Louis Alphonse de BourbonHis 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. ( es, Luis Alfonso Gonzalo Víctor Manuel Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú; french: Louis Alphonse Gonzalve Victor Emmanuel Marc de Bourbon;Eilers, Marlene A. Queen Victoria's Descendants. ''Princess Beatrice''. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp. 166, 181; 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). .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. born 25 April 1974) is the head of the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

. Members of the family formerly ruled

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and other countries. According to the

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, Louis Alphonse is considered the pretender to the defunct throne of France as Louis XX. With the death of his father, he has been using the title of

Duke of Anjou The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by Charles the Bald in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the title of Count of Anjou. The Robertians ...

since 1989. Louis Alphonse considers himself the senior heir of

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

, King of the Franks (reigned 987–996). His claim to the defunct French throne is based on his descent from

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

(r. 1643–1715) through his grandson

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

. Philip renounced his claim to the French throne under the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...

in 1713. The rival Orleanist pretenders argue that this, as well as being born a Spanish citizen, makes Louis Alphonse ineligible for the throne. They also question whether he truly is the heir-male of Louis XIV, given the rumors of illegitimacy surrounding

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...

(his great-great-grandfather). Louis Alphonse is

patrilineally Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

the senior great-grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. However, his grandfather

Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, Duke of Anjou (''Jaime Leopoldo Isabelino Enrique Alejandro Alberto Alfonso Víctor Acacio Pedro Pablo María de Borbón y Battenberg'') (23 June 1908 – 20 March 1975), was the second son of King Alfon ...

, renounced his rights to the Spanish throne for himself and his descendants owing to his deafness (a renunciation disputed by legitimists). The crown of Spain has descended to his

second cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...

, King

Felipe VI of Spain Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and ...

. Through his mother, he is also a great-grandson of Spain's ''

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

'' (dictator), General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

and through his father, a great-great-great-grandson of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Early life

Birth

Louis Alphonse was born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, the second son of Alfonso de Borbón, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, and of his wife

María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

, eldest granddaughter of

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

was at that time the dauphin (using "Duke of Bourbon" as title of pretence) according to those who supported the claim of his father,

to the French throne. On 20 March 1975, Jaime died, and

then asserted his claim to be Head of the

and Legitimist claimant to the throne of France. As such, he took the title "

".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.

Childhood

Louis Alphonse's parents separated in 1982, and their Catholic marriage was

annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost ...

in 1986. His mother has since

remarried Remarriage is a marriage that takes place after a previous marital union has ended, as through divorce or widowhood. Some individuals are more likely to remarry than others; the likelihood can differ based on previous relationship status (e.g. div ...

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.''Les Manuscrits du CEDRE V, Le Royaume d'Espagne III. Cercle d'Etudes des Dynasties Royales Europėennes'' (CEDRE), Paris, 1992, p. 162-164 From that date Louis Alphonse was recognised as the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to his father by the Legitimists. As such, he was given the additional title Duke of

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

on 27 September 1984 by his father. 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

grandee Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neith ...

ship.

Education

Louis Alphonse took his primary studies at College Molière, a bilingual school, where he earned his baccalaureate. In 1991, he was admitted to CUNEF University, where he earned a master's degree in international finance. Louis is multilingual, speaking English, Spanish, and French (in addition to some

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Succession

On 30 January 1989, his father died in a

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

accident near

Vail, Colorado Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...

. Later, in 1994 Louis Alphonse received 150 million '' pesetas'' from a lawsuit against Vail Associated, which owned the ski resort where the accident occurred. Louis Alphonse was recognised by some members of the

Capetian dynasty The Capetian dynasty (; french: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Cape ...

as ''Chef de la Maison de Bourbon'' (Head of the House of Bourbon)''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Band XV''. "Spanien". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, p.98. . and took the title Duke of Anjou, but not his father's Spanish dukedom. He is considered the rightful

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the defunct French throne by adherents of the Legitimist movement. Louis Alphonse was elected by the French

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

as the representative of Louis XVI. In addition to his Spanish citizenship, Louis Alphonse acquired French nationality through his paternal grandmother, Emmanuelle de Dampierre, also a French citizen. He attended the

Lycée Français de Madrid Lycée Français de Madrid (LFM, es, Liceo Francés de Madrid) is a French international school in Madrid, Spain. It serves levels ''maternelle'' (preschool) until ''lycée'' (senior high school). It is directly operated by the Agency for French E ...

, obtaining his '' COU'' in June 1992. He studied

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

at the

IESE Business School IESE Business School is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. Founded in 1958 in Barcelona where its main campus is located,López, T. & Pampliega, J“La fundación del IESE (1956–1958)” Universidad de Navarra, Bibliotec ...

. He worked several years for '' BNP Paribas'', a French bank in

. In 2017, Louis Alphonse stated that he wishes for the remains of his ancestors, including

King Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

, to remain at the Kostanjevica Monastery, after a movement reportedly began to have the King's remains moved to be buried along with other French monarchs in Basilica of St Denis. In 2021, Louis Alphonse attended the wedding of

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (russian: Георгий Михайлович Романов, Georgiy Mikhaylovich Romanov, also spelled ''Romanoff''; german: Georg Mikhailowitsch Romanow; born 13 March 1981) is the heir apparent to M ...

and his wife.

Politics

Louis Alphonse describes himself as a

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

, “but not anti-republican”. He argues for a constitutional monarchy, with a king who acts as moral authority, foreign ambassador, unifying figure, and reminder of a nation's history. He holds ties to the conservative Spanish political party Vox and is a close friend of its leader,

Santiago Abascal Santiago Abascal Conde (; born 14 April 1976) is a Spanish politician and since September 2014 the leader of the national-conservative political party Vox. Abascal is a member of the Congress of Deputies representing Madrid since 2019. Before ...

. He has spoken out against same-sex marriage,

same-sex adoption Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children by same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child (stepchild adoption). Joint adoption by same-sex coup ...

, and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. In March 2018, Louis Alphonse was named honorary president of the

Francisco Franco National Foundation The Francisco Franco National Foundation ( es, Fundación Nacional Francisco Franco, links=no; FNFF) is a foundation and propaganda hub created in 1976 devoted to promoting the legacy of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. The only child of Fr ...

, a position held by his grandmother,

Carmen Franco, 1st Duchess of Franco María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco, Grandee of Spain, Marchioness of Villaverde (14 September 1926 – 29 December 2017) was the only child of Spain's '' caudillo'', General Francisco Franco and his wife, Carmen Polo y Mart ...

, until her death in December 2017. On July 15, later that year, he headed a Movement-for-Spain demonstration at the

Valley of the Fallen The Valley of the Fallen (Spanish: Valle de los Caídos; ) is a Catholic basilica and a monumental memorial in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, erected at Cuelgamuros Valley in the Sierra de Guadarrama, near Madrid. Dictator Fr ...

monument, leading supporters of the late Spanish dictator, his great-grandfather

. They opposed the Spanish socialist government's plan to remove Franco's remains from a basilica near Madrid. He also launched a change.org petition, calling for the resignation of the Socialist Prime Minister

Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has been Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since June 2017, having pr ...

. In 2019, he expressed public support for the

Yellow vests movement The Yellow Vests Protests or Yellow Jackets Protests or Yellow Vests Revolution (french: Mouvement des gilets jaunes, ) are a series of Populism, populist, grassroots weekly protests in France that began on 17 November 2018. At first the protes ...

in France, and later spoke at the World Congress of Families XIII, where he called for return to "Christian society".

Marriage and issue

Louis Alphonse's engagement to marry

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n María Margarita Vargas Santaella, the daughter of the businessman Victor Vargas, was announced in November 2003. They were married civilly in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

on 5 November 2004 and religiously on 6 November 2004 in La Romana,

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. 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 of Spain, 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". Louis Alphonse and María Margarita had their first child, Eugénie, on 5 March 2007, at

Mount Sinai Medical Center Mount Sinai Hospital, formerly at times known as Mount Sinai Medical Center, is a 319-bed major urban hospital in Chicago, Illinois, with its main campus located adjacent to Douglass Park at 15th Street and California Avenue on the city's West Sid ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. She was baptised at the papal nunciature in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in June 2007. Her

godparent In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

s are

Prince Charles-Emmanuel of Bourbon-Parma Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma (Michel Marie Xavier Waldemar Georg Robert Karl Eymar; 4 March 1926 – 7 July 2018) was a French businessman, soldier and racing car driver, who was a member of deposed sovereign ducal House of Bourbon-Parma. He was ...

and his wife Constance. French Legitimists recognize her as ''Eugénie, Madame Royale'', the style commonly attributed to the eldest unmarried daughter of a king of France (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. Their father has conferred upon them the historic French titles of, respectively,

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

(''duc de Bourgogne''), and Duke of Berry (''duc de Berry''). (In Spain, the twins are Don Luis and Don Alfonso de Borbón Vargas). Louis, as Legitimist

Dauphin of France Dauphin of France (, also ; french: Dauphin de France ), originally Dauphin of Viennois (''Dauphin de Viennois''), was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word ''dauphin'' ...

, is expected to succeed his father as head of the French royal house, the senior Bourbon/Capetian line, in Legitimist reckoning. Louis and Alphonse were baptised on 5 September 2010 at

St Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

by Cardinal Angelo Comastri. Louis' godparents were Arancha Martínez-Bordíu (his father's maternal aunt) and Francisco D'Agostino (his mother's brother-in-law). Alphonse's godparents were Amparo Corell de Trenor, Baroness de Alacuás and Lorenzo Perales. Their fourth child, Henri, was born on 1 February 2019 in New York and was granted the title

Duke of Touraine {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Duke of Touraine was a title in the Peerage of France, relating to Touraine. It was first created in 1360 for Philip the Bold, youngest son of King John II of France. He returned the duchy to the Crown in 1363 on b ...

(''duc de Touraine'') by his father.

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

Thierry Ardisson Thierry Ardisson (; born 6 January 1949, Bourganeuf, Creuse), is a French television producer and host and a movie producer. Many of his shows have some of the longest run times on French television, such as ''Paris Dernière'', ''Tout le mon ...

. ''Louis XX. Contre-enquête sur la monarchie.'', Olivier Orban, 1986, *

Jean Foyer Jean Foyer (21 April 1921, Contigné, Maine-et-Loire – 3 October 2008, Paris) was a French politician and minister. He studied law and became a law professor at the university. He wrote several books about French Civil law. Political care ...

, ''Titre et armes du prince Louis de Bourbon'', Diffusion-Université-Culture, 1990. * Apezarena, José. ''Luis Alfonso de Borbón: Un príncipe a la espera'', Random House Mondadori, 2007, . * 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

Website of Louis de bourbon, Duke of Anjou
{{Authority control 1974 births Living people House of Bourbon (Spain) Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order 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 Francoists Navarrese titular monarchs Child pretenders