Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Piacenza (8 April 1930 – 18 August 2010) was the head of the

House of Bourbon-Parma The House of Bourbon-Parma ( it, Casa di Borbone di Parma) is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the Fren ...

from 1977 until his death. Carlos Hugo was the

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the throne of Spain and sought to change the political direction of the Carlist movement through the

Carlist Party The Carlist Party ( es, Partido Carlista, ca, Partit Carlí, eu, Karlista Alderdia, gl, Partido Carlista, ast, Partíu Carlista; PC) is a Spanish political party that considers itself as a successor to the historical tradition of Carlism. ...

, of which he was the official head during the fatal Montejurra Incident. His marriage to

Princess Irene of the Netherlands Princess Irene of the Netherlands (Irene Emma Elisabeth; born 5 August 1939) is the second child of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard. In 1964, she converted to Catholicism and married the then- Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon- ...

in 1964 caused a constitutional crisis in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Background

Carlos Hugo was the son of

Xavier, Duke of Parma Xavier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, known in France before 1974 as Prince Xavier de Bourbon-Parme, known in Spain as Francisco Javier de Borbón-Parma y de Braganza or simply as Don Javier (25 May 1889 – 7 May 1977), was the head of the ducal Ho ...

, and

Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset (23 March 1898 – 1 September 1984) was the titular Duchess of Parma and Piacenza (from 1974) and was also Carlist Queen of Spain (from 1952) as the consort of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, the Carlist pretender ...

and was baptized ''Hugues Marie Sixte Robert Louis Jean Georges Benoît Michel''. He was a direct male descendant of Louis XIV. On 28 June 1963 he was officially renamed ''Charles Hugues'', by judgment of the court of appeal of la Seine, France. In 1977, his father died, and Carlos Hugo succeeded him claiming the thrones of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

, Etruria and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He was a French citizen, and from 1980, a naturalized Spanish citizen. He studied in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Carlism

Carlism is a Spanish political movement founded in the 19th century which, since the second half of the 20th century, upholds the claim of Carlos Hugo's branch of the House of Bourbon to the Spanish throne. Carlos Hugo assumed Carlist leadership in August 1975. In

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

, the organization of Carlism has been known as the Traditionalist Communion. After Franco's death, the Carlist movement was split, and unable to get wide public attention again. In May 1976, a year after Franco's death, two Carlist sympathizers were shot down by far-right terrorists during the annual Carlist convocation. Among the terrorists were

Stefano Delle Chiaie Stefano Delle Chiaie (13 September 1936, Caserta – 10 September 2019, Rome) was an Italian neo-fascist terrorist. He was the founder of ''Avanguardia Nazionale'', a member of '' Ordine Nuovo'', and founder of Lega nazionalpopolare. He went on ...

and members of the

Argentine Anticommunist Alliance The Argentine Anticommunist Alliance ( es, Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, links=no, usually known as Triple A or AAA) was an Argentine Peronist political action group operated by a sector of the Federal Police and the Argentine Armed Forces, ...

(''Triple A''), with logistic support from Francoist elements inside Spanish intelligence agencies and the Civil Guard. This incident became known as the

Montejurra massacre The Montejurra incidents, was a neo-fascist terrorist attack that took place on May 9, 1976, when two Carlist members were killed and another three seriously wounded by right-wing gunmen at the annual Carlist Party celebration that was held in ...

. On 28 September 2003 at

Arbonne Arbonne (; eu, Arbona) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arbonars''Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, ''Dictionary of place names - ...

in France, Carlos Hugo re-asserted his Carlist claim.

Marriage and family

Carlos Hugo's engagement to

, daughter of

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. S ...

, caused a

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this ...

in the

for several reasons. Irene lost her rights of succession to the Dutch throne because the government refused to enact a law permitting the marriage. Her mother could not go to Madrid to talk Irene out of the marriage and of her conversion to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

because the government advised her against it. The issue that prevented the government from making a law permitting the marriage was Carlos's claim to the Spanish throne. The Dutch government saw international political difficulties arising from a possible heir to the Dutch throne holding a controversial claim to the throne of a foreign state. Carlos Hugo and Irene were married on 29 April 1964, in the Borghese Chapel at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, by Cardinal

Paolo Giobbe Paolo Giobbe (10 January 1880 – 14 August 1972) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Papal Datary in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. Biography Giobbe was born in Rom ...

, the former Apostolic Nuncio to the Netherlands. No other members of the Dutch Royal Family were present; Irene's parents watched the ceremony on television. After the ceremony, Carlos Hugo and Irene had a private audience with

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

. They spent their honeymoon in

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

, after which they settled in Madrid. Carlos Hugo and Irene divorced on 26 May 1981. They had four children: * Prince Carlos Javier Bernardo Sixto María, Duke of Parma (27 January 1970). He has a natural son, Carlos Hugo (born 20 January 1997), with Brigitte Klynstra. On 12 June 2010, Prince Carlos married Annemarie Cecilia Gualthérie van Weezel. They have three children: **Princess Luisa of Bourbon-Parme (10 May 2012) **Princess Cecilia of Bourbon-Parme (17 October 2013) **Carlos Enrique Leonard, Hereditary Prince of Bourbon-Parma (24 April 2016) * Princess Margarita María Beatriz of Bourbon Parma (13 October 1972) she married Edwin de Roy van Zuydewijn on 22 September 2001 and they were divorced on 8 November 2006. She remarried Tjalling Siebe ten Cate on 2 May 2008. They have two daughters: **Julia ten Cate (3 September 2008) **Paola ten Cate (25 February 2011) * Prince Jaime Bernardo of Bourbon Parma (13 October 1972); he married Viktoria Cservenyak on 3 October 2013. They have two daughters: **Princess Zita Clara of Bourbon-Parma (21 February 2014) **Princess Gloria Irene of Bourbon-Parma (9 May 2016) * Princess María Carolina Cristina of Bourbon Parma (23 June 1974); she married Albert Alphons Ludgerus Brenninkmeijer on 21 April 2012. They have two children: **Alaïa-Maria Brenninkmeijer (20 May 2014) **Xavier Brenninkmeijer (16 December 2015)

Death

In February 2008 it was revealed that Carlos Hugo was being treated for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. On 2 August 2010, he announced, via his official website, that his health was further deteriorating. He died on 18 August 2010 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

at the age of 80. Carlos Hugo's remains were taken from Barcelona to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

and laid in state for family members and close relatives in the Fagel Dome on the estate of the

Noordeinde Palace Noordeinde Palace ( nl, Paleis Noordeinde, ) is one of the three official palaces of the Dutch royal family. Located in The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander since 2013. ...

(one of the three official palaces of the

Dutch royal family The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...

). On 28 August, the body was transported to

in Italy and interred in the crypt of the

Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata The Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy. The name derives from the fence (Italian: ''steccato'') in the church. A Nursing Madonna is enshrined within, crowned on 27 May 1601 by ...

.Lichaam prins Carlos vrijdag naar Nederland
. telegraaf.nl. 18 August 2010 ''(Dutch)''

Honours

Dynastic honours

Carlos-Hugo claimed the headship of the

Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...

as hereditary heir to the

House of Farnese The House of Farnese family (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Pope Paul II ...

's Duchy of Parma, the Farnese dukes having been recognised as grand masters of the order in 1699, although in 1706 the church of Rome confirmed the order's grand magistry to the Farnese's heirs (the House of Bourbon since 1731) in accordance with male primogeniture. *

: Grand Master of the Parmese Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George *

: Grand Master of the Order of Saint Louis for Civil Merit *

: Grand Master of the Order of the Legitimidad Proscrita *

: Grand Master of the Order of St. George for Military Merit As a claimant to the throne of Spain, Carlos Hugo also claimed to be the Grand Master of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece At his funeral the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece was put on his coffin, and the prince wore the insignia of the order during his marriage.

Foreign honours

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of the House of Orange The Order of the House of Orange (Dutch: ''Huisorde van Oranje''), sometimes referred to as the House Order of Orange, is a dynastic order of the House of Orange-Nassau, the royal family of the Netherlands similar to the Royal Victorian Order in ...

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

*Robert E. Wilson, "The Claim of Carlos-Hugo de Bourbon-Parma to the Spanish Throne", ''Background'' 8 (November 1964): 187–193.

External links

Guardian obituaryRoyal House of the NetherlandsComunión Tradicionalista

Official website of the House of Bourbon-Parmahis claim to Grand Magistery of
the Constantinian Order of St.George, in rivalry against both the Duke of Calabria and the Duke of Castro. , - {{Authority control 1930 births 2010 deaths Nobility from Paris Spanish people of French descent Carlist pretenders to the Spanish throne Grand Crosses of the Order of the House of Orange Pretenders to the throne of Parma Princes of Parma and Piacenza Princes of Bourbon-Parma Italian nobility Dukes of Spain Deaths from cancer in Spain Burials at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Alumni of the University of Oxford Navarrese titular monarchs