86-year-old Spanish Princess Maria Teresa of the Bourbon-Parma Royal Family has become the first royal to die from the novel coronavirus.
Her younger brother Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma, the Duke of Aranjuez, announced her death.
Prince Sixto announced on Facebook that she died after contracting COVID-19. The post reads,
“On this afternoon our sister Maria Teresa de Borbon Parma and Borbon Busset, a victim of the coronavirus COVID-19, died in Paris at the age of eighty-six.”
She was a cousin of Spain‘s King Felipe VI.
The death of the Spanish princess comes weeks after King Felipe VI of Spain tested negative for the virus.
Born on July 28, 1933, to Prince Xavier and Madeleine de Bourbon, Princess Maria had five siblings.
Princess Maria Teresa studied in France and became a professor at Paris’ Sorbonne. She was also a professor of Sociology at Madrid’s Complutense University. She was famous for her outspoken views and activist work, which led to her nickname the “Red Princess.”
A funeral service for the princess was held on Friday in Madrid.
Royals with coronavirus
The death of Princess Maria Teresa comes after Prince Charles of the British Royal Family this week announced he has tested positive for coronavirus.
On Wednesday morning, the Clarence House confirmed the news in a statement issued that reads:
“The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Coronavirus. He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.”
He is now in self-isolation with “mild symptoms” at his and Camilla’s Scottish residence Balmoral; with Camilla isolating separately having tested negative for COVID-19.
Charles, 71, became the second royal in the world to test positive for the disease. This came shortly after Prince Albert of Monaco, 62, became the first head of state to have tested positive for the virus.
