Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and his wife Maria of Portugal were reinterred yesterday after having been exhumed in 2020 to investigate a theory that the Duke had been poisoned. They were both exhumed, as they were buried together.
Their remains were returned to the crypt of the Santa Maria della Steccata around 4 P.M. yesterday in the presence of the Bourbon-Parma family. In the photo, you can see the current titular Duke of Parma, Carlos, his wife Annemarie and Prince Jaime, Count of Bardi. They received military honours and a Holy Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Enrico Solmi. The investigation concluded that the Duke suffered from gout, had a fractured right forearm due to a musket shot and probably died of pneumonia, thus disproving the poisoning theory.
Alexander Farnese was the son of Margaret of Parma, an illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Ottavio Farnese. His wife Maria was the daughter of Infante Duarte, Duke of Guimarães (a son of King Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon), and Isabel of Braganza, Duchess of Guimarães. She died in 1577 at the age of 38 while Alexander died in 1592 at the age of 47.
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