Infante Carlos of Spain (1607–1632)


The Infante Carlos of Spain, also known as The Infante Charles of Spain, was an infante of Spain, the second son of King Felipe III of Spain and Margaret of Austria.

Life

The Infante Carlos was the younger brother of Felipe IV, and, as long as the King remained childless, was heir to the Spanish throne. Carlos was never a friend of Felipe's favourite and prime minister, the Count-Duke of Olivares, and though he was uninterested in politics, he was used by various nobles in attempts to overthrow Olivares.
During his brother's severest illness, Carlos was on the point of ascending the throne, but Felipe recovered and in 1629 finally fathered a son, Balthasar Carlos. This dissipated Carlos's political importance completely.
Carlos was one of the era's most enigmatic characters due to his strange and possibly unhealthy personality. He died in 1632, aged 25. Francisco de Quevedo dedicated a sonnet entitled The Burial of the Most Serene Infante Don Carlos to this event.

Ancestry