Carte-de-visite three quarter length photograph of Don Carlos of Spain set against a trompe l'oeil background of a mountainside on the right of the scene. He is shown standing in three quarter view, facing towards the left of the image, with his head turned towards the right. He leans his right elbow on a stone pillar, on which ivy grows. He is wearing Spanish military uniform adorned with insignia, and a beret hat. He has a small moustache and partial beard. His left arm falls by his side and he holds the hilt of his sword in his left hand. He is wearing a ring on the third finger of his right hand.

Don Carlos was the eldest son of Juan, Count of Montizón and of his wife Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este. In 1867 he married Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma and the couple had five children.