Dukes of Parma

Dukes Of Parma

The Duchy of Parma was a small Italian state which existed between 1545 and 1802, and again from 1814 to 1860.

The Duke of Parma was also Duke of Piacenza, except for the first years of the rule of Ottavio Farnese (1549–1556), and the time of the Napoleonic wars, when the two were established as separate positions held by two individuals. The Duke of Parma also usually held the title of Duke of Guastalla from 1735 (when Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor took it from Mantua) to 1847 (when the territory was ceded to Modena), again, except for the Napoleonic dukes, when Napoleon's sister Pauline was Duchess of Guastalla and of Varella.

The position is currently claimed by a member of the Bourbon family, which also holds the Spanish throne. Therefore, the current claimant to the Duchy of Parma is a legitimate (though not prime) claimant to the Kingdom of Spain; indeed, the recent pretender to the Parmese throne, the late Carlos-Hugo, was also a pretender to the Spanish throne in the 1970s (see Carlism).

Read more about Dukes Of Parma:  Honorary Dukes of Parma (1808–1814)

Famous quotes containing the word parma:

    I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king—and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself will take up arms—I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.
    Elizabeth I (1533–1603)