Infanta Blanca of Spain
Encyclopedia
Infanta Blanca of Spain (7 September 1868, Graz
, Styria, Austria–Hungary – 25 October 1949, Viareggio
, Tuscany
, Italy
). She was the eldest child of Carlos, Duke of Madrid
, Carlist claimant to the throne
of Spain
under the name Carlos VII and his wife Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma
. Blanca was a member of the House of Bourbon
and an Infanta of Spain by birth. In 1889 she married Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria
. The couple had ten children. The family left Austria after the end of the Monarchy and finally settled in Barcelona
. When the male line of Blanca's family died out at the death of her uncle, Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime
, some of the carlist recognized her as the legitimate heiress of the rights of the Carlism
.
, the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain
under the name Carlos VII and of his wife Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma
. Born in Graz
, Styria, Blanca's childhood was marked by the third Carlist War
(1872–1876) in which her father tried, unsuccessfully, to gain the throne of Spain by force. For a time in 1875, Blanca lived in Elizondo, Navarre
at the court established by her father. After the war ended the family lived mostly in the Parisian district of Passy. In 1881 they were expelled from France due to Carlos's political activities. By then Blanca's parents drifted apart. Her father went to live in his palace in Venice, while her mother retired to her estate in Viareggio
, Italy
. Blanca and her siblings divided their time between them.
, second child and eldest son of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
and his wife Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
, on 24 October 1889 at Schloss Frohsdorf
in Lanzenkirchen
, Lower Austria
, Austria
. Blanca and Leopold Salvator main residence was the Palace of Tuscany in Vienna
, they also owned Schloss Wilhelminenberg and a rural estate near Viareggio, which Archduchess Blanca inherited from her mother. They had ten children together:
in World War
I in 1918 and the fall of the Habsburg dynasty, Archduchess Blanca with her husband and their children refused to recognize the new Austrian republic. Their properties were confiscated and they had to live in exile with meager means. The family could neither live in France
nor in Italy
, countries that had been Austria's enemies during the war. Blanca was forced to ask permission to live in Barcelona
to her cousin Alphonso XIII of Spain, who belonged to the rival branch of the Spanish Bourbons. Alphonso XIII allowed them to come to Spain on condition that they did not support the claims to the Spanish throne of Blanca's brother Jaime, Duke of Madrid. In 1922 Blanca was recognized as a Spaniard. The exiled family had to lived modestly in a house in Barcelona. The fall of Alphonso XIII and the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in April 1931 did not affect directly their circumstances. However five months later, Blanca's husband died during a trip to Austria while trying to recover some of their lost properties. Blanca was left under strained economical means, living from vineyards at la tenuata reale at Viareggio and from a small rent provided by the Carlist party of Catalonia
. Three of her children were still living with her: Dolores, Margaretha and Karl. The convulsed political situation in Spain made them returned to Austria. They were able to rent three rooms at their former residence in Vienna, the palace of Tuscany. In March 1938 Hitler annexed Austria and Blanca with her children Dolores and Karl moved to her property in Viareggio. In later years, Blanca and her youngest sons Karl Pius and Franz Josef became involved in various Carlist disputes and claims.
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Styria, Austria–Hungary – 25 October 1949, Viareggio
Viareggio
Viareggio is a city and comune located in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 64,000 it is the main centre of the northern Tuscan Riviera known as Versilia, and the second largest city within the Province of Lucca.It is known as a seaside resort...
, Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
). She was the eldest child of Carlos, Duke of Madrid
Carlos, Duke of Madrid
Infante Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirin Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Borbón y Austria-Este, Duke of Madrid was the senior member of the House of Bourbon from 1887 until his death...
, Carlist claimant to the throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
under the name Carlos VII and his wife Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma
Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma
Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma was the eldest child and daughter of Charles III, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France, the eldest daughter of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry and Princess Caroline Ferdinande Louise of the Two Sicilies...
. Blanca was a member of the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
and an Infanta of Spain by birth. In 1889 she married Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria
Archduke Leopold Salvator, Prince of Tuscany
Archduke Leopold Salvator, Prince of Tuscany , was the son of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria and Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies .-Biography:...
. The couple had ten children. The family left Austria after the end of the Monarchy and finally settled in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. When the male line of Blanca's family died out at the death of her uncle, Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime
Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime
Alfonso Carlos, Infante of Spain, Duke of San Jaime was the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain under the name Alfonso Carlos I and the Legitimist claimant to the throne of France under the name Charles XII.-Early life:Alfonso Carlos was the second son of Infante Juan...
, some of the carlist recognized her as the legitimate heiress of the rights of the Carlism
Carlism
Carlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on the Spanish throne. This line descended from Infante Carlos, Count of Molina , and was founded due to dispute over the succession laws and widespread...
.
Early life
Infanta Blanca of Spain was the eldest child of Carlos, Duke of MadridCarlos, Duke of Madrid
Infante Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirin Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Borbón y Austria-Este, Duke of Madrid was the senior member of the House of Bourbon from 1887 until his death...
, the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
under the name Carlos VII and of his wife Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma
Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma
Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma was the eldest child and daughter of Charles III, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France, the eldest daughter of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry and Princess Caroline Ferdinande Louise of the Two Sicilies...
. Born in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Styria, Blanca's childhood was marked by the third Carlist War
Third Carlist War
The Third Carlist War was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is very often referred to as the Second Carlist War, as the 'second' had been small in scale and almost trivial in political consequence....
(1872–1876) in which her father tried, unsuccessfully, to gain the throne of Spain by force. For a time in 1875, Blanca lived in Elizondo, Navarre
Elizondo, Navarre
Elizondo is a town located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. It is located on both banks of the Baztan River. The town is the capital of the Baztan valley and where most service establishments are concentrated. Elizondo is one of fifteen settlements in the valley...
at the court established by her father. After the war ended the family lived mostly in the Parisian district of Passy. In 1881 they were expelled from France due to Carlos's political activities. By then Blanca's parents drifted apart. Her father went to live in his palace in Venice, while her mother retired to her estate in Viareggio
Viareggio
Viareggio is a city and comune located in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 64,000 it is the main centre of the northern Tuscan Riviera known as Versilia, and the second largest city within the Province of Lucca.It is known as a seaside resort...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Blanca and her siblings divided their time between them.
Marriage and issue
Blanca married Archduke Leopold Salvator of AustriaArchduke Leopold Salvator, Prince of Tuscany
Archduke Leopold Salvator, Prince of Tuscany , was the son of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria and Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies .-Biography:...
, second child and eldest son of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria
Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, in Italian Carlo Salvatore Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Filippo Jacopo Gennaro Lodovico Gonzaga Raniero, in German Karl Salvator Maria Joseph Johann Baptist Philipp Jakob Januarius Ludwig Gonzaga Ranier , was a member of the Tuscan branch of the House of...
and his wife Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1844–1899)
Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was fifth child and second-eldest daughter of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Theresa of Austria...
, on 24 October 1889 at Schloss Frohsdorf
Schloss Frohsdorf
Schloss Frohsdorf is a castle-like complex in Lanzenkirchen in Niederösterreich and was built 1547-1550 out of the ruins of the so-called "Krotenhof".After similar devastation in the year 1683 it was largely altered and renovated in the Baroque style...
in Lanzenkirchen
Lanzenkirchen
-Geography:Lanzenkirchen is located in the regions of Steinfeld and the Bucklige Welt and the Rosalienbirges ranges. Its main river is the Leitha and the Mühlbach Canal.Here are 5 Katastralgemeinden of Lanzenkirchen:*Lanzenkirchen*Frohsdorf*Haderswörth...
, Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Blanca and Leopold Salvator main residence was the Palace of Tuscany in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, they also owned Schloss Wilhelminenberg and a rural estate near Viareggio, which Archduchess Blanca inherited from her mother. They had ten children together:
- Archduchess Dolores of Austria (5 May 1891–10 April 1974)
- Archduchess Maria Immaculata of Austria (9 September 1892–3 September 1971) ∞ 1932 Nobile Igino Neri-Serneri
- Archduchess Margaretha of Austria (8 May 1894–21 January 1986) ∞ 1937 Francesco Maria Taliani de Marchio
- Archduke Rainier of Austria (21 November 1895–25 May 1930)
- Archduke Leopold of Austria (30 January 1897–14 March 1958) ∞ 1919–1931 (morg.) Dagmar Baroness Nicolics-Podrinska ∞ 1932 (morg.) Alicia Gibson Coburn
- Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria (13 July 1899–22 October 1977) ∞ 1924 Don Ramón de Orlandis y Villalonga († 1936) ∞ 1942 Luis Perez Sucre
- Archduke Anton of Austria (20 March 1901–22 October 1987)∞ 1931–1954 Princess Ileana of RomaniaPrincess Ileana of RomaniaPrincess Ileana of Romania was the youngest daughter of Ferdinand I of Romania, King of the Romanians, and his consort Queen Marie of Romania. She was born Her Royal Highness Ileana, Princess of Romania, Princess of Hohenzollern...
- Archduchess Assumpta of Austria (10 August 1902–24 January 1993)∞ 1939–1950 Joseph Hopfinger
- Archduke Franz Josef of Austria (4 February 1905–9 May 1975) ∞ 1937–1938 (morg.) Maria Aloisa Baumer ∞ 1962 (morg.) Maria Elena Seunig
- Archduke Karl Pius of AustriaArchduke Karl Pius of Austria, Prince of TuscanyArchduke Karl Pius of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Tuscany , called Carlos Pío de Habsburgo-Lorena y de Borbón in Spain, was a member of the Tuscan branch of the Imperial House of Habsburg and a Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain under the assumed name of "Carlos...
(4 December 1909–24 December 1953)∞ 1938–1950 Christa Satzger de Bálványos
Later life
After the defeat of Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
in World War
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
I in 1918 and the fall of the Habsburg dynasty, Archduchess Blanca with her husband and their children refused to recognize the new Austrian republic. Their properties were confiscated and they had to live in exile with meager means. The family could neither live in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
nor in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, countries that had been Austria's enemies during the war. Blanca was forced to ask permission to live in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
to her cousin Alphonso XIII of Spain, who belonged to the rival branch of the Spanish Bourbons. Alphonso XIII allowed them to come to Spain on condition that they did not support the claims to the Spanish throne of Blanca's brother Jaime, Duke of Madrid. In 1922 Blanca was recognized as a Spaniard. The exiled family had to lived modestly in a house in Barcelona. The fall of Alphonso XIII and the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in April 1931 did not affect directly their circumstances. However five months later, Blanca's husband died during a trip to Austria while trying to recover some of their lost properties. Blanca was left under strained economical means, living from vineyards at la tenuata reale at Viareggio and from a small rent provided by the Carlist party of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. Three of her children were still living with her: Dolores, Margaretha and Karl. The convulsed political situation in Spain made them returned to Austria. They were able to rent three rooms at their former residence in Vienna, the palace of Tuscany. In March 1938 Hitler annexed Austria and Blanca with her children Dolores and Karl moved to her property in Viareggio. In later years, Blanca and her youngest sons Karl Pius and Franz Josef became involved in various Carlist disputes and claims.