Spain's Princess Maria becomes first royal to die from COVID-19

Spain's Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma has become the first royal to die from the novel coronavirus.

The 86-year-old was a cousin of Spain’s King Felipe VI. She died after contracting COVID-19, her brother, Prince Sixto Enrique de Borbon, the Duke of Aranjuez, announced on Facebook.

“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,” the post reads.

Princess Maria Teresa's death comes just weeks after King Felipe VI of Spain tested negative for the virus.

She was born on July 28, 1933. Princess Maria Teresa studied in France and became a professor at Paris' Sorbonne as well as a professor of Sociology at Madrid's Complutense University, according to People.

She was known for her outspoken views and activist work, which led to her nickname the "Red Princess."

A funeral service for the princess was held on Friday in Madrid.

Earlier this week, Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son, Prince Charles, became the first British royal to be tested positive for the coronavirus, the Clarence House confirmed to Fox News.

“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," the Clarence House said to Fox in a statement Wednesday morning.

Prince Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, remains in a healthy condition despite her son testing positive, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told Fox News.

Also this month, Prince Albert of Monaco revealed his positive diagnosis of COVID-19. The palace of Monaco shared in a statement that Albert is being treated by doctors from the Princess Grace Hospital, named after his late mother, Grace Kelly.

Following his diagnosis, Prince Albert told People magazine that the virus does not discriminate, noting that "there's a lot of cases of people younger than 60 contracting it."

"It can hit anybody of any age," he added.

Meanwhile, the United States now accounts for the highest number of coronavirus infections of any nation, recording more than 122,000 confirmed cases on Saturday. The death toll in the country surged past 2,000, more than double the figure from two days ago. 

In Spain, the number of deaths from COVID-19, the illness caused by the new virus, rose to 5,690, and in hard-hit Italy, the death toll jumped above 10,000. 

Worldwide, the number of cases has reached more than 660,000. More than 30,000 have died while some 139,000 people have recovered. [Source: Fox News, Aljazeera]

Kamruzzaman