Princess Carolina, Marchioness of Sala

Princess Carolina
Marchioness of Sala
Spouse Albert Brenninkmeijer
Issue Alaïa-Maria Brenninkmeijer
Full name
Maria Carolina Christina
House House of Bourbon-Parma (by birth)
Father Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma
Mother Princess Irene of the Netherlands
Born 23 June 1974
Nijmegen, Netherlands
Parmese Ducal Family

Princess Maria Carolina Christina of Bourbon-Parma, Marchioness of Sala (born 23 June 1974), is the fourth and youngest child of Princess Irene of the Netherlands and Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, and is member of the Royal and Ducal House of Bourbon-Parma, as well as of the Dutch Royal Family.

Early life

Princess Carolina was born at 23 June 1974 in Nijmegen. She has two older brothers, Prince Carlos, the head of the House of Bourbon-Parma, and Prince Jaime. She also has one older sister, Princess Margarita. She was baptised at the castle of Lignières in France with Prince Claus of the Netherlands and Princess Christina of the Netherlands as her godparents.

In 1981, when she was six, her parents decided to divorce. She moved together with her mother and her brothers and sister to the Soestdijk Palace (Baarn), the then residence of the former Queen of the Netherlands. They lived at the palace for a number of years with her grandparents, the in 1980 abdicated Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Later on they lived for a while in a villa at Wijk bij Duurstede.

Education and career

Princess Carolina studied political science at University of Amsterdam and Harvard University and also has an M.Sc. in Forced Migration from the University of Oxford. She has had a career at the United Nations. For this organisation she was stationed at the UN headquarters in New York City, as well as problematic areas such as Eritrea, the Gaza Strip, and in Acheh (Indonesia) after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. She is currently employed at the United Nations in Geneva, in the Organisation for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Marriage

On 9 January 2012, it was announced Carolina would marry Albert Alphons Ludgerus Brenninkmeijer, (born 16 May 1974), a member of the wealthy Brenninkmeijer family.[1] The civil marriage took place on 21 April 2012 at Wijk bij Duurstede.[2] The church wedding took place at the San Miniato al Monte on 16 June 2012 in Florence, Italy.[3] On 1 February 2014, it was announced that the couple are expecting their first child, which is due in spring 2014.[4] Their daughter Alaïa-Maria Irene Cécile was born May 20, 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland. She had a double christening with her cousin Princess Zita Clara of Bourbon-Parma on 4 October 2014 at Noordwijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. Her godparents are Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, Philippe Brenninkmeije] and Silvia Brenninkmeijer-Arboli.[5]

Other activities

The princess has been seen regularly at important events of the royal house of the Netherlands. In 2001 she was one of the maids of honor at the wedding of Prince Constantijn and Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst; and during the baptism of their daughter, Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau, she was the godmother of the child. She was a witness at the church wedding of her cousin Prince Floris of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, and in 2010, was named as the godmother of Floris' second child, Eliane.

Titles, styles and honours

Styles of
Princess Carolina of Bourbon-Parma
Reference style Her Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Ma'am
Titles
Honours

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ Prinses Carolina gaat trouwen De Telegraaf, 9 January 2012
  2. ↑ Prinses Carolina getrouwd met C&A-telg, De Telegraaf, 22 April 2012
  3. ↑ Prinses Carolina trouwt 16 Juni in Italië, Algemeen Dagblad, 19 April 2012
  4. ↑ http://www.vorsten.nl/2014/02/01/prinses-carolina-verwachting/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
  5. ↑ http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f81/prince-jaime-1972-and-princess-vikt-ria-1982-of-bourbon-parma-5047-6.html
  6. ↑ Almanach de Gotha (182nd ed.). Almanach de Gotha. 1998. p. 55. ISBN 0953214206.
  7. ↑ http://www.purepeople.com/article/les-bourbon-parme-en-famille-annemarie-enceinte-et-carlos-rayonnants_a129064/19
  8. ↑ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/213780313534468318/
Notes

Already a ducal princess from birth, her father bestowed the substantive title Marchesa di Sala (Marchioness of Sala) upon her on 2 September 1996,.[1] In 1996 she was incorporated into the Dutch Nobility by Queen Beatrix, with the highest title of nobility Prinses de Bourbon de Parme (Princess of Bourbon-Parma)[2] and styled Hare Koninklijke Hoogheid (Her Royal Highness). She does not belong to the House of Orange-Nassau or the limited Dutch Royal House, but as a granddaughter of Queen Juliana and first cousin of the present King Willem-Alexander, she is an official member of the more extended Dutch Royal Family.[3]

External links

  1. ↑ Almanach de Gotha (182nd ed.). Almanach de Gotha. 1998. p. 55. ISBN 0953214206.
  2. ↑ "The 14th list of nobility determined by royal decree on 9 June 2004 (Stb.307)" (PDF). Website of the High Council of Nobility in the Netherlands
  3. ↑ "Members of the Dutch Royal House and the royal family". Postbus 51 - Website of the Dutch Government Information Service (in Dutch)