Charlie Smith
PRINCESS Maria Teresa of Spain, King Felipe’s cousin, has become the first royal to die of coronavirus.
Dubbed ‘the Red Princess’, she passed away in Paris at the age of 86 on Thursday, as announced by her brother Prince Sixtus Henry of Borbon-Parma.
Born on July 28, 1933, she was one of the six children of Prince Xavier and Madeleine de Bourbon.
Her parents are from the House of Bourbon-Parma, a ‘cadet branch’ of the Spanish monarchy, which is formed when royals who aren’t an heir to the throne are still given titles and land.
“On the afternoon of this Thursday, March 26, Maria Teresa de Borbon Parma and Borbon Busset, victim of the coronavirus COVID-19, died in Paris at the age of eighty-six,” Prince Sixtus wrote on his Facebook account.
The Duke of Aranjuez also announced that a private funeral was to be held in Madrid.
Maria Teresa became Professor of Sociology at Madrid’s Complutense University after graduating in Political Science from the Sorbonne in Paris.
Her brother was Carlos Hugo de Borbon-Parma, from the Carlist branch, who advocated getting his family on the Spanish throne.
Her surviving nieces and nephews include the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Prince Jaime, Princess Margarita and Prince Carlos of Borbon-Parma.
Her death came just a day after Prince Charles tested positive for Covid-19 in England.
