The Dukes of Parma – The Royal House of Parma

Carlos, Crown Prince of Parma, in a recent photo

The Dukes of Parma

H.R.H. Prince Carlos Javier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Madrid, is the current head of the House of Bourbon-Parma and the Royal Family of Bourbon Parma, which includes the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg. He is also member of the extended family of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.

All four of his grandparents were monarchs. On his mother's side, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Regent Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld; on his father's side, Prince Xavier was briefly co-sovereign of Spain. In 1936 he was called by his uncle and Head of the entire House of Bourbon, Don Alfonso Carlos de Borbón, to succeed him in the leadership of the long-standing Spanish legitimism, in force since 1833. Expelled by General Franco in 1937, he led this movement from exile, exercising acts of sovereignty and being recognized as King (Javier I) during the Francoism by a large part of Spanish society. Franco later also expelled from Spain Carlos Javier and his father in 1968.

H.R.H. Carlos Javier has the Spanish, French and Dutch nationality. Born in Nijmegen in 1970, he is a direct agnatic descendant of Robert de Neustrie, founder ca. 800 of the Robertian dynasty, from which the Capetian dynasty was later founded and finally the Bourbon dynasty. He is therefore a direct descendant of Saint Louis, King of France, and of Saint Isabelle, Queen of France.
The eldest son of the only son of Prince Carlos Hugo of Parma and his wife, Princess Irene of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau and Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, he is the also Duke of Parma in Italy, Prince de Bourbon de Parme in the Netherlands and Prince de Bourbon in France.

In Spain, as a descendant of the third-born branch of the founder of the House of Bourbon-Anjou, Infante Felipe of Spain, he has dynastic rights in Spain, also as the legal successor of the only son with male offspring of King Carlos IV of Spain and the Indies, Infant Carlos of Spain, acting thus as Duke of Madrid.

Among the reigning houses, he is a first cousin of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, a second cousin of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, and a third cousin of King Albert of Belgium and Prince Hans of Liechtenstein.

Among the non-reigning houses, he is a second cousin of King Simeon of Bulgaria, Duke Duarte of Bragança, Archduke Karl von Habsburg, Princess Margareta of Romania, and Duke Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He is also a third cousin of Princes Stephan zur Lippe, Albert von Thurn und Taxis, and Konstantin zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Dukes Borwin von Mecklenburg and Franz von Bayern, and Grand Duke Michael Benedikt von Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

He was baptized in the Catholic faith in 1970 by Cardinal Joseph-Charles Lefèbvre, Archbishop of Bourges, at Lignières Castle. His godparents were Queen Juliana and Prince Xavier. Carlos spent his youth in several countries including the Netherlands, Spain, France, United Kingdom and the United States.

His parents divorced in 1981, when he was eleven. Together with his mother and his siblings, he moved to Soestdijk Palace in the Netherlands. He lived at the palace for several years with his grandparents, Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard.

H.R.H. Prince Carlos studied politics, philosophy, history and economics (CSS) at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, United States, and did an MPhil in demography at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

After completing his studies, H.R.H. Prince Carlos worked for the ABN AMRO Bank in Hong Kong and in Amsterdam, where he was involved with preparations for the introduction of the euro. He then worked for a period in Brussels as a public policy consultant for the company European Public Policy Advisors.

Since 2002, he has been engaged in projects concerning sustainability in the business world, advising projects worldwide focused on the circular economy, with alternative and environmentally friendly production methods and on the energy transition towards clean energies.

He has chaired the Foundation for Cooperation for the Economic Development of Latin America, was a board member for eight years of the Council of CSR Netherlands, which is responsible for corporate social responsibility nationwide.

He is and has been a (non-)executive director of various profit and non-profit organizations and companies, such as: ASN Asset Management, Advisory Board Responsible Investing in PGGM. He belongs to the Investment Committee of the Energiiq Fund of South Holland, is president of the Short Supply Chains Advisory Panel of the Dutch agricultural sector, board member of Natuurwijs a foundation that brings disadvantaged children in contact with nature, and a board member of the tax think-tank The Ex'tax Project. He is also president of Prince Bernhard Scholarships that awards promising young researchers from the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, or the Hispanic America. In 2025 he became Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Credit Registration Bureau (BKR).

He is also director of Compazz, an independent foundation whose objective is to promote innovation and sustainability in the economic sector, acting as a bridge between the public, academic and private sectors, supported by its knowledge in communication and management of conflict situations.

In 2021 he co-authored a book titled Nothing in Excess. Re-evaluating Nature, Economy and Life post Corona.

Prince Carlos is married to Her Royal Highness Princess Annemarie Cecilia de Bourbon de Parma, Countess of Molina (née Gualthérie van Weezel), Duchess of Parma and Piacenza. Their religious wedding took place on 20 November 2010 in the Abbaye de la Cambre, in Brussels, Belgium. Brussels is the residence of the parents of Princess Annemarie and the location of the church she and Prince Carlos attended when they both lived in Brussels.

Prince Carlos and Princess Annemarie have three children: Her Royal Highness Princess Luisa Irene Constance Anna Maria (born on 9 May 2012 in The Hague), Marchioness of Castell’Arquato, Her Royal Highness Cecilia Maria Johanna Beatrix (born on 17 October 2013 in The Hague), Countess of Berceto and Prince Carlos Enrique Leonard (born on 24 April 2014 in The Hague), Prince of Piacenza, de Bourbon de Parme.

Their heir is His Royal Highness Prince Carlos Enrique, Prince of Piacenza, one of who’s godfather is His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. Among the godmothers of Princess Luisa Irene and Princess Cecilia Maria are Their Royal Highnesses Princess Beatrix and Princess Irene.

Her Royal Highness Princess Annemarie (born on 18 December 1977 in The Hague), Duchess of Parma and Piacenza, is a consummate communication professional, board advisor and journalist and has a successful career in media.

She worked as a political journalist for the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation (NOS), both in The Hague and in Brussels. When she lived and worked as a European correspondent in Brussels (covering news of the European Institutions, NATO and Benelux) she met her husband, Prince Carlos. In 2011 she authored the book De smaak van macht, which focused on the different leadership styles and private lives of the five former then living Dutch prime ministers. In 2019 Princess Annemarie specialized in leadership services. She is a boardroom advisor and Chief Communications Officer (CCO). She is also a strong advocate for women’s rights and female empowerment and is passionate about advising organizations on increasing and sustaining female representation on corporate boards

Alongside her professional work, she is, together with her husband, actively engaged in volunteer work in the Church and in the arts and cultural sector. Princess Annemarie is the Patron of The Netherlands Interuniversity Institute for Art History (NIKI) in Florence, Italy, which promotes and facilitates research and education for arts students.

Princess Annemarie (LLM-MA) has a broad international education. She obtained the French baccalaureate at the Lycée international des Pontonniers in Strasbourg. Afterwards she studied corporate communication at James Madison University in the United States. She completed law school at Utrecht University and also holds a master’s degree in media studies of the University of Groningen. During law school she studied Chinese Law at the East China University of Political Science and Law and also common law at the law faculty of Sydney University in Australia. For her final thesis, she conducted research at the legal department of the auction house Sotheby’s in London on the topic of misrepresentation in art purchases.

Her father, Johan Gualthérie van Weezel, is a Dutch diplomat who served, among other diplomatic missions, as Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe and Dutch Ambassador to Luxembourg, apart from being member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands. Her paternal grandfather, Albert Gualthérie van Weezel was a prominent and heroic member of the Dutch Resistance during World War II. Her mother, Ank Gualthérie van Weezel-de Visser, is the great-granddaughter of Johannes Theodoor de Visser, the first minister of Education and minister of State in The Netherlands.

The Royal House
of Parma