Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Prince Sixtus |
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Prince Sixtus around 1930
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| Born | 1 August 1886 Schloss Wartegg, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland |
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| Died | 14 March 1934 (aged 47) Paris, France |
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| Burial | Souvigny Abbey | ||||
| Spouse | Hedwige de la Rochefoucauld | ||||
| Issue | Princess Isabella | ||||
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| House | House of Bourbon-Parma | ||||
| Father | Robert I, Duke of Parma | ||||
| Mother | Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal | ||||
Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (born August 1, 1886 – died March 14, 1934) was a prince from the House of Bourbon-Parma. This was a famous royal family in Europe. He was also a brave Belgian officer during World War I. Prince Sixtus played a very important role in trying to end the war. He tried to make a secret peace deal for Austria-Hungary. This event is known as the Sixtus Affair. He also wrote several books.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Prince Sixtus was the oldest son of Robert I, the last Duke of Parma. His mother was Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. She was the daughter of King Miguel of Portugal.
His father, Duke Robert, had a very large family. He had twelve children from his first marriage. Prince Sixtus was the fourteenth of his twenty-four children. He was the sixth son, which is why he was named Sixtus.
Even though his family once ruled the Duchy of Parma, his father had lost his title during the wars that unified Italy. However, Duke Robert was very rich. He inherited a lot of money from his uncle. The family lived in beautiful homes, including Villa Pianore in Italy and Castle Schwarzau in Austria.
Prince Sixtus went to a Catholic boarding school called Stella Matutina. It was run by Jesuits in Feldkirch, near Switzerland. After school, he studied law in Paris.
Family Changes and World War I
When his father died in 1907, most of the family's money went to Sixtus's half-brother, Elias, Duke of Parma. In 1910, the children from both of Duke Robert's marriages agreed to divide the family's wealth.
A year later, in 1911, Sixtus's sister, Princess Zita, married Archduke Charles. He was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Charles and Sixtus had been friends since childhood.
When World War I started, it divided the family. Even though their family had ruled in Parma, the brothers also had strong ties to France and Austria. Prince Sixtus and his brother Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma joined the Belgian Army. But their brothers Elias, Felix, and René fought on the opposite side, for the Austrian Army.
The Sixtus Affair
By 1917, World War I had been going on for almost four years. Emperor Charles I, Sixtus's brother-in-law, wanted to find a way to end the war. He secretly started peace talks with France. He used Prince Sixtus as a go-between. Emperor Charles also got help from his loyal childhood friend, Count Tamás Erdődy.
Charles reached out to Sixtus through neutral Switzerland. Empress Zita wrote a letter inviting her brother to Vienna. Zita and Sixtus's mother, who lived in neutral Switzerland, delivered the letter herself.
Sixtus arrived with conditions for peace talks that France had agreed to. These included:
- France getting back Alsace-Lorraine, which Germany had taken in 1870.
- Belgium becoming independent again.
- Serbia becoming independent.
- Constantinople being given to Russia.
Emperor Charles agreed to the first three points. On March 24, 1917, he wrote a letter to Sixtus. In it, he promised to use "all means and all my personal influence" to help the French President.
This attempt at peace talks failed. One main reason was that Italy would have to give up Tyrol. Germany also refused to discuss Alsace-Lorraine. Germany believed Russia was about to collapse, so they didn't want to give up fighting.
In April 1918, news of the secret talks leaked out. Emperor Charles I denied being involved. But then French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau published the letters signed by Charles. After this, Austria became even more dependent on its German ally. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany strongly criticized Charles.
This failed attempt at peace negotiations became known as the Sixtus Affair.
Later Life and Legacy
On November 12, 1919, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma married Hedwige de la Rochefoucauld. She was the daughter of Armand de La Rochefoucauld. Sixtus's elder half-brother, Elias, Duke of Parma, did not approve of the marriage at first. It was not considered a royal marriage until 1959. That's when Elias's son, Robert Hugo, Duke of Parma, recognized the marriages of his uncles Sixtus and Xavier.
Prince Sixtus and Hedwige had one daughter, Princess Isabella (1922–2015). She married a distant cousin, Count Roger de la Rochefoucauld, in 1943. They later divorced in 1966. They had five sons and six grandchildren.
Family Inheritance Dispute
After World War I, the Treaty of Saint-Germain allowed France to take property from those who fought against them. Since Sixtus's half-brother, Elias, had served in the Austrian army, the French government took Chambord castle. This castle was owned by the Bourbons of Parma.
Because Prince Sixtus and his brother Xavier had fought with the Allied side, they took their brother Elias to court. They wanted a larger share of the family inheritance. They argued that the old family agreement went against French law.
In 1925, a French court agreed with Sixtus and Xavier. But an appeals court changed the decision in 1928. Finally, in 1932, the French Court of Cassation upheld the appeals court's decision. The brothers were given an equal share of the estate. However, the French government never returned Chambord castle. They paid Elias money instead.
Prince Sixtus settled in France after marrying a French noblewoman. In the years that followed, he went on several trips to Africa. He also wrote many books, including a biography of his great-great-grandmother, Maria Luisa of Spain, Duchess of Lucca. Prince Sixtus died in Paris on March 14, 1934.
In Fiction
The TV show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles features Sixtus (played by Benedict Taylor) and his brother Xavier (played by Matthew Wait). They are shown as Belgian officers in World War I who help the young Indiana Jones.
Sixtus, his brother Xavier, and the Sixtus Affair are also central to the historical fiction novel "Kingdoms Fall - The Laxenburg Message" by Edward Parr.
Sources
- encyclopedia.com
See also
In Spanish: Sixto Fernando de Borbón-Parma para niños
