Zita of Bourbon-Parma (Zita Maria delle Grazie Adelgonda Micaela Raffaela Gabriella Giuseppina Antonia Luisa Agnese; 9 May 1892 – 14 March 1989) was the last Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, in addition to other titles. She ascended to these titles when her husband, Charles I, became the last monarch of Austria-Hungary. She was declared Servant of God by Pope Benedict XVI.

Born as the seventeenth child of the dispossessed Robert I, Duke of Parma, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, Zita married Archduke Charles of Austria in 1911. Charles became heir presumptive to the Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1914 after the assassination of his uncle Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and acceded to the throne in 1916 after the elderly emperor's death.

After the end of World War I in 1918, the Habsburgs were deposed and the former empire became home to the states of Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, while other parts were annexed to or joined the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Italy, Romania, and a reconstituted independent Poland. Charles and Zita left for exile in Switzerland and, after the failure of attempts to restore royal rule in Hungary, were subsequently removed from that country by the Allies to Madeira, where Charles died in 1922. After her husband's death, Zita and her son Otto served as symbols of unity for the exiled dynasty. A devout Catholic, she raised a large family after being widowed at the age of 29; she never remarried.

Early life

Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma was born at the Villa Pianore in the Italian Province of Lucca, 9 May 1892. The unusual name Zita was given to her after Zita, a popular Italian saint who had lived in Tuscany in the 13th century. She was the third daughter and fifth child of the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma, and his second wife, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, a daughter of King Miguel of Portugal and his wife Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. Zita's father had lost his throne as a result of the movement for Italian unification in 1859 when he was still a child. It was mainly in these two residences that Zita spent her formative years. The family spent most of the year in Austria, moving to Pianore in the winter and returning in the summer.

Death of Charles

Charles had been in poor health for some time. After going shopping on a chilly day in Funchal to buy toys for Carl Ludwig, he was struck by an attack of bronchitis. This rapidly worsened into pneumonia, not helped by the inadequate medical care available. Several of the children and staff were also ill, and Zita (at the time eight months pregnant) helped nurse them all. Charles weakened and died on 1 April, his last words to his wife being "I love you so much." Alfonso XIII offered his exiled Habsburg relatives the use of Palacio Uribarren at Lekeitio on the Bay of Biscay. This appealed to Zita, who did not want to be a heavy burden to the state that harboured her.

They moved on to Portugal and resided in Cascais. Not long after, the archduke was informed by Salazar that Hitler had demanded his extradition. The demand would be refused, the Portuguese ruler told him, but hinted that his safety was precarious. On 9 July the United States government granted the family visas. After a perilous journey they arrived in New York City on 27 July, having family on Long Island and Newark, New Jersey; As they were cut off from all European funds, finances were more stretched than ever. At one stage, Zita was reduced to making salad and spinach dishes from dandelion leaves. which was painful for her. and was the last surviving child of Robert, Duke of Parma from both his marriages.

Her funeral was held in Vienna on 1 April. The government allowed it to take place on Austrian soil if the cost was borne by the Habsburgs themselves. in the same funeral coach she had walked behind during the funeral of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1916. It was attended by over 200 members of the Habsburg and Bourbon-Parma families, and the service had 6,000 attendees including leading politicians, state officials and international representatives, including a representative of Pope John Paul II.

Cause of beatification and canonization

On 10 December 2009, Mgr Yves Le Saux, Bishop of Le Mans, France, opened the diocesan process for the beatification of Zita. Zita was in the habit of spending several months each year in the diocese of Le Mans at St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes, where three of her sisters were nuns.

The actor is the French Association pour la Béatification de l'Impératrice Zita. The postulator for the cause is Alexander Leonhardt. Vice postulator for Hungary is Catholic theologian Norbert Nagy. The judge of the tribunal is Bruno Bonnet. The promoter of justice is François Scrive.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 9 May 1892 – 21 October 1911: Her Royal Highness Princess Zita of Parma
  • 21 October 1911 – 28 June 1914: Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Zita, Archduchess Karl of Austria, Princess of Parma
  • 28 June 1914 – 21 November 1916: Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Archduchess of Austria-Este
  • 21 November 1916 – 3 April 1919: Her Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty The Empress of Austria, Apostolic Queen of Hungary and Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia

Honours

  • House of Habsburg:
  • Grand Mistress Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross
  • Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Elisabeth, 1913

|5= 5. Princess Louise of Artois

|6= 6. Miguel I of Portugal <!-- in full Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg -->

|8= 8. Charles II, Duke of Parma

|9= 9. Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy

|11= 11. Princess Marie Caroline of Naples and Sicily

|12= 12. John VI of Portugal and Brazil

|14= 14. Constantine, Hereditary Prince of Löwenstein <!-- in full Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg -->

|15= 15. Princess Agnes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

See also

  • Florentine Diamond, once owed by Zita of Bourbon-Parma

References

Bibliography

  • Bogle, James and Joanna. (1990). A Heart for Europe: The Lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary, Fowler Wright, 1990,
  • Brook-Shepherd, Gordon. (1991). The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Zita of Austria-Hungary 1893–1989. Harper-Collins.
  • Harding, Bertita. (1939). Imperial Twilight: The Story of Karl and Zita of Hungary. Bobbs-Merrill Company Publishers. ASIN: B000J0DDQO
  • Bernhard A. Macek: Kaiser Karl I. Der letzte Kaiser Österreichs. Ein biografischer Bilderbogen, Sutton Verlag, Erfurt 2012,
  • (in French) Debris, Cyrille. (2013). Zita, Portrait intime d'une imperatrice. Cerf, Paris, 2013,
  • Film of Zita of Bourbon-Parma's funeral