Louis Alphonse de Bourbon
Louis Alphonse de Bourbon | |||||
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Duke of Anjou (disputed) | |||||
File:Louis XX.jpg | |||||
Legitimist pretender to the French throne as Louis XX | |||||
Pretendence | 30 January 1989 – present | ||||
Predecessor | Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz | ||||
Heir apparent | Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy | ||||
Born | Madrid, Spain | 25 April 1974||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | Princess Eugénie Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy Prince Alphonse, Duke of Berry | ||||
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House | Bourbon | ||||
Father | Prince Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz | ||||
Mother | María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, 2nd Duchess of Franco | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Template:French Royal Family (Legitimist)
Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou[1][2][3] (Spanish: Luis Alfonso Gonzalo Víctor Manuel Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú, French: Louis Alphonse Gonzalve Victor Emmanuel Marc de Bourbon;[4][5][6] born 25 April 1974 in Madrid) is a member of the Royal House of Bourbon, and one of the current pretenders to the defunct French throne as Louis XX.
As the senior male heir of Hugh Capet by traditional male-line primogeniture, he is often recognised as the "Head of the House of Bourbon", and by Legitimist royalists as the rightful claimant to the French crown, being the senior agnatic descendant of King Louis XIV of France (ruled 1643–1715) through his grandson King Philip V of Spain.[7]
Louis Alphonse is patrilineally the senior great-grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. However, his grandfather Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, renounced his rights to the Spanish throne for himself and his descendants due to his disability. The crown of Spain has descended to his second cousin, King Felipe VI of Spain. Through his mother, he is also a great-grandson of Spain's caudillo, General Francisco Franco and through his father, a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.[4]
Early life
Birth
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Louis_de_Bourbon.jpg/220px-Louis_de_Bourbon.jpg)
Louis Alphonse was born in Madrid, the second son of Alfonso de Borbón, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, and of his wife María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, eldest 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 and the Co-Principality of Andorra. As such, he took the title "Duke of Anjou",[8] and on 19 September 1981 gave Louis Alphonse the title Duke of Touraine.[citation needed]
Childhood
Louis Alphonse's parents separated in 1982, and their Catholic marriage was annulled in 1986. His mother has since remarried civilly twice; he had two stepsisters Mathilda (deceased) and Marella, and a stepbrother Frederick, all born before his 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 1984 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 a lifetime only basis, forestalling Louis Alphonse from inheriting that grandeeship.[9]
Succession
On 30 January 1989, his father died in a skiing accident near Vail, Colorado. Later, 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)[9][10] 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). On 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 addition to his Spanish citizenship, Louis Alphonse acquired French nationality through his paternal grandmother, Emmanuelle de Dampierre, also a French citizen.[9] He attended the Lycée Français de Madrid, obtaining his COU in June 1992.[9] He studied economics at the IESE Business School. 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.[citation needed]
In June 2006, Louis Alphonse did not attend his mother's third wedding, because he disapproved her separation from his stepfather, whom he greatly respected, and disagreed with her "celebrity" lifestyle.[12]
Marriage and children
Louis Alphonse's engagement to marry Venezuelan María Margarita Vargas Santaella, the daughter of Victor Vargas, 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. Although no official reason was given, it was no secret that the then king, Juan Carlos I, did not approve his cousin's claim to the French throne, nor the fact that Louis Alphonse issued the wedding invitations styled as "Duke of Anjou".[13] As from 2005, the couple resided in Venezuela, where he worked at Banco Occidental de Descuento, before moving to the United States[when?]. Subsequently, they took up residence in Madrid.[citation needed]
Louis Alphonse and María Margarita had their first child, Eugénie, on 5 March 2007, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami. She was baptised at the papal nunciature in Paris in June 2007. Her godparents are Prince Charles-Emmanuel of Bourbon-Parma and his wife Constance. Legitimists recognise her as Princess Eugénie (in Spain her name is Eugenia de Borbón Vargas).
The couple had twin sons, Louis and Alphonse, on 28 May 2010 in New York City.[14]
Their father has conferred upon them the historic French titles of, respectively, Duke of Burgundy (duc de Bourgogne), and Duke of Berry (duc de Berry). (In Spain, the twins are Don Luis and Don Alfonso de Borbón Vargas).[citation needed] Prince Louis, as Legitimist Dauphin of France, is expected to succeed his father as head of the French royal house, the senior Bourbon/Capetian line, in Legitimist reckoning. However, under Spanish law, and assuming Felipe VI does not in future father a son, the Spanish crown will be inherited by his elder daughter Leonor, Princess of Asturias, who will become queen regnant, and if Felipe does have a son, that son will inherit the Spanish throne regardless of the genealogical seniority of the Anjou branch. Louis and Alphonse were baptised on 5 September 2010 at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Louis' godparents were Arancha Martínez-Bordíu and Francisco D'Agostino and Alphonse's were Amparo Corell de Trenor, Baroness de Alacuas and Lorenzo Perales.
The couple are expecting their fourth child together, a boy, in Spring 2019.[15]
Heraldry
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Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
Titles and styles of pretence in France:
- 1974 – 1984: His Royal Highness Louis Alphonse, fils de France (1974–1984)
- 1981 – 1984: His Royal Highness The Duke of Touraine (1981–1984)[16]
- 1984 – 1989: His Royal Highness the Duke of Bourbon (1984–1989)[16]
- 1989 – present: His Royal Highness the Duke of Anjou (1989–present)[4][6]
- in pretense: His Most Christian Majesty The King of France
Titles and styles in Spain:
- 1974 - 2018 : The Most Illustrious Don Luis Alfonso Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú
- 2018 - present: The Most Excellent Don Luis Alfonso Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú
The title "Duke of Anjou" was the last French title used by Philip V of Spain, in his capacity as a French prince, prior to his accession as Spanish king. It had long merged with the French crown, last granted by Louis XV to his grandson Louis XVIII of France in 1773. Since 1883, Legitimist pretenders use this style as a courtesy title.[8][17] According to Legitimist usage, dynasts who are French nationals are accorded the style Prince of the Blood (prince du sang).
He is expected to eventually succeed to the Dukedom of Franco, held by his mother Carmen Martínez-Bordiú, 2nd Duchess of Franco.[18]
Honours
House of Bourbon: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Order of the Holy Spirit[19][20][21]
SMOM: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Obedience of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 1st Class[22][23][24]
Ancestry
Ancestors
Ancestors of Louis Alphonse de Bourbon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Patrilineal descent
Louis is the senior agnate of the House of Bourbon, the senior-surviving cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, itself a branch of the Robertians.
Louis' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son (in accordance with Salic law). It follows the Kings of Spain, then of France, the Dukes and Counts of Vendôme, the Counts of La Marche, the first Duke of Bourbon, a Count of Clermont, and before them, again the Kings of France. The line can be traced back more than 1,200 years and is one of the oldest recorded lineages in Europe.
- Robert II of Worms and Rheingau, 770–807
- Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808–834
- Robert IV the Strong, 830–866
- Robert I of France, 866–923
- Hugh the Great, 895–956
- Hugh Capet, 941–996
- Robert II of France, 972–1031
- Henry I of France, 1008–1060
- Philip I of France, 1053–1108
- Louis VI of France, 1081–1137
- Louis VII of France, 1120–1180
- Philip II of France, 1165–1223
- Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226
- Louis IX of France, 1214–1270
- Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317
- Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, c. 1280–1342
- James I, Count of La Marche, 1315–1362
- John I, Count of La Marche, 1344–1393
- Louis, Count of Vendôme, c. 1376–1446
- John VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428–1478
- Francis, Count of Vendôme, 1470–1495
- Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537
- King Antoine I of Navarre, 1518 – 1562
- King Henry IV of France, 1553 – 1610
- King Louis XIII of France, 1601 – 1643
- King Louis XIV of France, 1638 – 1715
- Crown Prince Louis de Bourbon of France, 1661 – 1711
- King Philip V of Spain, 1683 – 1746
- King Charles III of Spain, 1716 – 1788
- King Charles IV of Spain, 1748 – 1819
- Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain, 1794 – 1865
- Francisco de Asis, Duke of Cádiz, 1822 – 1902
- King Alfonso XII of Spain, 1857 – 1885
- King Alfonso XIII of Spain, 1886 – 1941
- Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, 1908 – 1975
- Prince Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, 1936 – 1989
- Prince Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, b. 1974
References
- ^ His name as described in the British media, e.g. Enter Louis XX! Meet the (rather handsome) Spanish duke who claims that he should be the next King of FRANCE - website Daily Mail
- ^ His name as described in his biography at the website of the Institut Duc d'Anjou is "Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, duc d'Anjou Archived 12 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine."
- ^ His name is given as "Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon and Martínez-Bordiú, Duke of Anjou" by Olga S. Opfell in Royalty who wait: the 21 heads of formerly regnant houses of Europe (2001), p. 11.
- ^ a b c 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. (French). ISBN 2-908003-04-X.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "THE TREATIES OF UTRECHT, RENUNCIATIONS OF 1712 AND THE SUCCESSION TO THE HEADSHIP OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF FRANCE". Chivalricorders.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "relaciones". Elsemanaldigital.com. Retrieved 29 November 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "de Dampierre, a cuchillo contra Carmen Martínez Bordíu". Elsemanaldigital.com. Retrieved 29 November 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Terra Noticias. "Los Duques de Anjou anuncian el nacimiento de sus hijos Luis y Alfonso". Noticias.terra.es. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ https://us.hola.com/actualidad/20180808128209/luis-alfonso-borbon-margarita-vargas-cuarto-hijo/
- ^ 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.
- ^ Prince Henri Philippe Pierre Marie d'Orléans et autres c. Prince Alphonse de Bourbon, 21 Dec 1988. JCP 89.II.21213.
- ^ López, Gema (20 June 2013). "La familia Franco se reparte los títulos: Carmen Martínez Bordiú será marquesa de Villaverde; Luis Alfonso de Borbón nunca será duque de Franco" (in Spanish). Vanitatis. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ https://lebleublancroi.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_0638-0.jpg?w=640
- ^ https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/dd/90/c0/dd90c0f2eb096d760f00cd7aeb80bd60.jpg
- ^ https://conseildansesperanceduroi.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/110429100014344235.jpg
- ^ http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/louis-xx-inducted-in-the-order-of-malta-in-versailles-france-on-june-picture-id110155816?s=612x612
- ^ https://conseildansesperanceduroi.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/indexty-1.jpg
- ^ https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/03/a0/9e/03a09ecc36b34e307e165538b900cdc5--louis-xiv-knights.jpg
Bibliography
- Thierry Ardisson. Louis XX. Contre-enquête sur la monarchie., Olivier Orban, 1986, ISBN 2-85565-334-7
- Jean Foyer, Titre et armes du prince Louis de Bourbon, Diffusion-Université-Culture, 1990.
- 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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Institut de la Maison de Bourbon of which he is Président d'honneur under the appellation: Mgr le Prince Louis, duc d'Anjou
- Use dmy dates from January 2012
- 1974 births
- Living people
- House of Bourbon
- House of Bourbon (France)
- House of Bourbon (Spain)
- Recipients of the Order of the Holy Spirit
- Knights of Malta
- Nobility from Madrid
- Princes of France (Bourbon)
- Dukes of Touraine
- Dukes of Bourbon
- Dukes of Anjou
- Legitimist pretenders to the French throne
- BNP Paribas
- 20th-century Roman Catholics
- 21st-century Roman Catholics