Carlos Luis was born at the
Royal Palace of Madrid, the elder son of
Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain and of his first wife,
Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal. His godparents were his uncle and aunt
Ferdinand VII of Spain and his second wife
Maria Isabel of Braganza. Carlos Luis spent his youth in exile in Portugal and Great Britain. During the
First Carlist War, he accompanied his father on the northern front. At the end of the war, both settled in France. When his father renounced his succession rights on 18 May 1845, Carlos Luis became the Carlist claimant. An attempt was made to arrange a marriage between him and his first cousin
Isabella II of Spain which would end the Carlist conflict. In these negotiations Carlos insisted that he be recognised as full king and not merely as king consort as suggested by
Jaime Balmes. In October 1846 Isabella married another cousin
Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz. In December 1846, Carlos Luis published a manifesto in which he called for armed struggle. He settled in London and shortly after the
Second Carlist War (1847–49) began. In April 1847 he tried to enter Spain, but was stopped at the French border and returned to London. The Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States in Madrid, through Antonio de Arjona and José María de Areizaga, informed Carlos Luis that the United States government would provide financial support for his restoration on condition that he agree to handing over the island of
Cuba to the United States when restored. Carlos Luis replied that he preferred to always live in exile rather than attack the integrity of Spain. He was briefly engaged in 1848 to
Adeline de Horsey before marrying on 10 July 1850, his first cousin
Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, fifth daughter of
Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife
Maria Isabella of Spain. They had no children. In 1855, Carlos Luis maintained contacts with his cousin Francisco de Asís to reach a reconciliation between the two Bourbon branches. This failed and in May a small Carlist insurrection took place in Spain. In March 1860, Carlos Luis went to the
Balearic Islands to lead another insurrection with the support of the captain general of the Balearic Islands, Jaime Ortega y Olleta. On 1 April, with a force of 4000 men, they landed on the Catalan coast at
Sant Carles de la Ràpita. After disembarking, they marched to
Amposta to spend the night, but as they continued, the troops revolted, mistrusting the intentions of their commanders. Carlos Luis and the other leaders of the insurrection had to flee to
Ulldecona. On 21 April, the army of Isabella II arrested Carlos Luis and his brother
Fernando and took them to
Tortosa. There, Carlos and Fernando were forced to sign renunciations. Carlos Luis and Fernando were released by Isabella's government. They went to
Trieste. On 15 June they issued a statement declared their forced renunciations null. In spite of this, Carlos Luis' other brother and heir-presumptive
Juan recognised the renunciations as valid and declared himself to be Carlist claimant to the throne. In January 1861, within a space of less than two weeks, Carlos Luis, his wife Carolina, and his brother Fernando died, probably from
typhus. The three are buried in the chapel of Saint Charles Borromeo in
Trieste Cathedral. At Carlos' death, his brother Juan became the undisputed Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne. ==Ancestry==