The Princes of Canino and Musignano formed the genealogically senior line of the Bonaparte family following the death of

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic ...

in 1844. The line was succeeded by one of

Emperor Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's younger brothers,

Lucien Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano (born Luciano Buonaparte; 21 May 1775 – 29 June 1840), was French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 180 ...

. It became extinct in the male line in 1924. The dynastic Bonapartist

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'' ...

s descend in the male line from Prince Jérôme Napoléon, Napoleon's youngest brother.

Canino Canino is a town and ''comune'' of Italy, in the province of Viterbo (northern Lazio) in the internal part of Maremma Laziale. It is west of Valentano and northwest of Viterbo. It is also near the ancient Etruscan town of Vulci, and the de ...

and Musignano are two neighbouring villages in the

Province of Viterbo Viterbo ( it, provincia di Viterbo) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. Geography Viterbo is the most northerly of the provinces of Lazio. It is bordered to the south by the Metropolitan City of Rome ...

in Italy. They were bestowed on

by papal authority on 18 August 1814 (Prince of Canino) and on 21 March 1824 (Prince of Musignano).

First Empire law

Article 7 of the

monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), ...

constitution of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental ...

, promulgated 20 May 1804, established that upon extinction of the legitimate natural and adopted male,

agnatic 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 inheritanc ...

descendants of Napoleon I (1769–1821), and those of two of his brothers, Prince Joseph Napoléon (1768–1844) and Prince Louis Napoléon (1778–1846), the throne was to be awarded to a man selected by the non-dynastic princely and ducal dignitaries of the empire, as ratified by

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

. On 24 September 1806, the emperor's youngest brother, Jérôme Napoléon (1784–1860), was made a French prince, along with the future issue of his second marriage to Duchess

Catharina of Württemberg Princess Katharina Friederike of Württemberg (21 February 1783 – 29 November 1835) was Queen consort of Westphalia by marriage to Jérôme Bonaparte, who reigned as King of Westphalia between 1807 and 1813. Life Katharina was born in Saint Pe ...

, and he and his heirs were added into the succession. On 22 March 1815, during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restorati ...

, Napoleon also recognized his brother Lucien and Lucien's sons as Imperial French princes. At no time, however, were Lucien and his issue recognized during the First Empire as eligible by law to inherit the French throne, or any other throne. The title of ''Principe di Canino e Musignano'' borne by Lucien and his

heirs male In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral ...

was a

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

title of nobility, never legally recognized in France. Therefore, upon the death without issue in 1832 of the Duke of Reichstadt, titular ''Emperor Napoleon II'', the claim to the Bonaparte crown of France devolved upon

, formerly King of Naples and then King of Spain. Following his death without sons in 1844, the Imperial claim bypassed Lucien's sons and devolved upon

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French ...

, formerly King of Holland, even though Louis had been younger than Lucien.

Second Empire law

Louis's two elder sons pre-deceased their father, but his third son became Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

in 1852. The Second Empire's constitution recognized the dynasticity of all of Napoleon I's brothers and their issue, but allowed the emperor to choose the order in which they would inherit the throne in the event he died without male issue. On 18 December 1852 the emperor appointed his only remaining uncle, Prince Jérôme Napoléon, former King of Westphalia, as

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

, again bypassing the male line of Lucien. In May 1870, that

order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Napoléon Joseph (1822–1891), Jérôme's surviving son by his second wife, Duchess Catharina of Württemberg, was named to follow the emperor's son, the Prince Imperial Napoléon Eugène in the succession line.{{cite web , url = http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/nap_succ.htm#first, title = Heraldica.org, accessdate = 2006-11-07, last = Velde, first = François, work = Second Empire (1852-70) However, a few months later the French Empire was abolished, and has not been restored. Meanwhile, the

descendants of Jérôme Napoléon's branch (the Prince Napoléon Line) are still extant, and still hold the dynastic claim to the Napoleonic legacy.

Princes of Canino and Musignano

from 1814-1840 *

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

from 1840-1857 *

from 1857-1865 * Lucien Cardinal Bonaparte from 1865-1895 * Napoléon Charles Bonaparte from 1895-1899 *

Roland Bonaparte Roland Napoléon Bonaparte, 6th Prince of Canino and Musignano (19 May 1858 – 14 April 1924) was a French prince and president of the Société de Géographie from 1910 until his death. He was the last male-lineage descendant of Lucien Bonapar ...

from 1899-1924

Family tree

(1775–1840) married twice: first to Christine Boyer, who gave birth to a stillborn son and three daughters; and second to Alexandrine de Bleschamp and had eight children. Children from his second marriage include: #

(1803–1857). #* Married

Zénaïde Bonaparte Zénaïde Laetitia Julie Bonaparte, Princess of Canino and Musignano (8 July 1801 – 8 August 1854) was the elder daughter of Joseph Bonaparte and Julie Clary, and the wife of Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who was also her cousin. She joined her fa ...

; 12 children including: ## Joseph Lucien Bonaparte (1824–1865) ## Lucien Cardinal Bonaparte (1828–1895) ## Napoléon Charles Bonaparte (1839–1899). ##* Married Cristina Ruspoli; three daughters including: ###

Marie Bonaparte Princess Marie Bonaparte (2 July 1882 – 21 September 1962), known as Princess George of Greece and Denmark upon her marriage, was a French author and psychoanalyst, closely linked with Sigmund Freud. Her wealth contributed to the popularity ...

(1870–1947). Married Enrico Gotti; no children. ### Eugenie Bonaparte (1872–1949). Married Napoleon Ney, duc d'Elchingen; no children. #

Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

(1815–1881). #* Married Justine Eléonore Ruffin; 1 son: ##

(1858–1924). ##* Married

Marie-Félix Blanc Princess Marie-Félix Bonaparte (née Marie-Félix Blanc; 22 December 1859 – 1 August 1882) was a French heiress. Born into a wealthy French bourgeoisie family with financial holdings in Monaco and Germany, she was left with a large inheritance ...

; one daughter: ### Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882–1962). ###* Married

Prince George of Greece and Denmark Prince George of Greece and Denmark ( el, Γεώργιος; 24 June 1869 – 25 November 1957) was the second son and child of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, and is remembered chiefly for having once saved the life of hi ...

; 2 children: #### Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark (1908–1980). Married Irina Aleksandrovna Ovtchinnikova; no children. ####

Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark ( el, Ευγενία; 10 February 1910 – 13 February 1989) was the youngest child and only daughter of Prince George of Greece and Denmark and his wife, Princess Marie Bonaparte, daughter of Marie-Félix ...

(1910–1988). ####* Married first Prince Dominic Radziwiłł; two children including: ##### Prince George Radziwiłł (1942–2001). ####* Married second Raymundo, Duke of Castel Duino; one son: ##### Carlo Alessandro, Duke of Castel Duino (b. 1952). #####* Married Veronique Lantz; three children including: ###### Prince Dimitri della Torre e Tasso (b. 1977) On November 26, 1853 the Bonapartes sold the principality of Canino and the castle of Musignano to Alessandro Torlonia, 2nd Prince of Civitella-Cesi "including the titles and honorary rights"

References

thePeerage.com
European royal family trees website Bonapartist pretenders to the French throne

Prince of Canino and Musignano The Princes of Canino and Musignano formed the genealogically senior line of the Bonaparte family following the death of Joseph Bonaparte in 1844. The line was succeeded by one of Emperor Napoleon's younger brothers, Lucien Bonaparte. It became ex ...