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Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou[1][2] (French: Louis Alphonse Gonzalve Victor Emmanuel Marc de Bourbon; but "Louis" (Luis) was not originally among his given names Spanish: Alfonso Jaime Marcelino Manuel Víctor María de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú;[3][4][5] born 25 April 1974, Madrid) is a member of the Royal House of Bourbon, and one of the current pretenders to the defunct French throne. As the senior male heir of Hugh Capet[6], being the senior descendant of King Louis XIV of France (ruled 1643–1715) through his grandson King Philip V of Spain, he is recognized as the Head of the House of Bourbon and rightful claimant to the French crown by the Legitimist faction of French royalists. Louis Alphonse is a great-grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and first cousin once removed of King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Through his mother, he is also a great-grandson of Spain's former dictator Francisco Franco.[3]
The title "Duke of Anjou" was the last French title held by Philippe de France before he became Philip V of Spain. It had long merged with the French crown, last granted by Louis XV to his grandson Louis Stanislas. Legitimist pretenders use this style as a courtesy title.[7][8] According to Legitimist usage, dynasts who are French nationals are accorded the style Prince of the Blood (prince du sang).
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Life
Louis Alphonse was born in Madrid, the second son of Alfonso de Borbón, Duke of Cádiz, and of his wife Doña María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, granddaughter of Francisco Franco. Alfonso was at that time the dauphin (using "Duke of Bourbon" as title of pretence) according to those who supported the claim of his father, Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia to the French throne. On 20 March 1975, the Infante Jaime ("Henri VI" by Legitimist reckoning) died. Alfonso then asserted his claim to be both Head of the House of Bourbon and Legitimist claimant to the throne of France. As such, he took the title Duke of Anjou,[8] and on 19 September 1981 gave Louis Alphonse the title Duke of Touraine.
Louis Alphonse's parents divorced in 1982. The religious marriage was annulled in 1986. His mother has since remarried civilly twice; he had two half-sisters Mathilda (deceased) and Marella, and a half-brother Frederick, all born before her mother's marriage to Jean-Marie Rossi and a half-sister, Cynthia Rossi, born afterwards. On 7 February 1984, Louis Alphonse's older brother Francisco died as the result of a car crash in which Louis Alphonse was also injured, although less so than their father, who was driving the automobile.[9] From that date Louis Alphonse was recognised as the heir apparent to his father by the Legitimists. As such, he was given the additional title Duke of Bourbon on 27 September of that year by his father.[9] In 1987, the Spanish government declared that titles traditionally attached to the dynasty (such as the Dukedom of Cádiz) would henceforth be borne by its members on an ad personam basis, forestalling Louis Alphonse from inheriting it.[9]
On 30 January 1989, his father died in a skiing accident near Vail, Colorado (in 1994 Louis Alphonse would receive 150 million pesetas following a lawsuit against Vail Associated, which owned the ski resort where the accident occurred).[9] Louis Alphonse was recognised by some members of the Capetian dynasty as Chef de la Maison de Bourbon (Head of the House of Bourbon)[10][9] and took the title Duke of Anjou, but not his father's Spanish dukedom. He is considered the rightful pretender to the French throne by adherents of the Legitimist movement.[9]
Louis’ father was elected by the French Society of the Cincinnati to be the representative of Louis XVI (leading to the resignation of the Count of Paris, who had represented the Admiral d'Orléans). Since 16 June 1994, Louis Alphonse was elected to succeed his father as the Representative of Louis XVI[11], whose military aid was instrumental to the independence of the United States of America. In accordance to the statutes of this Society, he represents the French king as the eldest male of the senior collateral line.
Louis Alphonse possesses French, as well as Spanish citizenship, in right of his paternal grandmother, Emmanuelle de Dampierre, also a French citizen.[9] He attended the Lycėe Français de Madrid, obtaining his COU in June 1992.[9] He studied economics. He worked several years for BNP Paribas, a French bank in Madrid. Although he regularly visited France, where his mother lived for several years, he continued to live in Spain.
His engagement to marry Venezuelan heiress María Margarita Vargas Santaella was announced in November 2003. They were married civilly in Caracas on 5 November 2004 and religiously on 6 November 2004 in La Romana, Dominican Republic. None of the members of the Spanish Royal Family attended the wedding. Though no official reason was given, it is not a secret that the King of Spain does not approve his cousin's claim to the French throne and the fact that Louis Alphonse issued the wedding invitations as "Duke of Anjou" did not sit well with the king.[12] The couple lived in Venezuela beginning 2005, where he worked at Banco Occidental de Descuento, before moving to the United States. They currently reside in New York.
In June 2006, Louis Alphonse refused to attend his mother's third wedding, because he does not agree with her way of life as a celebrity, and her separation from her previous husband, a man whom he greatly respects.[13]
Louis Alphonse and Maria Margarita had their first child, a daughter, named Eugénie on 5 March 2007 at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, Florida. She was baptised at the papal nunciature in Paris in June 2007. Legitimists recognise her as Princess Eugénie (in Spain her name is Doña Eugenia de Borbón y Vargas). The couple had twin sons, Louis and Alphonse on 28 May 2010.[14] Louis has been given the title of Duke of Burgundy (duc de Bourgogne), and Alphonse the title of Duke of Berry (duc de Berry). Prince Louis, as Legitimist Dauphin of France, will succeed his father as Head of the French Royal House in Legitimist reckoning (in Spain, the twins are Don Luis and Don Alfonso de Borbón y Vargas).
Legitimist pretender
Louis Alphonse is championed as the pretender to the throne of France by the Legitimist faction (légitimistes), one of three monarchist parties supporting different claimants to a restored throne of France. The term was originally applied to those who supported Charles X of France (and, later, his descendants) after his deposition as King of France by his cousin, Louis-Philippe on 9 August 1830. Louis-Philippe had been Duke of Orléans so his supporters were called Orléanists.
When Charles X's grandson, Henri, Count of Chambord, died on 24 August 1883, some Legitimists joined the Orleanists in recognising Louis-Philippe's grandson, Philippe, Count of Paris, as the rightful heir. Others transferred their loyalty to members of the Spanish Royal Family who were descended from Philip V of Spain, a grandson of Louis XIV of France.
Spain and France fought the other major European powers in the War of the Spanish Succession. Philippe de France, Duke of Anjou, had been named by Charles II of Spain as his heir to the Spanish crown. As a male-line grandson of the French king Louis XIV, Philip and his future descendants were in the line of succession to the French throne, in accordance to the Salic law. The possibility of the union of Spain and France under one king would upset the delicate balance of power, which brought fear to the other states. To end the war, Philip signed the Treaty of Utrecht. Under its terms, Philip V was recognized as the rightful King of Spain. However, Philip was forced to renounce for himself and his descendants his right to succeed to the French throne; in return for this, semi-Salic law was introduced in Spain.
Legitimists have provided several responses to this. First, they regard the renunciation clauses of the treaty as null and void because, under the fundamental laws of Kingdom of France, the right of a French prince (hereby defined as any male descendant of Hugh Capet through the legitimate agnatic line) to succeed to the French throne is inalienable. Second, provided that this renunciation is valid, it is conditional; Philip only renounced his rights to the French throne because semi-Salic law had been enacted in Spain. With the abolition of this law, the descendants of Philip V recover their rights to the French throne. Thus, Louis Alphonse, the senior agnatic descendant of Philip V, is the current claimant, in the view of this group.[3][5]
Louis' father Alphonse de Bourbon has been in a dispute with a rival pretender, Henri d'Orléans (then Count of Clermont; now Count of Paris and current heir of the Orléans line). In 1988 and 1989, French courts dismissed lawsuits brought by Henri and other Bourbons to prohibit use of the title "Duke of Anjou" and of the undifferenced arms of France by Alphonse de Bourbon. Since Henri d'Orléans does not hold the title of Duke of Anjou, and claims not elsewhere, he lacked the standing to challenge another's use thereof. The arms are considered the attribute of the whole family; under the Ancien Regime it was the attribute of one person only at any given time. Therefore under the laws of the Republic any Bourbon may bear the plain arms of France. The court noted, however, that under the old customs, the plain arms were reserved for the seniors, while cadets were required to introduce a mark of difference. Thus, the arms of princes of the House of Orleans (including King Louis Philippe), a cadet branch of the Bourbons, were the arms of France with a label of silver. The courts also noted that their ruling has no effect on the adjudication of the dynastic rivalry, which is beyond their jurisdiction.[8]
Titles, styles and honours
Styles
- In Spain:
- His Excellency Don Luis Alfonso de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú (1974–present)
- Internationally, in pretence:
- His Royal Highness Prince Louis Alphonse de Bourbon (1974–1984)
- His Royal Highness The Duke of Touraine (1981–1984)
- His Royal Highness The Duke of Bourbon (1984–1989)
- His Royal Highness The Duke of Anjou (1989–present)
Titles
Louis Alphonse claims the following titles:
- Titular Duke of Anjou[3][5]
- Titular Duke of Touraine[15]
- Titular Duke of Bourbon[15]
Honours
Louis Alphonse claims Grand Master of the following dynastic orders:[16]
- Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Spirit
- Grand Master of the Order of Saint Michael
- Grand Master of the Order of Saint Louis
The Grand Mastership of these orders are disputed between Prince Louis Alphonse as Legitimist pretender and Prince Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France, the Orleanist pretender.
The Legitimist pretenders to the French throne have continued to nominate members of the Order of the Holy Spirit, long after the abolition of the French monarchy itself.
He is furthermore Knight of the following Order:
- Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta[17]
Ancestors
See also; Descendants of Louis XIV of France.
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Patrilineal descent
Notes
- ^ His name is given in this style by Olga S. Opfell in Royalty who wait: the 21 heads of formerly regnant houses of Europe (2001), p. 11.
- ^ His name as described in his biography at the website of the Institut Duc d'Anjou
- ^ a b c d Eilers, Marlene A. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Princess Beatrice. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp. 166, 181. ISBN 91-630-5964-9
- ^ Enache, Nicolas. La Descendanace de Marie-Therese de Habsburg Reine de Hongrie and Boheme. Maison royale regnante d'Espagne. ICC/Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris, 1999, p. 535. ISBN 2-908003-04-X. In French.
- ^ a b c Willis, Daniel A. The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain. The Descendants of Princess Anne, The Princess of Orange. Clearfield, Baltimore, 2002. p. 231. ISBN 0-8063-5172-1
- ^ Opfell, Olga S. (2001). Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0901-3.
- ^ Prince Henri Philippe Pierre Marie d'Orléans et autres c. Prince Alphonse de Bourbon, 21 Dec 1988. JCP 89.II.21213.
- ^ a b c Gazette du Palais, Tribunal de grande instance de Paris (1re Ch.) 21 décembre 1988, accompanied by the comments of G. Poulon, président de chambre honoraire à la cour de Paris. Prince Henri Philippe Pierre Marie d'Orléans et autres c. Prince Alphonse de Bourbon. 8 March 1990. In French.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Les Manuscrits du CEDRE V, Le Royaume d'Espagne III. Cercle d'Etudes des Dynasties Royales Europėennes (CEDRE), Paris, 1992, ISSN=0993-3964 p. 162-164
- ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Band XV. "Spanien". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, p.98. ISBN 3-7980-0814-0.
- ^ http://www.chivalricorders.org/royalty/bourbon/france/success/sucprt6.htm
- ^ "de Dampierre, a cuchillo contra Carmen Martínez Bordíu". Elsemanaldigital.com. http://www.elsemanaldigital.com/arts/49888.asp?tt=Enmanuela. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ "relaciones". Elsemanaldigital.com. http://www.elsemanaldigital.com/arts/52671.asp?tt=malas. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ Terra Noticias. "Los Duques de Anjou anuncian el nacimiento de sus hijos Luis y Alfonso". Noticias.terra.es. http://noticias.terra.es/2010/genteycultura/0528/actualidad/los-duques-de-anjou-anuncian-el-nacimiento-de-sus-hijos-luis-y-alfonso.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ a b Louda, Jirí; MacLagan, Michael (1999). Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe (2nd ed.). London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company.
- ^ icoc register 2004: dynastic orders - website of the ICOC
- ^ Les chevaliers de l’humanitaire - website of the SMOM
Bibliography
- Thierry Ardisson. Louis XX. Contre-enquête sur la monarchie., Olivier Orban, 1986, ISBN 2-85565-334-7
- Apezarena, José. Luis Alfonso de Borbón: Un príncipe a la espera. Forthcoming.
- Cassani Pironti, Fabio. "Bref crayon généalogique de S.A.R. la Princesse Marie-Marguerite, Duchesse d'Anjou, née Vargas Santaella", Le Lien Légitimiste, n. 16, 2007.
- Opfell, Olga S. H.R.H. Louis-Alphonse, Prince of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou: Royal House of France (House of Bourbon), Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2001. 11-32.
External links
- Institut de la Maison de Bourbon of which he is Président d'honneur under the appellation: Mgr le Prince Louis, duc d'Anjou[1]
- Institut Duc d'Anjou
Louis XX of France
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 25 April 1974 |
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French nobility | ||
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Preceded by Alphonse II |
Duke of Anjou January 30, 1989 – present |
Incumbent Heir: Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy |
Preceded by François de Bourbon |
Duke of Bourbon September 27, 1984 - present |
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New title | Duke of Touraine September 19, 1981 – September 27, 1984 |
Title dissolved |
Titles in pretence | ||
Preceded by Alphonse II |
— TITULAR — King of France and Navarre Legitimist pretender to the French throne January 30, 1989 – present Reason for succession failure: Bourbon monarchy deposed in 1830 |
Incumbent Heir: Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy |
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