Félix was one of the 24 children of the deposed
Robert I, Duke of Parma, being the duke's sixth child and third son by his second wife,
Maria Antonia of Portugal. His maternal grandparents were
Miguel of Portugal and
Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. He was born in
Schwarzau am Steinfeld. He was also the younger brother (by sixteen months) of
Empress Zita of Austria. Of the twelve children of Duke Robert's first marriage to
Maria-Pia of the Two Sicilies, three died as infants, six had learning difficulties, and only three married. Despite the loss of his throne, Duke Robert and his family enjoyed considerable wealth, travelling in a private train of more than a dozen cars among his castles at
Schwarzau am Steinfeld near
Vienna, in northwest Italy, and the magnificent
Château de Chambord in France. Less than four months after Robert's death in 1907 the
Grand Marshal of the Austrian Court declared six of the children of his first marriage legally incompetent, at the behest of Duchess Maria Antonia. Nonetheless, Robert's primary heir was Elias,
Duke of Parma, (1880–1959), the youngest son of the first marriage and the only one to father children of his own. Duke Elias also became the legal guardian of his six elder siblings. Although Félix's elder brothers, Prince Sixte and Prince Xavier, eventually sued their half-brother Duke Elias to obtain a greater share of the
ducal fortune, they lost in the French courts, leaving Félix with modest prospects. During the
Battle of Caporetto, Félix accompanied his brother-in-law
Charles I of Austria, who had been visiting troops on the
Italian front, on a return journey to
Trieste. When they were crossing the
Torre (river), the Emperor's car became stuck in the stream and it was deemed necessary to carry the Emperor to the river bank. However, the driver and
aide-de-camp, who were carrying the Emperor, slipped and they were all caught in the current. Seeing this, Félix, along with several chauffeurs, jumped into the river and, with the help of some planks, brought the Emperor and others to shore. Félix served in the
Austrian Dragoons as
Lieutenant and
Captain, but resigned his commission in November 1918, when Austria-Hungary
dissolved. ==Marriage to Grand Duchess Charlotte==