The First Royal Has Died After Testing Positive for Coronavirus
The first royal has died from the novel coronavirus. Spain's Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma, the cousin of King Felipe IV, passed away on Thursday (March 26) from complications of the virus, according to her family. She was 86 years old.
"On this afternoon....our sister Maria Teresa de Borbon Parma and Borbon Busset, victim of the coronavirus COVID-19, died in Paris at the age of eighty-six," her brother wrote on Facebook per People. A mass was reportedly held in her honor in Madrid a day after her death.
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Dubbed the "Red Princess" because of her outspoken views on women's rights and socialist ideas, Maria Teresa never married and was a professor at Sorbonne University in Paris and Madrid's Complutense University, where she taught sociology.
The news of King Felipe's cousin's passing comes just weeks after he and his wife, Queen Letizia, were tested for coronavirus after coming in contact with a government official who was diagnosed with the deadly virus. Thankfully, both Spanish royals tested negative, but not all monarchies have been spared amid the pandemic.
This week, the British royal family's Prince Charles was diagnosed with coronavirus, displaying "mild symptoms." He's working from home with his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, who remains COVID-19 negative.
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"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," a statement reads from the Prince's Clarence House. "The Duchess of Cornwall has also been tested but does not have the virus. In accordance with Government and medical advice, the Prince and the Duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland. The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing."
Prince Albert of Monaco has also tested positive for COVID-19, while Karl von Habsburg, the Archduke of Austria, was the first royal to contract the virus.
