Duke of Parma Carlos

Dutch royal and Italian nobleman, the current head of the House of Bourbon-Parma. He is the uncontested traditional claimant to the defunct throne of the Duchy of Parma under the name Carlo V (English: Charles V). In addition, he is considered by some a contested pretender to the Carlist claim to the throne of Spain under the name Carlos Javier I (English: Charles Xavier I). In 2016 Carlos told the Spanish press that, while (like his father in 2005) he "does not abandon" his claim to the throne, it is "not a priority" in his life, and he "will not dispute" [no planteo pleito] the legitimacy of King Felipe VI.

Carlos is the eldest child of Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, and Princess Irene of the Netherlands. He has two younger sisters, Princess Margarita and Princess Carolina, and a younger brother, Prince Jaime. Carlos spent his youth in several countries including the Netherlands, Spain, France, England, and the United States. In 1981, when he was eleven, his parents divorced. Together with his mother and his siblings he then moved to Soestdijk Palace (Baarn) in the Netherlands. He lived at the palace for a number of years with his grandparents, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

Carlos studied political sciences at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and demography and philosophy at Cambridge University in England. After completing his studies Carlos worked for the company ABN AMRO in Amsterdam, where he was involved with preparations for the introduction of the euro. He then worked for a while in Brussels as a public affairs consultant for the company European Public Policy Advisors (EPPA). Since 2007 he has been engaged in projects concerning sustainability in the business world.