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The Bourbons of India (french: Bourbons des Indes) are an Indian family who claim to be legitimate heirs 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 ...
, descended from Jean Philippe de Bourbon,
Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis The counts of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis first appeared in the early 11th century. Their principal town was Clermont, Oise, Clermont, now in the Oise department but then within the ancient county of Beauvaisis in the province of Île-de-France. Followin ...
, an exiled French noble who served in Mughal Emperor
Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
's court. The family is also known as the House of Bourbon-Bhopal, a name derived from the city of
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
in central India where their last few generations resided and worked in the pre-independent Indian
Bhopal State Bhopal State (pronounced ) was an Islamic principality founded in the beginning of 18th-century India by the Afghan Mughal noble Dost Muhammad Khan. It was a tributary state during 18th century, a princely salute state with 19-gun salute ...
Royal Court.


History

Traveller and photographer
Louis Rousselet Louis-Théophile Marie Rousselet (1845-1929) was a French traveller, writer, photographer and pioneer of the darkroom. His photographic work now commands high prices. Many of his drawings and photographs were made into engravings by others. Li ...
wrote in ''Le Fils du Connétable'' when he had visited Isabella de Bourbon, known in the Court as Bourbon Sirdar, and got struck by her "European type". This is his account of his surprise to find a Bourbon Princess in Bhopal: Kincaid's account of Jean de Bourbon's exile and settlement in India reads: More detailed accounts can be found in , and (both written by Charles Augustus, William Kincaid's son), and The family held the position of Governor of the Imperial Seraglio until the fall of
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
after the invasion of Nader Shah in 1739 when Francis II (1718-1778) moved to their principality of Shergar to be the last Raja of Shergar. He was attacked by the troops of the Raja of Narwar in 1778 (General Sir John Malcolm 1823) and died alongside most of the family . His surviving son Salvadore II and his two sons moved to
Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...
and finally to
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
. All the members of the Bourbons of Bhopal were known at the Bhopal Court by Muslim names. They were the most influential and wealthiest family in Bhopal, second only to the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
themselves. The most prominent members of the family were Balthazar of Bourbon- Shazad Masih (1772-1829), son of Salvadore II. He became prime minister in 1820 until he was poisoned by Afghan nobles in 1829. Masih married an English lady, Isabella Johnston, the princess that French traveler Rousellet met. Their son, Sebastian of Bourbon-Mehrban Masih (1830-1878) was appointed prime minister (1857) to the Begums and built one of the most beautiful palaces in Bhopal, the Shaukat Mahal, and the Catholic Church of Bhopal, on land bequeathed by his mother Princess Isabella (died 1852). Eventually, the family fell out of favour during the last two reigns. After Indian independence, the new Indian state abolished the old jagirs (land entitlements) in 1948, and royal and noble status in 1971. Deprived of any privileges, the family joined the ranks of the working bourgeoisie. The Bourbons of Bhopal are certain that their direct ancestor Jean Phillipe was the secret son of the
Constable of France The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...
and his wife Duchess Suzanne, according to family oral traditions. Though there are no records of Jean Phillipe of Bourbon in official family genealogy of the House of Bourbon,
Prince Michael of Greece Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, (born 7 January 1939) is a Greek prince, historian, and author. He has written several historical books and biographies of Greek and other European figures, Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. " Burke’s Royal F ...
, in his book Le Rajah Bourbon (Michel de Grece 2007) gives a very plausible explanation to this and he does believe this branch of the Bourbons to be the oldest branch of the family. There are other different accounts of Jean de Bourbon's possible lineage. One has the constable survive the sack of Rome and eventually marry a Mughal princess named Alaïque, Jean Philippe's mother. Another possible candidate is a member of the
Bourbon-Busset The Bourbon-Busset family is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, being thus agnatic descendants of the Capetian dynasty. Historically, they have been regarded as non-dynastic since decisions rendered by Louis XI of France. Possibly, howe ...
branch, reported lost at sea in 1580, though the dates do not match.
Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon (born 29 July 1958) claims to be the senior descendant of the House of Bourbon and thus the pretender to the throne of the defunct Kingdom of France. His family, the " Bourbons of India", claim to be legitimate de ...
, the current head of the family of Bourbons in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, is the son of Salvadore de Bourbon (1917–1978), who claimed the lineage in his memoir ''Les Bourbons de l'Inde'', which was edited by Lucien Jailloux and published posthumously with a preface written by historian of India and member of L'École Française d'Extrème-Orient Jean Deloche. Salvadore de Bourbon's work is based upon nineteenth-century articles by people such as
Claude Sosthène Grasset d'Orcet Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etch ...
writing in ''
La Revue britannique LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
'' , Gabriel Ferrand writing in ''La Revue de Paris'' , and Colonel William Kincaid's ''Historical sketch of the Indian Bourbon family'' . The story goes that Jean Phillippe (simply "Jean de Bourbon" in some accounts), the secret son of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon, the so-called "''Constable of Bourbon''", arrived in the court of Mughal emperor
Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
in 1560, relating a tale of his journey there that included pirates, kidnapping, and an attempt to sell him in a slave market in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
.
Prince Michael of Greece Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, (born 7 January 1939) is a Greek prince, historian, and author. He has written several historical books and biographies of Greek and other European figures, Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. " Burke’s Royal F ...
has incorporated this into a historical novel, ''Le Rajah Bourbon'' , whose publication spurred a renewed interest in this claim to the French throne.


Claim to the Throne of France

The current head of the Bourbon-Bhopal family is
Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon (born 29 July 1958) claims to be the senior descendant of the House of Bourbon and thus the pretender to the throne of the defunct Kingdom of France. His family, the " Bourbons of India", claim to be legitimate de ...
, a lawyer by profession. De Bourbon's claim of link to the Bourbons of France was endorsed by
Prince Michael of Greece Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, (born 7 January 1939) is a Greek prince, historian, and author. He has written several historical books and biographies of Greek and other European figures, Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. " Burke’s Royal F ...
in his historical novel, ''Le Rajah Bourbon'' . The novel, described as "an amalgam of conjecture and research", offers a speculative biography of De Bourbon's purported ancestor Jean Philippe de Bourbon. According to the novel, Jean Philippe was a nephew of King Henry IV, which would technically make Balthazar Napoleon the eldest in line to the
French Throne France was ruled by Monarch, monarchs from the establishment of the West Francia, Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Cl ...
.Bourbon of Indian vintage
, 10 January 2008, ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''
The author states that he completely believes in his theory, although he does not have absolute proof of it. In 2008, Prince Michael favoured a
DNA test Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, o ...
, "perhaps from a surviving lock of Bourbon hair", to verify De Bourbon's claim of kinship. De Bourbon stated that he was ready to undergo the DNA test, but that he wanted to know "if the original samples will be available for matching since there were frequent inter-marriages among European royal families."Heir to France's Bourbon rulers loves India
, 7 March 2007,
DNA India ''Zee Media Corporation Limited'' (abbreviated as ZMCL; formerly Zee News Limited) is the news broadcasting company of the Essel Group which is controlled by Subhash Chandra. The company is engaged mainly in the business of broadcasting of news ...


See also

*
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 ...
*
Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon (born 29 July 1958) claims to be the senior descendant of the House of Bourbon and thus the pretender to the throne of the defunct Kingdom of France. His family, the " Bourbons of India", claim to be legitimate de ...
, head of the Indian branch of the family from India. *
List of heirs to the French throne The following is a list of the heirs to the throne'' of the Kingdom of France, that is, those who were legally next in line to assume the throne upon the death of the King. From 987 to 1792, all heirs to the French throne were male-line descen ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading


Fiction

*


Non-fiction

* * * * * * * * * * * ** Also published as: * * * *


External links


The Royal House of Bourbon in India


* * ttps://amp.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/03/india.france Found in India the last king of France 2 March 2007, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
The next King of France? An Indian!
21 August 2007, ''
Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...
''
Bourbon of Indian vintage
10 January 2008, ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''


Genealogies

* https://web.archive.org/web/20021001143022/http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/1998-02/0886979312 * * http://genroy.free.fr/bourbon.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourbons Of India House of Bourbon (Spain) People from Bhopal Pretenders to the French throne