Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou
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Don Luis Alfonso Gonzalo Víctor Emanuel Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú, Duke of Anjou ("S.A.R. Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, duc d'Anjou" on his French National Identity Card) (born Madrid, April 25, 1974) is considered to be the head of the French Royal House by royalists who consider the renunciation of Philip V of Spain as invalid. They call him Prince Louis de Bourbon, and accord him the title duc d'Anjou (Duke of Anjou). As king, he would be Louis XX.
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[edit] Historical Background
His supporters usually call themselves legitimists, one of two claimant parties to the extinct throne of France. This term was originally applied to those who supported of Charles X of France after his replacement as French King by his cousin, Louis-Philippe of the French on August 9, 1830. Charles X and his eldest son, Louis-Antoine, Dauphin of France (former Duke of Angoulême), abdicated the throne, but Charles' supporters maintained that he was the "legitimate" king. Louis-Philippe had been Duc d'Orléans so his supporters were called Orléanists. After the death of Charles X on November 6, 1836, some legitimists transferred their loyalty to his grandson, Henri, comte de Chambord. Others transferred their loyalty to the Dauphin Louis-Antoine, as King Louis XIX. Some legitimists count the Dauphin Louis-Antoine as King Louis XIX only for the twenty minutes between the abdications in 1830. When Louis-Antoine died on June 3, 1844, all the legitimists recognized the Count of Chambord as the rightful heir.
When Chambord died on August 24, 1883, some of the legitimists recognized Louis-Philippe's grandson, Philippe, Comte de Paris, as the rightful heir. Others transferred their loyalty to former members of the Spanish Royal Family who were descended from Philip V of Spain, an uncle of Louis XV of France. King Philip (and Louis XIV, his grandfather) renounced his claim to the French throne as part of the treaties recognizing him as King of Spain. Some royalists regarded this as invalid; either as beyond the power of the King, or as exacted by force, or for other reasons. Luis Alfonso is the current claimant, in the view of this group. His supporters are often called Blancs d'Espagne, or Spanish Whites.
[edit] Life
He was born on April 25, 1974 in Madrid as the second son of Don Alfonso de Borbón y de Dampierre, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, and Doña María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco.
Don Alfonso was at that time the dauphin according to those who supported the claim of his father, HRH Don Jaime, Duke of Anjou and Segovia, to the French throne. Don Alfonso married Doña María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, granddaughter of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. Because of the birth of his first son, Luis Alfonso's older brother Francisco, Franco gave Don Alfonso the title Duke of Cádiz, with the style Royal Highness to him and his sons.
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On March 20, 1975, the Infante Don Jaime, Duke of Anjou and Segovia, died. Don Alfonso became thus head of the French Royal House according to the legitimists. As such, don Alfonso took the title Duke of Anjou. On September 19, 1981, the Duke of Anjou gave Luis Alfonso the title Duke of Touraine.
Luis Alfonso's parents divorced in 1982. The religious marriage was annulled in 1986. His mother has since remarried twice and he has a half-sister, Cynthia Rossi.
On February 7, 1984 Luis Alfonso's older brother Francisco died as the result of a car crash. From then on, Luis Alfonso was considered to be the heir apparent to his father, according to the legitimists. As such, he was given the additional title Duke of Bourbon on September 27.
In 1987 the Spanish government declared that the title Duke of Cádiz would not be hereditary (as this title is traditionally attached to the Crown). And as such, Luis Alfonso would never inherit it from his father, but he remains a Royal Highness for the rest of his life. This title is not used in Spain.
On January 30, 1989 his father died in a skiing accident in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Luis Alfonso became "chef de la Maison de Bourbon" (Head of the French Royal House) and took the title Duke of Anjou. He is considered the pretender to the French throne. Luis refused to go live at Paris with his mother, choosing to stay in Madrid with his maternal grandmother, Carmen Franco. [1]
He studied economics at university and worked several years for BNP, a French bank in Madrid. Although he has visited France on a regular basis, since his mother lived there for several years, he still lived in Spain.
In November 2003 was announced his engagement to marry Venezuelan heiress María Margarita Vargas y Santaella. They were married in November 2004 in La Romana, Dominican Republic. None of the members of the Spanish royal family attended the wedding. Though no official reason has been given, it's not a secret that the King of Spain has never liked his cousin's claims on the French throne and the fact that Luis Alfonso signed the wedding invitation as Duke of Anjou did not sit well with the king. [2] The couple have lived in Venezuela since 2005, where he works at Banco Occidental de Descuento. He is a member of his father-in-law's polo team. They expect their first child in Spring 2007.
On June 2006, he refused to attend his mother's third wedding, because he doesn't agree with her way of life as a celebrity and her separation from her previous husband, a man he greatly respects [1].
| House of Bourbon Born: 25 April 1974; Died: |
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| Preceded by Alphonse III |
* NOT REIGNING * King of France Legitimist claimants to the throne of France (1989-) |
Incumbent |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Las malas relaciones de Luis Alfonso con su madre datan de antiguo
- ^ Enmanuela de Dampierre, a cuchillo contra Carmen Martínez Bordíu
