Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg

Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg
Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg
Duchess consort of Parma and Piacenza
Tenure	7 December 1696 – 26 May 1727
Born	5 July 1670; Neuburg Palace, Neuburg
Died	15 September 1748 (aged 78); Parma, Duchy of Parma and Piacenza
Burial	Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata
Spouses	Odoardo, Hereditary Prince of Parma; Francesco, Duke of Parma
Issue; Detail	Prince Alessandro Ignazio; Elisabeth, Queen of Spain
House	Wittelsbach
Father	Philip William, Elector Palatine
Mother	Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg (5 July 1670 – 15 September 1748) was Duchess of Parma from 1695 to 1727 by marriage to Francesco, Duke of Parma. She served as Regent of the Duchy of Parma for her grandson Charles of Spain between 1731 and 1735.^[1]

Early life

Born at the Neuburg Palace, as the fourteenth of seventeen children ^[1] and the sixth daughter of the Elector Palatine, Philip William of Neuburg, and Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.^[1]

On 17 September 1690, she married Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma, heir to the throne of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. The festivities for their wedding were the most splendid that had ever taken place in Parma. In their three years of marriage, they had two children, a son who died in infancy and a daughter, Elisabeth, future Queen of Spain.

Duchess of Parma

Her husband died on 6 September 1693, only a month after the death of their son. On 7 December 1696, Dorothea married Odoardo's half-brother, Francesco Farnese, who had become Duke of Parma when his father died in 1694.^[1]

This marriage was decided by Francesco himself, because he did not want to give up Dorothea's dowry should she marry someone else. Nevertheless, this marriage remained childless.

Francesco died in 1727 and was succeeded by his only remaining brother Antonio.

Regent

Antonio died on 20 January 1731. The previous day, he had announced that his wife, Enrichetta d'Este, was pregnant; after his death, a regency council for the potential heir was formed, consisting of Enrichetta, a bishop, the first secretary of state and two gentlemen of the court.

It was decided that, should the child be female, the duchy of Parma would pass to Charles of Spain (then aged 12), eldest of the three sons of Dorothea Sophie's daughter Queen Elisabeth of Spain. Enrichetta was thus invested as regent of Parma, supported by Imperial troops.^[2]

Enrichetta's pregnancy was questioned by the queen of Spain though her mother, Dorothea Sophie, who wished to defend the right of Charles, as well as the pope, who wished to annex the duchy to the Papal State.^[3] However, Enrichetta was supported by the Emperor, who opposed Spanish influence in Parma. Of the request of Spain, Enrichetta was examined in May 1731 by doctors confirming her pregnancy.^[4] The news was reported around Parma and then around the European courts. Her regency could thus continue, with support by the emperor.

On 22 July however, the Second Treaty of Vienna officially recognised the right of Charles as the duke of Parma and Piacenza, pursuant to the Treaty of London (1718). When Spain demanded that the delivery of Enrichetta should be a public affair, the emperor retracted his support to Enrichetta and discontinued the original plan to arranged a simulated birth.^[5]

Queen Elisabeth in Spain convinced her mother to have Enrichetta examined again on 13 September 1731; it was then reported that there was in fact no child, and the House of Farnese was extinct. Charles of Spain was thus recognised as duke, deposing the regency of Enrichetta d'Este. Since Charles was still a minor, his maternal grandmother Dorothea Sophie, was named regent.

Dorothea ruled as regent until 1735, when the duchy was ceded to Austria after the War of the Polish Succession.

She died in Parma in 1748 and was buried at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata.

Issue

Both of her children were with her first husband Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Duke of Parma.

Alessandro Ignazio Farnese (6 December 1691 – 5 August 1693) died in infancy.
Elisabeth Farnese (25 October 1692 – 11 July 1766) married Philip V of Spain and had issue.