Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma (Marie Louise Pia Theresa Anna Ferdinanda Francisca Antoinette Margaret Josepha Carolina Blanche Lucia Apollonia; 17 January 1870 – 31 January 1899) was the eldest daughter of Robert I, the last reigning Duke of Parma. She became Princess of Bulgaria upon her marriage to Ferdinand I, the then prince-regnant (who became Tsar after the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence in 1908). She was the mother of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria.
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Early life
Marie Louise was born in Rome on 17 January 1870 as Maria Luisa Pia Teresa Anna Ferdinanda Francesca Antonietta Margherita Giuseppina Carolina Bianca Lucia Apollonia di Borbone-Parma, the eldest daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The couple produced eleven more children before Maria Pia died in childbirth in 1882. Later, he remarried Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal and had twelve more children.
Marie Louise, who was 12 at the time of her mother's death, was brought up in Biarritz and Switzerland under the care of English governesses. Fluent in five languages, she liked painting and music. Her talents playing the guitar and the piano were judged to be well above the average. She was also well read and knew a lot of Dante and Leopardi by heart.