Princess Maria Luisia of Bourbon-Parma was the oldest daughter of Robert I, the final
reigning Duke of Parma.
However at just the age of 29 inside of Bulgaria, she would die a tragic death following giving
birth to a fourth child in five years.
She was a woman who had bore many children in a short period of time for her husband
Ferdinand I the Tsar of Bulgaria.
But she was also a woman whose body could not cope, and she had a tragic demise inside
of a country which was far away from her homelands.
But what is the story of the death of the princess of Bulgaria?
Marie Louise was born in 1870 in Rome and was known as Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinand
Francesca Antonietta Margherita Guiseppina Carolina Bianca Lucia Apollonia di Borbone-Parma.
She was given possibly the longest name of any one in the 19th century.
She was the oldest daughter of Robert I the Duke of Parma and his first Wife Princess
Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Scillies.
But it was expected that she would one day go on to marry an influential and powerful
prince or King across Europe who would guarantee alliances for her royal family.
At the time it was common for Kings, Princes and Dukes to seek alliances with other ruling
families through marrying their children in power plays which would also guarantee wealth
and financial power.
Marie’s parents had 11 more children, and 6 of these suffered from mental illness, but
later the Duke her father would remarry Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal and they then had
12 more children.
Marie Louise was just 12 when her mother passed away, and she was then raised in the south
of France and also in Switzerland, with a number of English governesses raising her
and overseeing her education.
It was clear that one day Marie would be arranged in marriage to someone powerful and because
of this she learned a number of languages.
In her spare time she also liked painting and was a talented musician playing piano
and guitar, and she was very well read and intelligent.
But in 1892, her father then arranged Maria’s marriage and he negotiated her nuptials with
the then reigning Prince of Bulgaria, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The marriage negotiations were overseen by Maria’s grandmother, and these were successful
and the engagement was then celebrated at the Castle of Schwartzau, where the family
lived in Austria for some time.
But there had been a number of obstacles for the match with the Prince of Bulgaria.
One of these was the fact Maria’s family were staunchly catholic and they insisted
that any children would be raised in the Catholic Church.
Ferdinand was also Catholic and he had been allowed to stay this when he became the Prince
of Bulgaria, but the Bulgarian constitution stated that any future prince must have been
a member of the Orthodox Church.
This meant that Ferdinand’s heir could not be raised Catholic, but then the constitution
was amended for this.
But her future mother in law was not completed impressed with Princess Marie, as she wrote
to Queen Victoria of Britain that Marie was ‘unhappily not very pretty, it is the only
thing which is lacking, since she is charming, good, very witty, intelligent and very likeable.’
Their wedding occurred on the 20th April 1893, and this took place at Maria’s father’s
house in Italy.
At the time she was 23 and was 9 years younger than Ferdinand and quickly the pair consummated
their marriage and almost 9 months to the day of their wedding, Marie gave birth to
a son named Boris.
But the marriage between the pair despite producing heirs and children is not considered
the most happy match.
It was believed that Marie Louise’s husband did not love her, but he secured his lineage
on the Bulgarian throne and they did this by having children.
But Ferdinand was under a lot of pressure from his subjects and he was looking to be
recognised by the Russian Emperor as the Bulgarian sovereign.
Ferdinand wanted his son converted to the Orthodox Church but Marie Louise in 1895 when
this was debated was furious.
She was pregnant at the time and she argued greatly against her husband’s decisions
and ideas, and she spoke with her father who was still very powerful across Europe.
Marie Louise and Ferdinand’s second child was given Catholic rites after his birth,
but she could not prevent the conversion of her first born son, and Marie because of this
threatened to leave Bulgaria.
She left Sofia for the French Riviera, but then she would return in May 1896.
In the following summer she visited to London and she attended the Diamond Jubilee of Queen
Victoria alongside her husband and then she gave birth the following January to a daughter.
But then in July 1898 she would visit Nicholas II of Russia with her husband and four year
old son, however things were not great for her.
Marie was trapped almost in a loveless marriage and was having child after child.
Each pregnancy and birth she experienced took a toll on her and she would bear four children
in five years.
This was seen as a positive in society for her as she was providing the Bulgarian nation
with heirs and spares, but the toll it took on her body was too much.
Marie became in her final months disillusioned with her life, greatly regretting her marriage
and she was very unhappy, and the fact she had four children in five years was greatly
concerning for her.
She was around January 1899 suffering from pneumonia, which of course was very serious
at the time and following giving birth to her fourth child things looked very bleak.
Inside her bedchamber after giving birth, four hours after giving birth in fact, at
just the age of 29, Princess Marie Louise died of pneumonia.
Her body had given up, and the stresses of childbirth were just too much for her yet
again.
She was then buried inside of the Catholic Cathedral of St Louis of France in Plovdiv
in Bulgaria.
The eldest son of Marie would go on to reign as the Tsar, as Boris III for 25 years.
She was a woman who was considered not the most attractive, but Maria Louise was a princess
who made a good consort for her husband who would become the King of Bulgaria.
She was a woman who united her father’s dukedom and a country, and the alliance was
considered a fruitful one for both sides.
But the pressure of Marie’s status and the fact she became pregnant time after time,
producing four children within five years was too much for her body.
Also she was trapped in a marriage which was loveless, and it was a rather sad existence
for a young woman who deserved more.
She was also a woman who probably wanted out of her marriage, but could do little in the
way of this, being trapped inside a country which for her was a very long way from home.
Thanks for watching
To support please subscribe
Thanks for watching