Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou

Louis Alphonse
Duke of Anjou (disputed)

Louis Alphonse of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou
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 (1974-04-25) 25 April 1974
Madrid, Spain
Spouse María Margarita Vargas Santaella (m. 2004)
Issue Princess Eugénie
Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy
Prince Alphonse, Duke of Berry
Full name
Luis Alfonso Jaime Marcelino Manuel Víctor María de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú
House Bourbon
Father Alfonso de Borbón-Segovia, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz
Mother María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco
Religion Roman Catholicism
French royal family
Legitimist

HRH The Duke of Anjou
HRH The Duchess of Anjou

  • HRH The Duke of Burgundy
  • HRH The Duke of Berry
  • HRH Princess Eugenie

Louis Alphonse of Bourbon-Segovia, Duke of Anjou[1][2] (Spanish: Luis Alfonso Jaime Marcelino Manuel Víctor María de Borbón-Segovia y Martínez-Bordiú, French: Louis Alphonse Gonzalve Victor Emmanuel Marc de Bourbon;[3][4][5] 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.[6]

Louis Alphonse is patrilineally the senior great-grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, but because that descent is through his grandfather's morganatic marriage, the crown of Spain descended to his second cousin, King Felipe VI of Spain. Through his mother, he is also a great-grandson of Spain's former dictator, General Francisco Franco and through his father, a great-great-great grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.[3]

Early life

Birth

Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou (2006).

Louis Alphonse was born in Madrid, the second son of Alfonso de Borbón, Duke of Anjou and 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",[7] and on 19 September 1981 gave Louis Alphonse the title Duke of Touraine.

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.[8] 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.[8] 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 lifetime only basis, forestalling Louis Alphonse from inheriting that grandeeship.[8]

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.[8] Louis Alphonse was recognised by some members of the Capetian dynasty as Chef de la Maison de Bourbon (Head of the House of Bourbon)[8][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.[8]

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,[10] 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.[8] He attended the Lycée Français de Madrid, obtaining his COU in June 1992.[8] 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.

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.[11]

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".[12] As from 2005, the couple resided in Venezuela, where he worked at Banco Occidental de Descuento, before moving to the United States. Subsequently they took up residence in Madrid.

Louis Alphonse and Maria Margarita had their first child and daughter, Eugénie, on 5 March 2007, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, Florida. 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 Borbón Vargas).

The couple had twin sons, Louis and Alphonse, on 28 May 2010.[13]Their father has conferred upon them the French titles of, respectively, Duke of Burgundy (duc de Bourgogne), and Duke of Berry (duc de Berry). Prince Louis, as Legitimist Dauphin of France, is expected to succeed his father as head of the French royal house in Legitimist reckoning (in Spain, the twins are Don Luis and Don Alfonso Borbón Vargas). 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.

Heraldry

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles

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. Legitimist pretenders use this style as a courtesy title.[7][15] According to Legitimist usage, dynasts who are French nationals are accorded the style Prince of the Blood (prince du sang).

He was expected to succeed to the Dukedom of Franco, held by his grandmother Carmen Franco and through his mother, but his grandmother did not bequeath that title to Louis Alphonse's mother, who will not be Duchess of Franco but Marquise of Villaverde.[16]

Honours

National dynastic honours

Foreign honours

Ancestry

Ancestors

Patrilineal descent

Louis is a member 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 dynasties in Europe.

  1. Robert II of Worms and Rheingau, 770–807
  2. Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808–834
  3. Robert IV the Strong, 820–866
  4. Robert I of France, 866–923
  5. Hugh the Great, 895–956
  6. Hugh Capet, 941–996
  7. Robert II of France, 972–1031
  8. Henry I of France, 1008–1060
  9. Philip I of France, 1053–1108
  10. Louis VI of France, 1081–1137
  11. Louis VII of France, 1120–1180
  12. Philip II of France, 1165–1223
  13. Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226
  14. Louis IX of France, 1214–1270
  15. Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317
  16. Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, c. 1280–1342
  17. James I, Count of La Marche, 1315–1362
  18. John I, Count of La Marche, 1344–1393
  19. Louis, Count of Vendôme, c. 1376–1446
  20. John VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428–1478
  21. Francis, Count of Vendôme, 1470–1495
  22. Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537
  23. King Antoine I of Navarre, 1518 – 1562
  24. King Henry IV of France, 1553 – 1610
  25. King Louis XIII of France, 1601 – 1643
  26. King Louis XIV of France, 1638 – 1715
  27. Crown Prince Louis de Bourbon of France, 1661 – 1711
  28. King Philip V of Spain, 1683 – 1746
  29. King Charles III of Spain, 1716 – 1788
  30. King Charles IV of Spain, 1748 – 1819
  31. King Ferdinand VII of Spain, 1784 – 1833
  32. Queen Isabella II of Spain, 1830 – 1904
  33. King Alfonso XII of Spain, 1857 – 1885
  34. King Alfonso XIII of Spain, 1886 – 1941
  35. Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, 1908 – 1975
  36. Prince Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, 1936 – 1989
  37. Prince Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, b. 1974

References

  1. ↑ 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.."
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. 1 2 3 Eilers, Marlene A. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Princess Beatrice. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp. 166, 181; ISBN 91-630-5964-9
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. 1 2 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
  6. ↑ Opfell, Olga S. (2001). Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0901-3.
  7. 1 2 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.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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
  9. ↑ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Band XV. "Spanien". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, p.98. ISBN 3-7980-0814-0.
  10. ↑ "THE TREATIES OF UTRECHT, RENUNCIATIONS OF 1712 AND THE SUCCESSION TO THE HEADSHIP OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF FRANCE". Chivalricorders.org. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
  11. ↑ "relaciones". Elsemanaldigital.com. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  12. ↑ "de Dampierre, a cuchillo contra Carmen Martínez Bordíu". Elsemanaldigital.com. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  13. ↑ 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 2011-11-29.
  14. 1 2 Louda, Jirí; MacLagan, Michael (1999). Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe (2nd ed.). London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company.
  15. ↑ Prince Henri Philippe Pierre Marie d'Orléans et autres c. Prince Alphonse de Bourbon, 21 Dec 1988. JCP 89.II.21213.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ https://lebleublancroi.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_0638-0.jpg?w=640
  18. ↑ https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/dd/90/c0/dd90c0f2eb096d760f00cd7aeb80bd60.jpg
  19. ↑ https://conseildansesperanceduroi.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/110429100014344235.jpg
  20. ↑ http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/louis-xx-inducted-in-the-order-of-malta-in-versailles-france-on-june-picture-id110155816?s=612x612
  21. ↑ https://conseildansesperanceduroi.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/indexty-1.jpg
  22. ↑ https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/03/a0/9e/03a09ecc36b34e307e165538b900cdc5--louis-xiv-knights.jpg

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou.
Louis XX of France
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 25 April 1974
French nobility
Preceded by
Alphonse II		 Duke of Anjou
30 January 1989 – present 		Incumbent
Heir:
Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy
Preceded by
François de Bourbon		 Duke of Bourbon
27 September 1984 - present
New title Duke of Touraine
19 September 1981 – 27 September 1984 		Title dissolved
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Alphonse II		 — TITULAR —
King of France and Navarre
Legitimist pretender to the French throne
30 January 1989 – present
Reason for succession failure:
Bourbon monarchy deposed in 1830		 Incumbent
Heir:
Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy
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