''Don'' Carlos María Isidro Benito de Borbón y Borbón-Parma (29 March 17886 March 1855) was an
Infante of Spain and the second surviving son of King
Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV (; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808.
The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disa ...
and his wife,
Maria Luisa of Parma. He claimed the throne of Spain after the death of his older brother King
Ferdinand VII
Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...
in 1833. His claim was contested by liberal forces loyal to the dead king's infant daughter, resulting in the
First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...
(1833–1840). Don Carlos had support from the Basque provinces and much of Catalonia, but lost the war. His heirs continued the
traditionalist cause, fought two more Carlist wars and were active into the mid-20th century, but never gained the throne.
Early life
Carlos was born on 29 March 1788 at the
Palacio Real de Aranjuez in
Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of the Tagus, a bit upstream of the discharge of the Jarama. , the munici ...
, in what is now the
Community of Madrid
The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...
. In 1808,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
captured Madrid in the
Battle of Somosierra and he induced Carlos's father, Charles IV, and Carlos's older brother, Ferdinand VII, to renounce their rights to the throne of Spain. But Carlos, who was heir presumptive to his brother, refused to renounce his rights to the throne, which he considered to have been given to him by God. From 1808 until 1814, he and his brothers were prisoners of Napoleon at the palace of
Valençay in France.
In 1814, Carlos and the rest of the Spanish royal family returned to
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. In September 1816, he married his niece,
Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal (1800–1834), daughter of King
John VI of Portugal
'' Dom'' John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil ...
and Carlos's sister
Carlota Joaquina. Francisca was also sister of the second wife of Carlos's brother, Ferdinand VII. The couple had three sons:
*
Carlos Luis de Borbón (1818–1861), known as Count of Montemolin
*
Juan de Borbón y Braganza (1822–1887), known as Count of Montizón
*
Fernando de Borbón y Braganza (1824–1861)
Apart from several formal offices, Carlos took no significant part in the government of Spain. Ferdinand VII had found it necessary to cooperate with the moderate liberals and to sign a
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
. Carlos, however, was known for his firm belief in the
divine right of kings to govern absolutely, the rigid orthodoxy of his religious opinions, and his personal piety.
During the revolutionary troubles of 1820–1823 (the '
liberal triennium'), Carlos was threatened by the extreme radicals, but no attack was made on him.
While there were certain conservatives in Spain who wanted to put Carlos on the throne immediately, Carlos himself was a firm believer in legitimate succession and would never have taken up arms against his brother.
Pragmatic Sanction of 1830
In May 1830, Ferdinand VII published the
Pragmatic Sanction
A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire, it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor.
When used ...
, again allowing daughters to succeed to the Spanish throne as well as sons. This decree had originally been approved by the
Cortes in 1786, but it had never been officially promulgated. On 10 October 1830, Ferdinand's wife gave birth to a daughter,
Isabella, who thereupon displaced her uncle in the line of succession.
The clerical party () continued to support the rights of Carlos to the throne. They considered the Pragmatic Sanction not only impractical but also illegal. They intrigued in favour of Carlos, but he himself would do no more than assert his rights in words. His wife and her sister,
Maria Teresa (1793–1874), the former princess of
Beira, on the other hand, were actively engaged in intrigues with the .
In March 1833, Ferdinand "authorised" Carlos to go to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
with his wife and sister-in-law. The authorisation was in fact an order to remove Carlos and his adherents from Spain.
In April 1833, Ferdinand called upon Carlos to take an oath of allegiance to Isabella as
Princess of Asturias, the title traditionally used by the first in line to the throne. In respectful but firm terms, Carlos refused. He had no personal desire for the throne, but he was adamant that he could not renounce what he considered to be his God-given rights and responsibilities.
Reign
Ferdinand VII died on 29 September 1833. In Madrid, his widow declared herself regent for their daughter. On 1 October, Carlos issued a manifesto declaring his own accession to the throne. He informed the members of Maria Cristina's government that they were confirmed in their posts, and proceeded to the Portuguese-Spanish border. There, he was met by forces loyal to Maria Cristina and Isabella, who threatened to arrest him. Carlos remained in Portugal, which itself was in a state of
civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
between the adherents of Carlos's nephew and brother-in-law
Miguel and his grand-niece, Miguel's niece
Maria II. In Spain, there were various risings which developed into the
First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...
.
When the Miguelist party was finally beaten in Portugal in 1834, Carlos escaped to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, where the government offered to grant him an annual pension of if he would renounce his claims and never return to Spain or Portugal, but Carlos completely refused. In July, he passed over to France, where he was actively aided by the
Legitimist party. He soon joined his adherents at
Elizondo in the western
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
of Spain. In October 1834, his sister-in-law Cristina issued a decree depriving him of his rights as an
Infante
Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...
of Spain; this was confirmed by the Cortes in 1837.
Carlos remained in Spain for five years. During these years, he accompanied his armies, without displaying any of the qualities of a general or even much personal courage. But he endured a good deal of hardship, and was often compelled to take to hiding in the hills. On these occasions, he was often carried over difficult places on the back of a stout guide commonly known as the "royal jackass" (''burro real'').
The semblance of a court which Carlos maintained was torn by incessant personal intrigues.
While some of his adherents supported him because they believed in his hereditary rights to the throne, others were more concerned about preserving home rule in the
Basque districts. There were ongoing conflicts between Carlos's military staff and the clergy who exercised significant influence over him.
In the first few years of the war, there were several moments when victory was within Carlos's grasp. The last of these was the so-called
Royal Expedition of the summer of 1837, when Carlos himself accompanied his army from Navarre to the outskirts of Madrid. Carlos hoped to enter the city without any significant bloodshed, but when it became clear that only a battle would win the city, Carlos vacillated. After several days, Carlos himself decided to withdraw; his army melted away and was reduced to a third of its former strength.
His first wife having died in Britain in 1834, Carlos married her elder sister, his own niece Maria Teresa of Portugal, Princess of Beira in
Biscay
Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...
in October 1837.
In June 1838, Carlos appointed
Rafael Maroto as his commander-in-chief. In February 1839, Maroto had four Carlist generals shot and issued a proclamation criticizing Carlos's court. When Carlos removed him from office, Maroto marched to Tolosa where Carlos was living and made him a virtual prisoner. Maroto was re-appointed commander-in-chief, and his opponents in Carlos's court were dismissed. Maroto then began private negotiations with Cristina's commander-in-chief, and in August 1839 abandoned Carlos completely.
Exile
Bourges (1839-1845)
Having crossed to France Carlos and his family initially stopped in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, where for few days they remained in sort of a house arrest. He was given a choice of locations to settle, but it is not clear whether or how he responded. Modern historians speculate that it was the prime minister,
marshal Soult
Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman. He was a Marshal of the Empire during the Napoleonic Wars, and served three times as President of the Council of ...
, who picked the
Cher department, located in central France 500 km from the Spanish frontier. The prefect was asked to find an appropriate location; he opted for the city of
Bourges
Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...
. The best he could have suggested was
Hôtel Panette, a large but somewhat neglected residence in the centre of the city, which was rented for 2,000 francs per month. In late September 1839 Carlos settled there with his family and the court of some 30 people, including advisers, secretaries, chamberlains, confessors, a doctor, a pharmacist, preceptors for children, servants, cooks, grooms, a picketman, a coachman and a confectioner. Some of this staff, e.g. the confessors, had their own servants. The monthly cost of maintaining this court was around some 6,000 francs. The infant was supposed not to leave Bourges unless agreed with administration and not to engage in any political activity; he remained under supervision of governmental agents.
Carlos spent 5 years in Hôtel Panette. Throughout all this time he was accompanied by his second wife María Teresa de Braganza and by his oldest son Carlos Luis, then in his 20s; two younger sons, Juan and Fernando, during long strings were being educated in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. The French administration tolerated visits of numerous Carlists, either exiled in France or arriving from Spain, given their arrivals were agreed in advance; apart from this, no official receptions or balls were given. There is little information available on their daily routine; most of it was related to religious chores. The royals attended the mass every day; they probably enjoyed the service as this was the sole case of them going out not accompanied by police agents. They also engaged in some local charity initiatives. Some scholars claim their life was marked by some puritan traits, especially that Carlos started to consider his war defeat in terms of divine punishment for his sins, while María Teresa had to do with company of 2-3 ''dames d'honneur'' and developed some depression. Unlike Carlos Luis, who watched military exercises of the French army in the neighborhood, Carlos did not attend. When in 1842 the violin professor of Carlos Luis suggested that he gives a family concert, Carlos objected; he noted that given the circumstances, enjoying music was immoral.
''Act of Bourges'' (1845)
On 18 May 1845 ''La Gazette du Berri'' published (in Spanish, with French translations following) 4 documents: Carlos abdicated in favor of his son, Carlos Luis, while the latter accepted the hereditary claims transmitted; the papers are collectively referred to as the ''Act of Bourges''. There are numerous motives of the abdication quoted by historians. Some are mostly personal: the 57-year-old claimant was increasing tired and tending to melancholy; his wife, diagnosed with serious respiratory and nervous problems, was heavily recommended to undergo treatment in Italian resorts, the trip the French government did not agree to unless the claim is renounced. Political considerations appear to be more important. There were serious plans developed and advanced in Spain to mend the dynastic feud; they consisted of marrying Carlos Luis with
Isabella, and abdication was thought a step towards facilitating this marriage. It is possible that the plan was supported by
Metternich
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a Germans, German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian ...
; Marqués de Villafranca for few years has been acting as intermediary between Carlos and the Austrian chancellor, who kept suggesting abdication against longtime demurrals of the claimant. The French
prime minister Guizot was neither averse to the project, though in case of France what mattered more was the position of
king Louis Philippe, who found it highly inconvenient to be forced to keep his relative in house arrest. Some scholars trace even the influence of the Russian empire and the
tsar Nicolas I personally. Last but not least, also the
pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...
recommended abdication; in his case a number of motives, related to position of the Catholic church in Spain, might have been in play. Following abdication Carlos adopted the title of Duke of Molina.
Last years (1845-1855)
In July 1845, two months following his abdication, Carlos and his wife were allowed to leave Bourges. They first travelled to
Gréoux-les-Bains and then to
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, where the government – to great relief of king Louis Philippe – issued them passports. In the autumn via
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million[Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains (, ; ; ), known locally and simply as Aix, is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern French Departments of France, department of Savoie.][Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...]
.
[Pauquet 2017, p. 22] In early 1847 the couple visited the
Duchy of Modena to attend the wedding of their middle son Juan with
Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este, sister of the ruling Duke of Modena,
Francis V. In the autumn of 1847 they arrived in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, in the Austrian-held
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and were hosted in
Palazzo Rezzonico, the property of the Austria-Estes. The revolution and the anti-Habsburg rising of March 1848 forced them to flee Venice; they were leaving together with the
Duchess of Berry towards her residence in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
. The Duchess left one floor of her ''palazzetto'' at what is now Via del Lazzaretto Vecchio at their disposal.
In 1849 Carlos, at the time in his early 60s, suffered a stroke; despite treatment in
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Ba ...
, he did not regain full mobility.
In 1850 the couple travelled to
Kingdom of Two Sicilies to attended the wedding of their oldest son and at the time the Carlist claimant to the throne, who in
Caserta
Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...
married princess
Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The youngest son Fernando, at the time single and in his late 20s, lived with his parents in Trieste. In the early 1850s Carlos had 2 grandchildren from the marriage of Juan; however, in 1852 the latter abandoned his wife and settled in London. Carlos was admitting countless visitors, mostly Carlists, arriving either from Spain or from elsewhere in Europe, e.g.
general Cabrera from London. The quasi-court, maintained in Trieste, amounted to at least 25 people; they included secretaries, advisors, aide-de-camps, a confessor, a chamberlain, a doctor, ''dames d'honneur'' and numerous servants, including a maggiordomo, butler, maids, cooks and others. Some historians write that though merely Conde de Molina, he "behaved like he were the king of Spain", but visitors were unimpressed by "povero palazzo"
[Ayuso, di Giovine 2009, p. 193] and some note his absent-minded gaze.
Ancestors
Heraldry
Notes
References
* Carr, Raymond. ''Spain: 1808–1975'' (2nd ed 1982) ch 5
*
* Holt, Edgar. ''The Carlist Wars in Spain''. Chester Springs, Pennsylvania: Dufour Editions, 1967.
* Moral Roncal, Antonio Manuel. Carlos V de Borbón. Madrid: Actas Editorial, 1999
External links
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1788 births
1855 deaths
18th-century Spanish people
19th-century Spanish people
People from Aranjuez
Spanish Roman Catholics
Counts of Spain
Carlist pretenders to the Spanish throne
Spanish infantes
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Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain
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Children of Charles IV of Spain