Archduke Karl Pius, Prince of Tuscany

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Archduke Karl Pius, Prince of Tuscany (4 December 1909 - 24 December 1953) was born in Vienna, Austria the son of Archduke Leopold Salvator, Prince of Tuscany (1863-1931) and Infanta Blanca of Spain (1868-1949), the daughter of the Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain, Carlos, Duke of Madrid.

In 1943 Archduke Karl Pius claimed the Headship of the Carlist House of Spain, he received the support of some of General Franco's officials in the Movimiento Nacional, as King he would have been Carlos VIII.

On May 8, 1938 in Vienna Karl Pius married Christa Satzger de Bálványos (1914-2001). They had two daughters:

On November 30, 1990 Alejandra and Immaculada were given the title Countess of Habsburg by Archduke Otto of Austria.

Karl Pius and Christa received a civil divorce in December 1950. On January 4, 1951 Karl Pius initiated a process petitioning for an ecclesiastical decree of nullity; the case was rejected and the marriage confirmed as valid December 24, 1953.

Karl Pius died of a cerebral hemorrhage December 24, 1953, in Barcelona, Spain. Several funeral masses were celebrated for him, including one on January 16, 1954 in Madrid, attended by numerous government officials and members of the diplomatic corps. He was buried in the Monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet.

[edit] Further reading

Las Heras y Borrero, Francisco de. Carlos de Babsburgo, un pretendiente desconocido: El otro candidato de Franco. Madrid: Dykinson, 2004.

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