Carlos, Duke of Madrid


Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid 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 from 1868, and the Legitimist claimant 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, Count of Montizón and of his wife Archduchess 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 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.

Family

On 4 February 1867, at Frohsdorf in Austria, Carlos married Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Duke Charles III of Parma and of his wife, Louise Marie Thérèse of France. The couple had five children:
Carlos organized and led the Third Carlist War. Between 1872 and 1876 he effectively ruled much of peninsular Spain, having as much legitimacy as the Presidents of the First Republic.

Later life

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 and Berthe de Rohan.
Having met both ladies, Carlos decided on the latter and asked for her hand in marriage.
On 28 April 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 himself, but also for the party."
Carlos died in Varese in 1909.
He is buried in the Cathedral of San Giusto in Trieste.
He was succeeded in his Spanish and French claims by his son Jaime.

Ancestry

Footnotes