Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma
Prince Sixtus | |
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Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal |
Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (German: Sixtus Ferdinand Maria Ignazio Alfred Robert von Bourbon-Parma; 1 August 1886 – 14 March 1934) was a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a Belgian officer in World War I, and the central figure in the Sixtus Affair, an attempt to negotiate a treaty to end Austria-Hungary's participation in the Great War separate from its Central Powers allies. He also wrote a number of books.
Early life
Sixtus was the eldest son of the last
Sixtus' father had been deposed from the
On the death of his father in 1907, the largest part of the family's fortune was inherited by
The outbreak of World War I further divided the family. Although their ancestors had reigned in Parma, the brothers had even stronger ties with France and Austria. Unable to fight with the French army, while Prince Sixtus and his brother
Sixtus affair
In 1917, as the War was dragging on towards its fourth year, Sixtus' brother-in-law, Emperor Charles I, secretly entered into peace negotiations with France using Sixtus as intermediary. The Emperor also enlisted the help of his loyal childhood friend and aide-de-camp Count Tamás Erdődy. Charles initiated contact with Sixtus via neutral Switzerland. Empress Zita wrote a letter inviting her brother to Vienna. Zita and Sixtus's mother, who was living in neutral Switzerland, delivered the letter personally.
Sixtus arrived with French-agreed conditions for talks: the restoration to France of
This attempt at 20th century dynastic diplomacy eventually failed, mainly because of the requirement for Italy to cede Tyrol. Germany also refused to negotiate over Alsace-Lorraine and, seeing a Russian collapse on the horizon, was loath to give up the war. When news of the overture leaked in April 1918, Sixtus's brother-in-law, Charles I of Austria, denied involvement until French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau published letters signed by him. Austria now became even more dependent on its German ally, and there a sharp rebuke for Charles by Wilhelm II.
The failed attempt of peace negotiations became known as the Sixtus Affair.
Later life
On 12 November 1919, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma was married to Hedwige
The peace
Married to a French aristocrat, Prince Sixtus settled in France.
Publications
- In Nordostarabien und Südmesopotamien: Vorbericht über die Forschungsreise 1912, with Alois Musil (Vienna: 1913).
- Le Traité d'Utrecht et les lois fondamentales du royaume (Paris: E. Champion, 1914). Reprinted (Paris: Communication & Tradition, 1998).
- L'offre de paix séparée de l'Autriche, 5 décembre 1916 - 12 octobre 1917 (Paris: Plon, 1920). English translation: Austria's Peace Offer, 1916-1917 (London: Constable, 1921).
- La reine d'Étrurie, Paris, Calmann-Levy, 1928.
- La dernière conquête du roi Alger, 1830 (Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1930).
Ancestry
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In fiction
The television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles presents Sixtus (played by Benedict Taylor) and his brother Xavier (played by Matthew Wait) as Belgian officers in World War I who help the young Indiana Jones. Sixtus and his brother Xavier and the Sixtus Affair are the central subjects of the historical fiction novel "Kingdoms Fall - The Laxenburg Message" by Edward Parr.[2]
Sources
- ^ ISBN 978-2864960188.
- ^ "Laxenburg Message". Novel. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.