| Carlos de Borbón y Austria-Este | |
| Succession: | Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne as Carlos VII |
| Reign-Type: | Pretendence |
| Reign: | 3 October 1868 – |
| Predecessor: | Juan III |
| Successor: | Jaime III |
| Reign-Type1: | Tenure |
| Reign1: | 18 November 1887 – 18 July 1909 |
| Predecessor1: | Infante Juan, Count of Montizón |
| Successor1: | Infante Jaime, Duke of Madrid |
| Birth Name: | Don Spanish; Castilian: Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirico Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Borbón y Austria-Este and French: Charles Marie des Douleurs Jean Isidore Joseph François Cyr Antoine Michel Gabriel Raphaël de Bourbon |
| Birth Date: | 3 April 1848 |
| Birth Place: | Ljubljana, Carniola |
| Death Place: | Varese, Italy |
| Burial Place: | Trieste Cathedral |
| Father: | Infante Juan, Count of Montizón |
| House: | House of Bourbon-Anjou |
| Mother: | Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este |
| Spouse: | |
| Issue: | Infanta Blanca, Archduchess Leopold Salvator of Austria Infante Jaime, Duke of Madrid Elvira de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma Beatriz de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma Alicia de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma |
| Signature: | Firma de Carlos María de Borbón.svg |
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.
Carlos was born in Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola in what is now Slovenia, the elder son of Infante Juan, Count of Montizón 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.
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. The couple had five children:
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.
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 (daughter of Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein) and Princess Marie-Berthe de Rohan (daughter of Prince Arthur de Rohan).
Having met both ladies, Carlos decided on the latter and asked for her hand in marriage.[1]
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 [Carlos] himself, but also for the [Carlist] party."[2]
Carlos died in Varese in 1909. 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.
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