Duke of Parma


The Duke of Parma and Piacenza was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a historical state of Northern Italy. It was created by Pope Paul III for his son Pier Luigi Farnese. It existed between 1545 and 1802, and again from 1814 to 1859.
The Duke of Parma was also Duke of Piacenza, except for the first years of the rule of Ottavio Farnese, and the time of the Napoleonic Wars, when the two were established as separate positions held by two different individuals. The Duke of Parma also usually held the title of Duke of Guastalla from 1746 until 1847, except for the Napoleonic era, when Napoleon's sister Pauline was briefly Duchess of Guastalla and of Varella. The last duke, Robert I, was driven from power in a revolution following France and Sardinia's victory over Austria. Its territory was merged into Sardinia in 1860.
The position is currently claimed by a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma. A recent pretender to the extinct Parmese throne, the late Carlos-Hugo, was also a pretender to the Spanish throne in the 1970s.

Reigning Dukes of Parma and Piacenza (1545–1802)

House of Farnese 1545–1731

House of Bourbon 1731–1735

DukePortraitBirthMarriagesDeath
Charles I
26 February 1731 - 3 October 1735
20 January 1716
Madrid
son of Philip V of Spain and Elizabeth of Parma
Maria Amalia of Saxony
19 June 1738
13 children
14 December 1788
Madrid
aged 72

House of Habsburg 1735–1748

House of Bourbon-Parma 1748–1802

French Dukes of Parma (1808–1814)

These did not actually rule over any territory of Parma and Piacenza, but were of the honorary, hereditary type duché grand-fief, granted by Napoleon I in 1808. The title of Duc de Parme became extinct in 1824 upon the death of the 1st Duke, the title of Duc de Plaisance became extinct in 1926 upon the death of the 6th Duke.
DukePortraitBirthMarriagesDeath
Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès
1808-1814
18 October 1753
Montpellier
son of Jean-Antoine de Cambacérès and Marie-Rose Vassal
never married8 March 1824
Paris
aged 70
Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance
1808-1814
19 March 1739
Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin
fourth son of Paul Lebrun and Louise Le Cronier
Anne Delagoutte 1773
3 sons and 2 daughters
16 June 1824
Sainte-Mesme
aged 85

Reigning Dukes of Parma (1814–1859)

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, 1814–1847

  • Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, the son of Marie Louise and Napoleon I, was at one time in the line of succession, but he was never Duke of Parma. He predeceased his mother in 1832.

    House of Bourbon-Parma, 1847–1859

Titulair Dukes of Parma (1859–present)