wife.
Gaetan was born at the Villa Pianore, a large house near Lucca, Tuscany, in Italy. He was given the full name Gaetano Maria Giuseppe Pio. His godfather was Pope Pius X, a very important religious leader. Gaetan was only two years old when his father died.
He went to study at Stella Matutina, a Catholic school for boys run by Jesuit priests. This school was in Feldkirch, Austria, close to the Swiss border. After the Hapsburg royal family lost power in Austria, Gaetan moved to Paris, France, with his brother, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma. He finished his education in France and in Luxembourg. His brother, Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, was married to the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, who was the ruler there. Gaetan also went on trips to Africa with his brother Sixtus.
Marriage and family
On April 29, 1931, Prince Gaetan married Princess Margarete von Thurn und Taxis (1909–2006) in Paris, France. She was the daughter of Prince Alexander von Thurn und Taxis, Duke of Castel Duino.
Prince Gaetan and Princess Margarete had one daughter:
- Princess Diana of Bourbon-Parma (born May 22, 1932, in Paris – died May 7, 2020). She married Franz Joseph Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1955. Later, in 1961, she married Hans Joachim Oehmichen. She had three sons with her second husband.
Prince Gaetan and Princess Margarete lived apart for much of their married life. They officially divorced on January 24, 1950, in Paris.
Military service
During the 1930s, Prince Gaetan became involved in the Carlist movement in Spain. This was a political group that supported a different royal family for the Spanish throne. When the Spanish Civil War began in 1937, Gaetan joined the Requetés. This was a special army group of the Carlists. He used the name Gaetan of Lavardin.
In April 1937, Gaetan's group fought bravely in a battle to take Mount Saibigain. For his courage, he was promoted to ensign on the battlefield. A month later, in May, he was wounded in the neck during another fight. He was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. While recovering, he was visited by his sister, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, who had been the Empress of Austria-Hungary.
In 1941, Prince Gaetan moved to the United States. Two years later, he joined the United States Army during World War II. He fought alongside the Allies, which included his brothers Javier and Felix. In 1943, he tried to join a special group of Austrians in the U.S. Army but was not accepted because he was from France. Later, he taught at Camp Ritchie, where young Jewish-German soldiers were trained for special missions in Germany. Prince Gaetan also took part in the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, and fought in the campaign to free France.
Death
On March 8, 1958, Prince Gaetan was in a serious car accident near Mandelieu-la-Napoule, on the French Riviera. He was on his way to visit his brother, Prince Luigi of Bourbon-Parma. He was taken to a hospital in Cannes, where he died the next day. As he had wished, he was buried wearing the red beret of the Requetés from Navarre on March 10, 1958.
Images for kids
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Prince Gaetan of Bourbon-Parma
See also
In Spanish: Cayetano de Borbón-Parma para niños
