Infante Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirin Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Borbón y Austria-Este, Duke of Madrid (March 30 1848 - July 18 1909) was the senior member of the House of Bourbon from 1887 until his death. He was the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain under the name Carlos VII since 1868 (his father's Spanish abdication), and the Legitimist claimant to the throne of France under the name Charles XI since the death of his father in 1887. Carlos was born in Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola in what is now Slovenia, the elder son of Juan, Count of Montizón and of his wife Archduchess Maria Beatrice of Austria-Este. As an infant the family lived briefly in London where Carlos' younger brother Alfonso was born. After their father, known too liberal for Carlist tastes, left their mother, the boys lived with their mother in Modena. Their mother's brother Duke Francis V of Modena was largely responsible for the education of the boys and was the chief influence in their early lives. Carlos was known for his traditionalist views, much different from those of his father. On February 4, 1867, at Frohsdorf in Austria, Carlos married Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Duke Charles III of Parma and of his wife, Louise Marie Thérèse of France. The couple had five children:
- Blanca de Borbón y Borbón-Parma (1868-1949)
- Jaime de Borbón y Borbón-Parma (1870-1931)
- Elvira de Borbón y Borbón-Parma (1871-1929)
- Beatriz de Borbón y Borbón-Parma (1874-1961)
- Alicia de Borbón y Borbón-Parma (1876-1975)
Carlos organized and lead the Third Carlist War. Between 1872 and 1876 he effectively ruled much of Peninsular Spain. In January 1893 Carlos' wife, Margarita, died. The following year he decided to remarry. He consulted his mother who suggested two ladies: Princess Theresia of Liechtenstein (daughter of Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein) and Princess Berthe of Rohan (daughter of Prince Alain of Rohan). Having met both ladies, Carlos decided on the latter and asked for her hand in marriage.[1] On April 28, 1894, Carlos and Berthe were married by Cardinal Schönborn in his private chapel in Prague. Berthe had a dominant personality, making the marriage very unpopular among Carlists. "All writers agree that this second marriage was disastrous, not only for the family of Don Carlos and for [Carlos] himself, but also for the [Carlist] party."[2] Carlos died in Varese in 1909. He is buried in the Basilica di San Giusto in Trieste. He was succeeded in his Spanish and French claims by his son Jaime.
Ancestry
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Del Burgo, Jaime. Carlos VII y su tiempo: Leyenda y realidad. Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra, 1994.
- "The Curé Santa Cruz and the Carlist War." Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine (1873).
- "The Spanish Pretender: Who he is and What he has Been." New York Times (May 31, 1874).
- Don Carlos VII at the Classic Encyclopedia, based on the 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica
|
Carlos, Duke of Madrid
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 30 March 1848 Died: 18 July 1909 |
||
| Titles in pretence | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Juan III (Jean III) |
— TITULAR — King of Spain October 3, 1868 – July 18, 1909 |
Succeeded by Jaime III (Jacques I) |
| — TITULAR — King of France and Navarre November 21, 1887 – July 18, 1909 |
||
 |
|---|
| Legitimist Pretenders to the French throne since 1792 |
|
|
|
Louis XVI (1792-1793) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charles X (1830-1836) |
|
See also House of Bourbon
|
