Zita鈥檚 early childhood
Zita of Bourbon-Parma, born a royal, was the last empress of the Austria-Hungary Empire. She was born on 9 May 1892 at the Villa Pianore in the Italian Province of Lucca. Her father, Robert I, Duke of Parma, lost his crown during the Italian Unification, becoming a duke in name only. Her mother, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, was born in exile after her father, Infante Miguel, usurped the Portuguese throne, which caused his brother, Pedro I of Brazil, to banish him from Portugal for his treason against the crown.
While Zita didn鈥檛 grow up in a palace, she was still raised in a luxurious lifestyle. She was also raised Catholic, which shaped her life throughout. She attended boarding school in Germany and was able to speak multiple languages such as her native Italian, Spanish, French, English, German, and Portuguese.
While in boarding school, Zita received news that her father had suddenly passed. After this tragic news, her maternal grandmother Adelaide of Lowenstien-Wertheim-Rosenberg arranged for Zita to finish her schooling at a covenant on the Isle of Wight.
Chance love encounter
Upon completing her education, Zita visited her maternal aunt, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, where she became reacquainted with her distant cousin, Archduke Charles of Austria-Este, the future emperor of Austria and her soon-to-be husband. They had met in their childhood but their schooling kept them apart. Charles was stationed with his dragoon and visited his aunt where he reencountered Zita. After nearly 10 years, the two fell back into their friendship as if no time had passed.
Charles quickly fell in love with Zita, considering her a noble, well-educated, and well-traveled. However, Zita took longer to reciprocate Charles鈥 feelings. Over the course of their two-year friendship, she felt romance towards him. Charles proposed to Zita, and on 21 October 1911, they were married at the Schwarzau Castle.
Empress during World War I
Their blissful time would tragically cease on 28 June 1914 upon the assassination of heir Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, leaving a shocked Charles and Zita next in line to rule the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
Soon after, World War I broke out. Difficulties grew for Zita as her home country of Italy joined the fight against Austria-Hungary, leaving her subjects distrustful and resentful, referring to her as 鈥淭he Italian.鈥 During the war, Zita鈥檚 weariness increased with her brother taking opposing sides in the war leaving Zita with a feeling of helplessness.
While the war raged on, Zita and Charles were crowned in Budapest on 30 December 1916 as the new rulers of the Empire. Both were mindful of the war and decided that the festivities would be kept short with only a banquet for the newly crowned rulers. Her husband Charles led a war-stricken nation while Zita dedicated her time to her subjects at charitable organizations and hospitals, visiting wounded soldiers.
The Fall of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire
The war ended in 1918 and life would begin to return to normal for millions, but not for Zita and Charles. The young royal couple were now faced with the dissolution of their nation. Both lost their thrones and titles, while their fate was further sealed when Charles signed a manifesto that ended the Austrian-Hungary Empire in place of the Republic of German-Austria. However, this new state would not last, as most of the land went to the newly formed Czechoslovakia.
Now no longer rulers, Zita and Charles, along with their children, departed for Austria. They lived in a shooting lodge while left to comprehend the massive loss of their titles, thrones, and Empire.
Help from unlikely places
Seeking to help her sister, Prince Sixtus connected with King George V, King of the United Kingdom, and appealed to him to help Zita鈥檚 family. King George V understood their mourning as he too experienced loss, via his Russian relatives, the Russian Imperial Romanov family, who met their untimely deaths in a gruesome manner.
King George V sent British Army officers to assist Zita鈥檚 and Charles鈥檚 family on their journey from Austria to Switzerland by train. They found their situation in Switzerland to be unstable, so they moved to the Portuguese island of Madeira, instead.
Although Madeira turned out to be a pleasant location, Charles caught bronchitis that progressed into pneumonia. Zita cared for him while he remained ill. At the age of 34 years, Charles died, leaving behind Zita and their 8 children. Zita never remarried and wore black throughout the remaining 67 years of her life.
After the death of Charles, her relative Alfonso XIII of Spain made arrangements for Zita and her children to live at the Palacio Uribarren at Lekeito on the Bay of Biscay. Zita attended to her children鈥檚 well-being and education into their adulthood. By 1929, Zita moved her family to Brussels, where they lived in a castle while her children pursued higher education.
Living through World War II
The Nazis invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940. Seeking to protect her children, Zita and her family moved back to Portugal, staying until granted visas to the United States. They arrived in New York City on 27 July 1940 and lived there until they moved to Quebec for the remainder of the war. World War II ended on 9 May 1945, the same day Zita turned 53 years old. She toured the United States and Canada to raise funds for war-stricken Austria and Hungary.
Zita鈥檚 later years
With her children now grown and with the decrease of political tensions, Zita moved back to Switzerland and lived in a massive castle fit for a family. In 1982, after six decades, Zita finally visited Austria, subsequently doing so frequently as she traveled throughout Europe.
Zita鈥檚 health dwindled after the celebration of her 95th birthday party. She developed pneumonia while visiting her daughter in the summer of 1988, which left her weak and bedridden. She called her children to attend her deathbed. Her children took turns caring for their mother until she passed on 14 March 1989, living to the age of 96.
Zita鈥檚 funeral was held in Vienna on 1 April, the same day as Charles died. Her funeral had over 6,000 attendees, with 200 of them being members of the Habsburg and Bourbon-Parma families.
Written by Elizabeth Arebalo
Sources:
鈥淔irst Czechsolvak Republic.鈥 Wikipedia.
Da Costa, Brendan. 鈥淭ragic Facts About Zita of Bourbon-Parma, The Refugee Empress.鈥 Facinate, 3 Aug. 2021.
Mutschlechner, Martin. 鈥淶ita, the last Empress.鈥 The World of the Habsburgs.
鈥淶ita of Bourbon-Pama.鈥 Wikipedia.
鈥淚s There A Czech Royal Family? Royal History.鈥 Magazine of Travel. 16 June, 2022.