Early Life
Charles Louis was born at the Royal Palace of Madrid. His father, a member of the house of Bourbon-Parma, was Louis, Prince of Piacenza, son and heir of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma. His mother, Infanta Maria Louisa of Spain, was a daughter of King Charles IV of Spain. They had married in 1795 when the hereditary Prince of Parma came to Madrid in search of a wife. The couple remained in Spain for the first years of their married life. It was for this reason that Charles Louis was born in Madrid at his maternal grandfather court and included in Francisco de Goya's famous portrait of the family of Charles IV, in the arms of his mother.
Charles Louis early life was marked by Napoleon Bonaparte who was interested in conquering the Italian states. French troops invaded the Duchy of Parma in 1796. In 1801, for the Treaty of Aranjuez, Charles Louis became Crown Prince of the newly-created Kingdom of Etruria, formed from the former territories of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, as heir to his father, whom Napoleon had made King of Etruria in compensation for giving up his right in Parma. On 21 April 1801 Charles Louis left Spain with his parents. After a short visit to Napoleon in Paris, they moved to Florence taking residence in the Pitti palace, the former home of the Medici family. Only a few months after settling in Florence, the Etrurian royal family was called back to Spain. It was during this trip that Charles' only sibling, Princess Maria Luisa Carlota of Parma, was born. Their visit was cut short by the death of Charles Louis' paternal grandfather, Ferdinand, Duke of Parma, who had clung to his throne until his death on 9 October 1802 when Parma passed to France, under the terms of a treaty which he had signed. In December 1802 the royal family of Etruria returned to Florence, but King Louis, who suffered from epilepsy and was frequently ill, died few moths later on 27 May 1803.
Read more about this topic: Charles II, Duke Of Parma
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