Who do you believe is the rightful Carlist Claimant?
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 12:38 pmCarlism was(and technically, still is) a movement from Spain that started in the 19th century. They believed King Ferdinand VII changed the succession illegally, and that his daughter couldn't be Queen, which would make his brother Carlos the King of Spain. To add fuel to the fire, Isabella and her mother(who was regent) were supported by liberals who wanted to reform Spain's government closer to a constitutional monarchy, and also believed Spain should be centralized. This caused a civil war, which ended in Carlist defeat due to foreign support of the liberals and the death of good Carlist generals. A Second One was fought from 1846 to 1849 under the next Carlist pretender, who got support from Catalonia due to the Carlists support of local autonomy. A third one occurred after Isabella was ousted and an Italian king installed, which caused many people to join the Carlists and a rival republic to be proclaimed. The Carlists had a lot of success, but eventually Isabella's son, Alfonso XII(who a lot of the Carlists considered illegitimate) was installed. The Carlists remained an influence in Spain up until the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939, where they joined Franco. However, problems began for the movement.
Besides Franco steadily gaining control, the second carlist pretender, also named Carlos, didn't have children, and the fourth one, once again named Carlos, only had one son, Jaime, who didn't have children anyway. The sixth one, Alfonso Carlos, became pretender in his 80's, and died due to being hit by a car in 1936. He said that after his death, Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma would serve as "regent" until a new King was selected. Xavier actually was related to the Spanish kings, but preceding him were the pretenders to the throne of Two Sicilies and some of his brothers. Xavier served as regent, during which time Carlism splintered. The fourth pretender had a daughter named Blanca, who had a son named Karl Pius, and Karl Pius claimed the throne, even holding ambitions before Alsonso Carlos died. His brothers pressed their own claims only after he died despite being older and some having morganatic marriages (though it's possible they or Karl Pius approved their marriages, thus legitimizing them). The current pretender of this line is Prince Dominic, calling himself Domingo I. He is in a morganatic marriage, and the fact his claim comes from a woman has been considered as undermining the Carlist movement. A few Carlists jumped to Alfonso XIII, because he actually was a male line descendant of Charles IV, father of Ferdinand VII and Carlos, though most Carlists claimed his great-grandfather and grandfather committed treason and that Isabella conceived his father with someone else anyway. Jaime, Alsonso's second son, declared himself Carlist pretender after rescinding his claim, though he recognized his brother as King of Spain later and his descendants haven't pressed their claims either, instead focusing on France. Xavier declared himself King in the 50's after over a decade of being regent, and had two sons-Carlos Hugo, and Sixtus Henry. Carlos Hugo, out of either opportunism to try and revive the movement or genuine belief, drifted to Titoism, and founded what was essentially a monarcho-socialist party in 1970. His brother believed he betrayed Carlist tradition and declared himself Regent, though he said that if Carlos Hugo or his sons embraced Carlist tradition he would accept them as monarch. Some, however, call him Enrique V, though who succeeds him is unclear given he has no children and is 81. His brother died in 2010, and was succeeded in his claim by Prince Carlos of Parma. Carlos said he will not press his claim, and is in a morganatic marriage, though it's ambiguous if his father approved it. Technically, if we follow male primogeniture without Alfonso's ancestors, there are many lines. So, after all this, who do you think is the Carlist pretender: Carlos of Parma, Sixtus Henry, Philipe VI, Prince Dominic, Louis Alphonse(grandson of Jaime), someone else with a male line and non-morganatic history(at least after the 19th when they would've been in the line of succession), or no one, with Sixtus as regent?
Besides Franco steadily gaining control, the second carlist pretender, also named Carlos, didn't have children, and the fourth one, once again named Carlos, only had one son, Jaime, who didn't have children anyway. The sixth one, Alfonso Carlos, became pretender in his 80's, and died due to being hit by a car in 1936. He said that after his death, Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma would serve as "regent" until a new King was selected. Xavier actually was related to the Spanish kings, but preceding him were the pretenders to the throne of Two Sicilies and some of his brothers. Xavier served as regent, during which time Carlism splintered. The fourth pretender had a daughter named Blanca, who had a son named Karl Pius, and Karl Pius claimed the throne, even holding ambitions before Alsonso Carlos died. His brothers pressed their own claims only after he died despite being older and some having morganatic marriages (though it's possible they or Karl Pius approved their marriages, thus legitimizing them). The current pretender of this line is Prince Dominic, calling himself Domingo I. He is in a morganatic marriage, and the fact his claim comes from a woman has been considered as undermining the Carlist movement. A few Carlists jumped to Alfonso XIII, because he actually was a male line descendant of Charles IV, father of Ferdinand VII and Carlos, though most Carlists claimed his great-grandfather and grandfather committed treason and that Isabella conceived his father with someone else anyway. Jaime, Alsonso's second son, declared himself Carlist pretender after rescinding his claim, though he recognized his brother as King of Spain later and his descendants haven't pressed their claims either, instead focusing on France. Xavier declared himself King in the 50's after over a decade of being regent, and had two sons-Carlos Hugo, and Sixtus Henry. Carlos Hugo, out of either opportunism to try and revive the movement or genuine belief, drifted to Titoism, and founded what was essentially a monarcho-socialist party in 1970. His brother believed he betrayed Carlist tradition and declared himself Regent, though he said that if Carlos Hugo or his sons embraced Carlist tradition he would accept them as monarch. Some, however, call him Enrique V, though who succeeds him is unclear given he has no children and is 81. His brother died in 2010, and was succeeded in his claim by Prince Carlos of Parma. Carlos said he will not press his claim, and is in a morganatic marriage, though it's ambiguous if his father approved it. Technically, if we follow male primogeniture without Alfonso's ancestors, there are many lines. So, after all this, who do you think is the Carlist pretender: Carlos of Parma, Sixtus Henry, Philipe VI, Prince Dominic, Louis Alphonse(grandson of Jaime), someone else with a male line and non-morganatic history(at least after the 19th when they would've been in the line of succession), or no one, with Sixtus as regent?