[3] She was the daughter of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, a Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne, and Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset, a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon.

[7] Her 1977 thesis at the Sorbonne was entitled "La clarificación ideológica del Carlismo contemporáneo" ("Ideological clarification of contemporary Carlism").

[10] Her royal roots and liberal socialist views attracted many personalities, leading her to meet André Malraux, François Mitterrand, Yasser Arafat and Hugo Chávez, and earned her the nickname of "Red Princess".

[5][11] This nickname was used as the (Spanish) title of a 2002 biography of María Teresa written by historian Josep Carles Clemente [es].

[10] In 1981, Marie Thérèse acquired Spanish citizenship by royal decree; the official state bulletin said that it was given "at the request of the interested party and in response to the exceptional circumstances and her belonging to a family so closely linked to Spain".

[14] She was the aunt of Prince Carlos, Duke of Parma and 4th cousin, once removed, of the current King of Spain, Felipe VI.