Carlos de Borbón y Austria-Este

Carlos de Borbón y Austria-Este
Photograph by Nadar
Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne
as Carlos VII
Pretence3 October 1868 – 18 July 1909
PredecessorJuan de Borbón y Braganza
SuccessorJaime de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma
Legitimist pretender to the French throne
Pretence18 November 1887 – 18 July 1909
PredecessorJuan de Borbón y Braganza
SuccessorJaime de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma
BornDon Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirico Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Borbón y Austria-Este
(1848-04-03)3 April 1848
Ljubljana, Carniola
Died15 August 1909(1909-08-15) (aged 61)
Varese, Italy
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1867; died 1893)
(m. 1894)
IssueBlanca de Borbón, Archduchess Leopold Salvator of Austria
Jaime de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma
Elvira de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma
Beatriz de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma
Alicia de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma
HouseHouse of Bourbon-Anjou
FatherJuan de Borbón y Braganza
MotherMaria Beatrix of Austria-Este
SignatureCarlos de Borbón y Austria-Este's signature

Don Carlos de Borbón y Austria-Este (Spanish: Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirico Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael; French: Charles Marie des Douleurs Jean Isidore Joseph François Cyr Antoine Michel Gabriel Raphaël; 30 March 1848 – 18 July 1909) was the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain as Carlos VII from 1868 (his father's Spanish renunciation), and holder of the Legitimist claim to the throne of France under the name Charles XI after the death of his father in 1887.

Life

Carlos was born in Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola in what is now Slovenia, the elder son of Juan de Borbón y Braganza and of his wife Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este. His name in full was Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirico Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael. As an infant he lived with his family briefly in London where his younger brother Alfonso was born. After their father, considered too liberal for Carlist tastes, left their mother, the boys lived with her in Modena. Her brother Francis V, Duke 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.

Family

On 4 February 1867, at Frohsdorf in Austria, Carlos married Princess Margherita of Parma, daughter of Carlos III, Duke of Parma and of his wife, Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France.[1] The couple had five children:

De facto king

Carlos organized and led the Third Carlist War. Between 1872 and 1876 he effectively controlled much of peninsular Spain, having as much legitimacy as the Presidents of the First Republic.[1]

Later life

In January 1893 Carlos' wife, Margherita, died. The following year he decided to remarry. He consulted his mother who suggested two ladies: Princess Theresia of Liechtenstein (1871-1964) (daughter of Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein) and Princess Marie-Berthe de Rohan (daughter of Prince Alain Benjamin Arthur de Rohan).

Having met both ladies, Carlos decided on the latter and asked for her hand in marriage.[2]

On 28 April 1894 Carlos and Berthe were married by Berthe's distant cousin, Cardinal Schönborn in his private chapel in Prague.[3] 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."[4]

Carlos died in Varese in 1909.[1] He is buried in the Cathedral of San Giusto in Trieste. His son Jaime followed in his father's footsteps of claiming the French and Spanish thrones.

Ancestry

References

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." The New York Times (May 31, 1874).
  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Carlos, Don" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 344–345.
Carlos de Borbón y Austria-Este
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 30 March 1848 Died: 18 July 1909
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
King of Spain
Carlist pretender
3 October 1868 – 18 July 1909
Succeeded by
— TITULAR —
King of France
Legitimist succession
21 November 1887 – 18 July 1909
Vacant
Title last held by
Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême
— TITULAR —
Dauphin of France
Legitimist succession
24 August 1883 – 21 November 1887