Blancs d'Espagne ("Spanish Whites") was a term used to refer to those

legitimist The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They re ...

s in France who, following the death of the

Comte de Chambord Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (french: Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois, duc de Bordeaux, comte de Chambord; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883) was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Hen ...

in 1883, supported the Spanish

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

claimant rather than the Orleanist candidate, who was supported by the vast majority of French royalists. The term was generally used by supporters of the

Comte de Paris Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of France in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived by the ...

, the Orleanist candidate, as a term of derision for their ultra-legitimist opponents who so hated the House of Orléans that they would support a foreign prince over an Orleanist candidate. It is a pun on the cosmetic and cleanser known as ''blanc d'Espagne'', originally a

white lead White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was ...

pigment and later either basic

bismuth nitrate Bismuth(III) nitrate is a salt composed of bismuth in its cationic +3 oxidation state and nitrate anions. The most common solid form is the pentahydrate. It is used in the synthesis of other bismuth compounds. It is available commercially. It is th ...

or a preparation made from

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

and clay.''Le Nouveau Petit Robert: Dictionnaire de la langue française.'' Dictionnaires le Robert, Paris, 1993.

Dynastic rationale

Claimants or declared claimants

Notes

Legitimist pretenders to the French throne {{France-poli-stub