Xavier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, known in France before 1974 as Prince Xavier de Bourbon-Parme, known in Spain as Francisco Javier de Borbón-Parma y de Braganza or simply as Don Javier (25 May 1889 – 7 May 1977), was head of the ducal House of Bourbon-Parma. He is best known as dynastic leader of Carlism and the Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain, since 1936 as a regent-claimant and since 1952 as a claimant, appearing under the name Javier I. Since 1974, he was pretender to the defunct throne of Parma. He is also recognized as involved in the so-called Sixtus Affair of 1916–1917 and in the so-called Halifax-Chevalier talks of 1940.
Road to Spain
Family
Xavier was born into the House of Bourbon-Parma, an Italian cadet branch of the Spanish Bourbons, the royal family of Spain, who in turn had diverged from the French House of Bourbon in the 18th century. Xavier was a patrilineal descendant of Louis XIVin the 9th generation; Xavier was son of Roberto I de Parma (1848–1907), himself son of Carlos III de Parma (1823–1854), himself son of Carlos II de Parma (1799–1883), himself son of Luis de Etruria (1773–1803), himself son of Fernando I de Parma (1751–1802), himself son of Felipe I de Parma (1720–1765), himself son of Felipe V of Spain (1683–1746), himself son of Louis, Grand Dauphin (1661–1711), himself son of Louis XIV of France (1638–1715) and to the king of Spain Felipe V.in the 7th generation, Xavier was son of Roberto I de Parma (1848–1907), himself son of Carlos III de Parma (1823–1854), himself son of Carlos II de Parma (1799–1883), himself son of Luis de Etruria (1773–1803), himself son of Fernando I de Parma (1751–1802), himself son of Felipe I de Parma (1720–1765), himself son of Felipe V of Spain (1683–1746) Among his great-great-grandparents, Ludovico I was the king of Etruria, Vittorio Emanuele I was the king of Sardinia and the duke of Savoy, Charles X was the king of France, Francesco I was the king of Two Sicilies, Pedro III was the king of Portugal, Maria I was the queen of Portugal and Brazil, and Carlos IV was the king of Spain; among his great-grandparents, Carlo II was the duke of Parma and João VI was the king of Portugal; among his grandparents, Carlo III was the duke of Parma and Miguel I was the king of Portugal. Xavier's father, Robert I (1848–1907) was the last ruling duke of Parma, and Xavier's mother, Infanta Maria Antónia of Portugal (1862–1959), was exile-born daughter of the 1834-deposed king of Portugal.
Many of Xavier's uncles and aunts came from European royal or ducal families,like Nassau, Habsburg-Lothringen, Wittelsbach, Braganza, Borbon-Dos Sicilias and Thurn-und-Taxis though the only one actually ruling was his mother's sister, Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.in 1905–1912, as duchess consort; she was married to Wilhelm IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg The other three were claiming the throne: his mother's brother, the Portuguese Miguelist pretender Dom Miguel, Duke of Braganza,claiming 1866–1920 his father's sister, the Carlist queen of Spain Margarita de Borbón-Parmashe was married to the Spanish Carlist pretender Don Carlos, claiming 1868–1909 and another sister of his mother, also the Carlist queen of Spain, Infanta Maria das Neves of Portugal.she was married to another Spanish Carlist pretender Don Alfonso Carlos, claiming 1931–1936 One uncle, archduke Karl Ludwig,married to the sister of Xavier’s mother was official heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary.in 1889–1896 Of Xavier's cousins the only two who actually ruled were Elisabeth, the queen consort of Belgiumdaughter of Xavier’s mother’s sister, ruling 1909–1934 and Charlotte, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.daughter of another Xavier’s mother’s sister, ruling 1919–1964 Xavier's step-cousin,archduke Franz Ferdinand was the son of Xavier’s uncle Karl Ludwig, though with his first wife archduke Franz Ferdinand, was official heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.from 1896 till his death in Sarajevo in 1914 Two cousins were legitimist pretenders; along the paternal line Don Jaime, the Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne,claiming 1909–1931 and along the maternal line Dom Duarte Nuño, the Miguelist claimant to the Portuguese throne.claiming 1927–1976
Some of Xavier's siblings have married into the ruling European houses and few have actually ruled: these were the cases of his younger sister Zita, who in 1911 married into the imperial Habsburg family to become the empress of Austria and the queen of Hungary in 1916–1918, and this of his younger brother Felix, who in 1919 married into the ducal Nassau family and was the duke-consort of Luxembourg in 1919–1970. Some of Xavier's siblings were closely related to actual rulers: these were the cases of his younger brother René, who in 1921 married into the royal Danish family,and was the father of Anne, later to become a Romanian queen-on-exile; she married in 1948, when the groom, Mihai I, was already deposed this of his younger brother Louis, who in 1939 married into the royal Italian family,the bride was daughter of the ruling Italian king and sister of the future last king of Italy and this of his older half-sister Maria Luisa, who in 1893 married into the royal Bulgarian family.she gave birth to the later Bulgarian tsar, Boris III, ruling 1918–1943 Some of Xavier's siblings married into ducal or otherwise distinguished highly aristocratic houses.these were the cases of Don Javier’s older half-brother Elias, who in 1903 married into the archducal Austrian Habsburg-Lothringen family, this of his older brother Sixte, who in 1919 married into the French ducal la Rochefoucauld family, this of his youngest brother Gaetan, who in 1931 married into the Austrian ducal Thurn-und-Taxis family, and this of his younger sister Beatrice, who in 1909 married into the Italian Lucchesi-Palli family, also of ducal descendance Six mentally handicapped older half-siblings have never married and three of Xavier's sisters became Benedictine nuns.
Infancy, childhood and youth (before 1914)
Though deposed as Duke of Parma in 1859, Xavier's father kept claiming the title. He retained massive wealth, comprising estates in Italy and Austria; moreover, in the late 19th century the Bourbon-Parma inherited the magnificent Chambord castle.the castle, in a number of rankings considered No. 1 among castles in the Loire valley, was bequeathed by the legitimist claimant to the throne of France, Count of Chambord, to the Bourbon-Parmas. The older sister of Count of Chambord, Louise Marie, was married to Carlo, duke of Parma; she was mother of Robert Bourbon-Parma and the paternal grandmother of prince Xavier, see Les lys et la republique service, available here, Franz de Burgos, Domaine de Chambord : Histoire d’une spoliation, [in:] Vexilla Galliae service 12.02.15, available here The family, consisting of Robert, his second wife and some 20 childrenthe actual number or kids living together kept changing. Robert had 24 children, 12 from the first and 12 from the second marriage, born between 1870 and 1905. Some died in early infancy, some left the family home when Xavier was a toddler, and some were born after Xavier had left from both marriages lived in two homes, in Pianore and in Schwarzau.James Bogle, Joanna Bogle, A Heart for Europe: The Lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary, Leominster 1990, , p. 17 They used to spend half a year in each location, shuttling in a special train and taking even children's horses with them.Bogle, Bogle 1990, p. 17 Xavier's childhood was full of serenity, luxury and cheerfulness,Bogle, Bogle 1990, pp. 17–18 though relations with half-siblings from the first marriage were not equally cordial. The Bourbon-Parma were deeply Roman Catholiclargely thanks to the maternal grandmother of Xavier, Bogle, Bogle 1990, pp. 17, 19 and essentially French in culture and understanding;Bogle, Bogle 1990, p. 15 another language spoken was German.Xavier’s mother, though of Portuguese descendance, was from infancy brought up in the German-speaking environment In his childhood Xavier picked up also Italian – spoken with the Pianore locals, English – spoken with various visitors, Portuguese and Spanish – used in certain relations, and Latin – used in church.Bogle, Bogle 1990, p. 18 The family were frequently visited by guests from the world of aristocracy, books and universities.Bogle, Bogle 1990, p. 17
In 1899some sources claim in 1897, Aproximación biográfica a la figura de Don Javier de Borbón Parma (1889–1977), [in:] Portal Avant! 08.12.02, available here Xavier followed in the footsteps of his older brother Sixte and entered Stella Matutina,Beate Hammond, Jugendjahre grosser Kaiserinnen: Maria Theresia – Elisabeth – Zita, Wien 2002, , p. 121 a prestigious Jesuit establishment in the Austrian Feldkirch. Though catering to Catholic aristocracy from all over Europe, the school offered Spartan conditions; when later enquired how he survived the Nazi concentration camp, prince Xavier joked: "I attended the Stella. It's not easy to kill us".Erich Feigl, Zita de Habsbourg: Mémoires d'un empire disparu, Paris 1991, , p. 110. Interestingly, in the 1940s prince Xavier sent his first son to an equally Spartan school, a Benedictine establishment in Calcat, with poor heating and no runnig water, Francisco Manuel de las Heras y Borrero, Carlos Hugo, el rey que no pudo ser, Madrid 2010, , p. 19 The school ensured a model of humble religiosity, the staff ensured high teaching standards, and the mix of boys from different countries ensured a spirit of international comradeship. Xavier graduated in the mid-1900s;see dynastie.capetienne service, available here in 1906according to some authors, he was educated also in the German Carlsberg, Josep Carles Clemente Muñoz, La Princessa Roja. María Teresa de Borbón Parma, Madrid 2002, , p. 139 moved to Paris,he lived with Sixte at Rue de Varenne 47, François-Xavier de Bourbon, il fut notre roi idéal, [in:] Charles-Xavier de Bourbon, notre roi de France pour demain [insert to Lys Noir 2015], p. 11, available here still trailing his older brother and commencing university studies.none of the sources consulted specifies exactly whether Xavier studied in Sorbonne or in another institution Unlike Sixte, who studied law, he pursued two different paths: political-economic sciences and agronomy. He completed both, graduating as engineer in agronomy and doctor in politics/economy.Eusebio Ferrer Hortet, Maria Teresa Puga Garcia, 24 infantas de Espana, Madrid 2015, ISBN CDLAP00004439, p. 233. Another scholars claims that prince Xavier was "licenciado" in political and economiv sciences, José Carlos Clemente, Maria Teresa de Borbon-Parma, Joaquín Cubero Sánchez, Don Javier: una vida al servicio de la libertad, Madrid 1997, , p. 50, José Carlos Clemente, El carlismo contra Franco, Madrid 2003, , p. 96, José Carlos Clemente, Carlos Hugo de Borbón Parma: Historia de una Disidencia, Madrid 2001, , p. 34 The year or years of him completing the curriculum are not clear; one source points to 1914.Aproximación biográfica 2002 He has never commenced a professional career.