Alfonso Carlos de Borbón (12 September 1849 – 29 September 1936) was the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain under the name Alfonso Carlos I; some French Legitimists declared him also the king of France as Charles XII, though Alfonso never officially endorsed these claims.
In 1870 and in the ranks of the papal troops, he defended Rome against the Italian Army. In 1872–1874, he commanded sections of the front during the Third Carlist War. Between the mid-1870s and the early 1930s, he remained withdrawn into privacy, living in his residences in Austria. His public engagements were related to the buildup of an international league against dueling.
Upon the unexpected death of his nephew Prince Jaime, Duke of Anjou and Madrid in 1931, he inherited the Spanish and French monarchical claims. As an octagenarian, he dedicated himself to development of Carlist structures in Spain. He led the movement into the anti-Republican conspiracy, which resulted in Carlist participation in the July coup d'état. As he had no children, Alfonso Carlos was the last undisputable Carlist pretender to the throne; after his death, the movement was fragmented into branches supporting various candidates.
Family and youth
Alfonso was a descendant of the royal Spanish Borbón family; his great-grandfather was the king of Spain, Carlos IV. Alfonso's grandfather Carlos María Isidro (1788–1855) was engaged in dynastical feud with his brother over inheritance, though the conflict overlapped with major social and political cleavages. The 1833–1840 civil war which ensued produced defeat of Carlos María, who claimed the throne as Carlos V, and of his traditionalist and anti-liberal followers, named Carlists. The claimant went on exile and abdicated in 1845 in favor of his oldest son. His younger son and the father of Alfonso, Prince Juan, Count of Montizón (1822–1887), was at the time serving in the army of a relative, King of Sardinia.he rose to the rank of mayor general, Melchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español, vol. XXII, Sevilla 1958, pp. 10, 12 In 1847 he married Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este, sister to the ruling Duke of Modena, Francisco V; in 1848–1849 the couple had two sons, Alfonso born as the younger one. However, increasingly liberal outlook of Juan produced acute conflict with his religious wife and his brother-in-law, Francisco V. The couple agreed to separate; Juan left for England, while Maria Beatriz with their 2 sons remained in Modena.Ferrer 1958, pp. 17–18
In the 1850s Alfonso spent his early childhood with his mother and older brother in the Duchy of Modena; it is there he received his early homeschooling.it was provided by carefully selected and highly religious preceptors, Ferrer 1958, p. 152, Melchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español, vol. XXX/1, Sevilla 1979, p. Due to the revolutionary turmoil of 1859 the family left for Austria, hosted by the ex-emperor, Ferdinand I;Ferrer 1958, p. 130 they settled in Prague, which remained their key residence until 1864.Ferrer 1958, pp. 130–131 Their attempt to settle in Venice, resulting from health concerns, was aborted due to the Italo-Austrian war; they spent the years of 1864–1867 shuttling between Innsbruck, Vienna and Graz.Ferrer 1979, p. 9 Both teenagers were raised in very pious ambience; their religious mother and equally devout but more strong-willed step-grandmother, María Teresa de Braganza, made sure the boys received a profoundly Catholic, Carlist and anti-liberal education.Ferrer 1958, pp. 153–154 In 1868 Alfonso embarked on a long pilgrimage to Palestine; the same year his 21-year-old brother Carlos assumed the Carlist claim to the throne of Spain.Ferrer 1979, p. 9 When back in Europe Alfonso decided to join Papal Zouaves.he obtained permission from his mother first, Ferrer 1979, pp. 9–10
When on leave from the papal service, in the late 1860s Alfonso met the teenage infanta María das Neves of Braganza (1852–1941).at the time she was receiving education at the Sacré-Cœur convent, Ferrer 1979, p. 9 She was the oldest child of deposed king of Portugal Miguel I, who lost the throne in 1834; on exile Miguel wed princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, descendant to highly aristocratic German family. Alfonso and María married in 1871 in the bride's family estate at Kleinheubach. The bride and the groom were related, as María's paternal grandmother Carlota Joaquina was sister to Alfonso's paternal grandfather; they obtained the papal dispensation first.Ferrer 1979, p. 11 The couple turned out to be caring and loving partners;Ferrer 30/1 12–14 their marriage lasted 65 years. However, they had no descendants. Some sources claim their only child was born in 1874 but died shortly afterwards,Ignacio Miguéliz Valcarlos (ed.), Una mirada intima al dia a dia del pretendiente carlista, Pamplona 2017, . p. 21 others maintain they had no children at all.Carlos Robledo do Campo, Los infantes de España tras la derogación de la Lay Sálica (1830), [in:] Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía XII (2009), p. 345. The only existing monograph on Maria das Neves does not discuss the question of her giving birth, Miguel Romero Sans, Dona Blanca. Una reina sin corona bajo el carlismo, Cuenca s.d., ISBN 9788495414786
Military episode (1870–1874)
Since enlisting into the Zouavaes during almost 2 years Alfonso Carlos was taking part in trainings, maneuvers and other peacetime service of papal army.Ferrer 1979, p. 9 When Italian troops assaulted Rome he served as alférez in the 6. Company of the 2. Battalion. It was deployed along Aurelian Walls and concentrated around Porta Pia, on key axis of Italian assault.Ferrer 1979, pp. 9–10 The fighting took place on 20 September 1870. For a few hours and heavily outnumbered, the Zouaves resisted onslaught of the bersaglieri shock units;see e.g. La battaglia di Porta Pia, [in:] Emanuele Martinez, Il Museo Storico di Bersaglieri, Roma 2020, , pp. 28–29 some authors refer to the "famous last stand".J. A. Mirus, Faith and Reason, New York 1990, p. 367 The papal order to give upwhen the Italian artillery fire produced a breach in the walls and the bersaglieri started to pour in, the Pope decided to abandon resistance, Josep Powell, Two Years in the Pontificial Zouaves, London 1871, p. 298 was not accepted unanimously and some detachments kept fighting until all units surrendered later that day. Alfonso was neither recognized nor revealed his identity and for 3 days with other POWs he was kept imprisoned; they were then shipped to Toulon and released.Ferrer 1979, p. 11 He transferred to Graz and got married the following year.
In early 1872 Carlos VII was gearing up for a military rising against the monarchy of Amadeo I. He recalled his brother to southern France and in April nominated him commander of Carlist troops, supposed to operate in Catalonia.Ferrer 1958, p. 36 While fighting continuedAlfonso was barely engaged in military actions; isolated insurgent columns were operating independently and commanded by own leaders, Ferrer 1958, p. 119 and onwards Alfonso resided mostly in Perpignan. He focused on logistics and labored to obtain financing;which came mostly from his relatives; Duque of Modena, Condesa de Montizón and the Lowenstein family, Ferrer 1958, pp. 37–42 he also made personal military appointmentsFerrer 1958, p. 102 and issued general orders.e.g. in December 1872 Alfonso issued an order which declared expulsed from the royal army and unfaithful to the cause all these who were once Carlists but did not join insurgent troops by mid-January, Ferrer 1958, p. 54 In late December he crossed into Spainit took significant effort to deceive the French security, Ferrer 1958, p. 44. The same author claims in another work that Alfonso crossed to Spain in January 1873, Melchor Ferrer, Breve historia del legitimismo español, Sevilla 1958 [from now on referred as Ferrer 1958b], p. 62 and in Februaryin January Alfonso resided in small villages on southern slopes of the Pyrenees, Melchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español vol. XXV, Sevilla 1958 [from now on referred as Ferrer 1958c], p. 94 joined the troops led by Francisco Savalls.Ferrer 1958c, p. 94 During the next half a year Alfonso shuttled between small villages in the Girona and Barcelona provinces. It is not clear what was his personal contribution to minor successes in the area;like seizure of Ripoll, or victories during skirmishes at Oristá, Alpens and Igualada, Ferrer 1958c pp. 97, 101, 102 he is better known for organizing events intended to raise spirits.e.g. he presided over an amassment of 3,000 troops in Montserrat, when units were dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Ferrer 1958c, p. 100 During the summer he developed acute conflict with Savalls;apart from personal incompatibility between the 55-year-old military and the 24-year-old inexperienced infant the conflict reportedly resulted from different visions of warfare; Savalls preferred a guerilla strategy and Alfonso opted for more regular operations, Ferrer 1958c, p. 107. Also, Alfonso protested ruthless treatment of prisoners, practiced by Savalls; the conflict started in March, during executions ordered by Savalls in Ripoll, Ferrer 1958c, p. 97. Another similar incident followed in Berga, Ferrer 1958c, p. 107 in October 1873 via FranceAragón, which separated the Carlist units operating in Catalonia and the Carlist-held territory in Navarre, was firmly controlled by governmental troops. Alfonso moved to Perpignan, travelled by train to Bourdeaux, and then crossed to Navarre, Ferrer 1958c, p. 108 Alfonso moved to Navarre to discuss problems in command chain with his brother.Ferrer 1958c, p. 108 Outcome of the talks was inconclusive and until spring of 1874 Alfonso remained in Perpignan.at least theoretically Alfonso remained in command of Carlist troops in Catalonia. In Perpignan he received visits of Carlist commanders and imposed disciplinary measures against Savalls, who was ordered to spend 3 weeks off-duty in France, Melchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español, vol. XXVI, Sevilla 1959, p. 150