Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma

Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma ( es, link=no, Don Sixto Enrique de Borbón-Parma y Borbón-Busset; it, Sisto Enrico di Borbone Parma; born 22 July 1940), known as Enrique V by supporters, is considered Regent of Spain by some Carlists who accord him the titles Duke of Aranjuez, Infante of Spain, and Standard-bearer of Tradition.

Early life

Sixtus was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques during the World War II Vichy regime of France, the second son of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma (then Prince Regent, later Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain, later titular Duke of Parma) and his wife Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. He belongs to a cadet branch of the former royal dynasty of France (and current dynasty of Spain), the House of Bourbon, which ruled the independent Duchy of Parma in Italy until 1859, and reigns ( patrilineally) today in Luxembourg. In exile, his family lived in France. He is a brother of Princess Cécile, Princess María Teresa, Princess Marie Françoise, Princess Marie des Neiges, and Prince Carlos Hugo.

From an early age Sixtus devoted himself to the cause of Carlism. He studied with the Christian Brothers, Benedictines and Marists, as well as with his preceptress, Professor María Teresa Angulo, from Madrid. He later took courses in law (at Clermont-Ferrand), classical and modern languages, and finance.

Under the ''nom de guerre'' of ''Enrique Aranjuez Martínez'' he secretly enlisted in the Spanish Foreign Legion in 1965. On 2 May that year he swore loyalty to the Spanish flag with the oath then in use, which excluded political compromise (as opposed to the later one, which states fidelity to the Spanish Constitution of 1978) and served in Melilla. After being discovered, he was expelled after eight months of service. Sixtus later volunteered with the Portuguese Armed Forces in the Angolan War of Independence against the "Anglo-Saxon influence". He ended his military career with the rank of colonel.

His descent from Louis XIII was confirmed by DNA in 2013.

Claim to the Carlist succession

Sixtus's father, Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, was the leader of the National Council of the Traditionalist Communion, the largest faction of Spanish Carlists, and thus claimed to be the rightful monarch of Spain (as "Javier I") from 1952 until his "abdication" in 1972. Xavier's successor, in whose favor Xavier renounced his Carlist claim in 1975, was Sixtus's older brother Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, who took the title "Carlos VIII" as claimant to the Spanish crown.

However, Carlos Hugo's deviations from traditional Carlist ideology—most notably his endorsement of Titoist socialism—caused many Carlists to question his leadership. Carlos Hugo sought to change the political direction of the Carlist movement through the Carlist Party, of which he was the official head during the 1976 Carlist gathering when the fatal Montejurra incident occurred, and at which Sixtus Henry was also present, leading opposition to his brother's reforms.

After the death of Xavier in 1977, Sixtus put forth the claim to be regent, and took the title "Standard-bearer of Tradition". Sixtus' claim was supported by their mother; his father's last wishes were difficult to discern. Sixtus publicly protested when Carlos Hugo donated the Carlist archives to the government of Spain in 2002.

Carlos Hugo renounced his claim to the throne in 1979 or 1980, but reasserted it in 2003. After his death in 2010, his son Carlos, Duke of Parma

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