View source for Legitimists

{{short description|French royalist faction}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
[[File:Royal Standard, raised in the presence of the King of France (legitimist version since 1962) (1).svg|thumb|right|Legitimist flag bearing the great arms of the Legitimist pretender to the crown of France since 1962]]

The '''Legitimists''' ({{langx|fr|Légitimistes}}) are [[royalist]]s who adhere to the rights of [[dynastic succession]] to the [[French crown]] of the descendants of the eldest branch of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 [[July Revolution]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Wiley-Blackwell Dictionary of Modern European History Since 1789 |editor1-first=Nicholas |editor1-last=Atkin |editor2-first=Michael |editor2-last=Biddiss |editor3-first=Frank |editor3-last=Tallett |title=Legitimism |page=239 |year=2011 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |place=Malden}}</ref> They reject the claim of the [[July Monarchy]] of 1830–1848 which placed [[Louis Philippe I|Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans]], head of the [[House of Orléans|Orléans]] [[cadet branch]] of the Bourbon dynasty, on the throne until he too was dethroned and driven with his family into exile.

Following the movement of [[Ultra-royalist]]s during the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]] of 1814, Legitimists came to form one of France's three main [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] factions, which were principally characterized by their [[counter-revolutionary]] views. According to historian [[René Rémond]], the other two right-wing factions were the [[Orléanist]]s and the [[Bonapartist]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nord |first=Philip |date=28 July 2021 |url=https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/expressions/right-origins-french-right |title=Right On: The Origins of the French Right |publisher=[[Institut Montaigne]]}}</ref>

Legitimists believe that the traditional rules of succession, based on the [[Salic law]], determine the rightful [[King of France]]. The last ruling king whom Legitimists acknowledge as legitimate was [[Charles X of France|Charles X]], and when the line of his heirs became extinct in 1883 with the death of his grandson [[Henri, Count of Chambord]], the most senior heir to the throne according to the [[Blancs d'Espagne]] was [[Infante Juan, Count of Montizón]], a descendant of Louis XIV through his grandson [[Philip V of Spain]]. 

The fact that all Legitimist claimants since 1883 have been members of the [[Monarchy of Spain|Spanish royal dynasty]] as well as the fact that Philip V renounced his and his lines claims to the French throne in the [[Treaty of Utrecht]], are all irrelevant according to Legitimists; however, these facts have prompted other French royalists to pivot to support of the [[Orléanist|Orléans line]], who would be next in the traditional line of succession if Philip V's heirs were excluded.

The current Legitimist [[pretender]] is [[Louis Alphonse de Bourbon|Prince Louis, Duke of Anjou]], the senior great-grandson of [[Alfonso XIII|Alfonso XIII of Spain]] by male [[primogeniture]], whose line was excluded from the Spanish succession due to the renunciations of [[Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia]].

== History ==
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2015}}
{{Monarchism}}
{{Conservatism in France|Ideologies}}

=== Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) ===
{{main|Ultra-royalist{{!}}Ultra-royalists}}
Following the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]] in 1814, a strongly restricted [[census suffrage]] sent to the [[Chamber of Deputies]] an [[Ultra-royalist]] majority in 1815–1816 (''la [[Chambre introuvable]]'') and from 1824 to 1827. Known to be more royalist than the king (''plus royalistes que le roi''), the Ultras were the dominant political faction under [[Louis XVIII]] (1815–1824) and [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] (1824–1830). Opposed to the [[constitutional monarchy]] of Louis XVIII and to the limitation of the [[sovereignty|sovereign]]'s power, they hoped to restore the [[Ancien Régime]] and cancel the [[Liberalism|liberal]], [[Republicanism|republican]] and [[Democracy|democratic]] ideas of the [[French Revolution]]. While Louis XVIII hoped to moderate the restoration of Bourbon rule to make it acceptable to the population, the Ultras would never abandon the dream of an integral restoration, even after the 1830 [[July Revolution]] which set the [[House of Orléans|Orléanist]] branch on the throne and sent the Ultras back to private life in their country chateaux. Their importance during the Restoration was in part due to electoral laws which largely favored them (on one hand a [[Chambre des pairs|Chamber of Peers]] composed of hereditary members and on the other a Chamber of Deputies elected under a heavily restricted census suffrage which permitted approximately 100,000 voters).

Louis XVIII's first ministers, who included [[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord]], [[Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu]] and [[Élie, duc Decazes]], were replaced by the Ultra-dominated ''Chambre introuvable.'' Louis XVIII finally decided to dissolve this chaotic assembly, but had an equally difficult relationship with the new liberals who replaced them. After the 1820 assassination of [[Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry]], the ultra-[[reactionary]] son of the comte d'Artois (Louis XVIII's brother and future Charles X) and a short interval during which Richelieu governed, the Ultras were back in government headed by the [[Jean-Baptiste de Villèle]].

The death in 1824 of the moderate Louis XVIII emboldened the Ultra faction. In January 1825, Villèle's government passed the [[Anti-Sacrilege Act]] which punished by [[capital punishment|death]] the theft of sacred vessels (with or without consecrated hosts). This anachronistic law (according to  [[Jean-Noël Jeanneney]]) was in the end never applied (except on a minor point) and repealed in the first months of [[Louis Philippe I|Louis Philippe]]'s reign (1830–1848). The Ultras also wanted to create courts to punish [[Radicalization|radicals]] and passed laws [[freedom of the press|restricting the press]].

After the 1830 July Revolution replaced the Bourbons with the more liberal Orléanist branch, the Ultras' influence declined, although it survived until at least the [[16 May 1877 crisis]] and 1879. They softened their views and made the restoration of the [[House of Bourbon]] their main aim. From 1830 on, they became known as Legitimists.

=== Legitimists under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) ===
During the [[July Monarchy]] of 1830 to 1848, when the junior Orléanist branch held the throne, the Legitimists were politically marginalized, many withdrawing from active political life. Until 1844, the situation was complicated by debate as to who the Bourbon heir was, as [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] and his son, the Dauphin [[Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême|Louis-Antoine]] had both [[Abdication|abdicated]] during the 1830 Revolution in favor of Charles's young grandson, [[Henri, Count of Chambord]]. Until the deaths of Charles X and his son in 1836 and 1844, many Legitimists continued to recognize each of them in turn as the rightful king, ahead of Chambord.

=== Legitimists under the Second Republic and the Second Empire (1848–1871) ===
The fall of King [[Louis Philippe I]] in 1848 led to a strengthening of the Legitimist position. Although the childlessness of Chambord weakened the hand of the Legitimists, they came back into political prominence during the [[French Second Republic|Second Republic]]. Legitimists joined with Orleanists to form the [[Party of Order]] which dominated parliament from the elections of May 1849 until Bonaparte's coup on 2 December 1851. They formed a prominent part of [[Odilon Barrot]]'s ministry from December 1848 to November 1849, and in 1850 were successful in passing the [[Frédéric Alfred Pierre, comte de Falloux|Falloux]] Law which brought the [[Catholic Church]] back into secondary education.

Through much of this time there was discussion of fusion with the [[Orléanist]] party in their common interest of a monarchical restoration. This prospect prompted several sons of Louis Philippe to declare their support for Chambord, but fusion was not achieved, and after 1850 the two parties again diverged. The most committed Orléanists supported the candidacy of Louis Philippe's third son, [[François d'Orléans, Prince of Joinville]], for the [[President of France|presidency]] while the Legitimists largely supported allowing [[Napoleon III|Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte]] to run for a second term. In spite of this support for Bonaparte's ambitions, they opposed his scheme to restore universal suffrage in the last months of 1851, and their leaders, like those of the Orléanists, were arrested during Bonaparte's coup.

The period of the [[Second French Empire|Second Empire]] saw the Legitimists once again cast out of active political life.

=== Legitimists under the Third Republic (1871–1940) ===
Nevertheless, the Legitimists remained a significant party within [[elite]] opinion, attracting the support of the larger part of the remaining [[Ancien Régime]] aristocracy. After the [[Siege of Paris (1870–1871)|Siege of Paris in 1870 and the 1871]] [[Paris Commune]], the Legitimists returned one final time to political prominence. The [[1871 French legislative election|8 February 1871 election]], held under [[Universal suffrage|universal manhood suffrage]], gave the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] a royalist majority supported by the provinces while all the Parisian deputies were [[Republicanism|republican]]. This time the Legitimists were able to agree with the Orléanists on a program of fusion largely because of the growing likelihood that the Chambord would die without children. The liberal Orléanists agreed to recognize Chambord as king and the Orléanists claimant himself [[Prince Philippe, Count of Paris]] (1838–1894) recognized Chambord as head of the French royal house. In return, Legitimists in the Assembly agreed that should Chambord die childless, Philippe d'Orléans would succeed him as king. Unfortunately for French monarchism, Chambord's refusal to accept the [[Flag of France|tricolor]] as the flag of France and to abandon the ''[[fleur-de-lys]]'', symbol of the Ancien Régime, made restoration impossible until after his death in 1883, by which time the monarchists had long since lost their parliamentary majority due to the [[16 May 1877 crisis]]. The death of Chambord effectively dissolved the Legitimists as a political force in France.

Affected by [[sinistrisme]], few [[Conservatism in France|conservatives]] explicitly called themselves [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] during the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] as it became a term associated with the [[Counter-revolutionary|counter-revolution]] and anti-republican feelings and by the 1900s was reserved for [[reactionary]] groups. Those Legitimists who had [[rallied to the Republic]] in 1893, after Chambord's death ten years before still called themselves {{lang|fr|Droite constitutionnelle}} or {{lang|fr|républicaine}} (Constitutional or Republican Right). However, they changed their name in 1899 and entered the [[1902 French legislative election|1902 elections]] under the name {{lang|fr|[[Action libérale]]}} (Liberal Action). By 1910, the only group which openly claimed descent from the right wing gathered only nostalgic royalists. From 1924 on, the term right-wing practically vanished from the parliamentary right's glossary.

By this time, the vast majority of Legitimists had retired to their country chateaux and abandoned the political arena. Although the {{lang|fr|[[Action française]]}} (French Action) remained an influential movement throughout the 1930s, its motivations for the restoration of monarchy were quite distinct from older Legitimists' views and [[Charles Maurras]]' instrumental use of Catholicism set them at odds. Thus, Legitimists participated little in the political events of the 1920s and 1930s, in particular in the [[6 February 1934 riots]] organized by [[Far-right politics|far-right]] leagues. The royalist [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocrats]] clearly distinguished themselves from the new ultra right which was influenced by the emerging movements of [[fascism]] and [[Nazism]]. However, Legitimists joined Maurras in celebrating the fall of the Third Republic after the 1940 [[Battle of France]] as a [[divine surprise]] and many of them entered [[Philippe Pétain]]'s [[Vichy regime|Vichy]] administration, seeing a golden opportunity to impose a reactionary program in occupied France.

=== Legitimists under Vichy and after World War II (1940–1989) ===
French royalism largely receded to irrelevance in World War II and beyond.  While before World War II, many French conservatives and other members of the right also harbored royalist aspirations, conservative movements dropped this platform during and after the war.  Charles de Gaulle's center-rightist [[Gaullism]] explicitly repudiated monarchism, and far-right organizations disdained the old aristocratic elite.  According to historian [[René Rémond]]'s studies of right-wing factions in France, Legitimists strongly supported the Vichy regime; nevertheless, they received little from the Vichy government, and the regime emphasized Catholic traditionalism rather than a return to aristocracy.  

Legitimism revived after the Second World War for several reasons. 

* In 1946, the senior Capetian heir, [[Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia]], the eldest surviving son of King [[Alfonso XIII]] of Spain, who 13 years earlier had renounced his rights to the throne of Spain on account of his deafness, took up the courtesy title of Duke of Anjou. 
* The academic work of historians like [[Hervé Pinoteau]], jurists like Guy Augé and Stéphane Rials or genealogists like Patrick Van Kerrebrouck challenging the Orléanist theses have received a certain response from the public.
* The positions taken by [[Henri, Count of Paris (1908–1999)|Henri d'Orléans, Count of Paris]], in particular in favor of [[General de Gaulle]], [[Algerian independence]] and [[François Mitterrand]] shocked certain royalists.
* During the Capetian millennium of 1987, the then senior Capetian heir, [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz|Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou and Cadiz]], elder son of the aforementioned Infante Jaime, made himself known by presiding over numerous commemorative ceremonies. In the wake of the Capetian millennium, media personalities like Thierry Ardisson popularized Legitimist conceptions.

Since the accession of King [[Juan Carlos I]] of Spain in 1975, the senior Capetian heirs have not laid claim to the throne of Spain. The Legitimist suitor having had French nationality (which he had since birth, owing to his French mother) in 1987, and passing the nationality on to his son (the current suitor), certain arguments of the partisans of Orléans would have become obsolete.

According to René Rémond, [[Marcel Lefebvre]]'s [[Society of Saint Pius X]], founded in 1970, shares aspects with the Legitimist movement.  Nevertheless, Legitimism is a largely spent force.

=== Legitimism from 1989 to present, under the pretendence of Louis de Bourbon ===

Current legitimism has several instances:
* The private secretariat of [[Louis Alphonse de Bourbon|Louis de Bourbon]], which takes care of his public affairs (diary, outings and official participation in the various events to which he is invited).
*The Secretariat also manages the Prince's communication and in particular his official website www.legitimite.fr as well as his presence on social networks.
* On the cultural level, the Institute of the House of Bourbon (IMB) was founded in 1973 at the request of Jacques-Henri de Bourbon. It was recognized as being of public utility in 1997. Its honorary president is [[Louis Alphonse de Bourbon|Prince Louis, Duke of Anjou]] and its president, Charles Emmanuel, [[Duke of Bauffremont]] (born 1946), who succeeded his father in this position. In order to make better known the work of the kings who made France, the IMB organizes symposiums, conferences, travel exhibitions, and various commemorations. It also has a sponsorship and heritage protection action (commemorative plaques, restoration of graves, monuments, etc.)
* The Union of Legitimist Circles of France (UCLF), founded in 1979 by Gérard Saclier de La Bâtie. Its objective is to encourage the study of French historical legitimacy and to make the monarchy known. It brings together a large number of associations and circles and organizes political training days and demonstrations.
* {{lang|fr|Le [[Cercle d'action legitimiste]]}} (CAL), founded in 2012 by Loïc Baverel. Originally conceived as a branch of the UCLF, Loïc Baverel wanted to change militant methods by creating his own Circle. The objective of the CAL is political and aims to professionalize the militant approach in order to promote Legitimist principles.

== Spanish Bourbons ==
{{main|Blancs d'Espagne}}
A remnant of Legitimists, known as the {{lang|fr|Blancs d'Espagne}} (Whites of Spain), by repudiating [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]]'s renunciation of the French throne as {{lang|la|[[ultra vires]]}} and contrary to the fundamental French monarchical law, upheld the rights of the eldest branch of the Bourbons, represented as of 1883 by the [[Carlism|Carlist]] pretender to the Spanish throne. This group was initially minuscule, but it began to grow larger after [[World War II]] due both to the [[Left-wing politics|political leftism]] of the Orléanist pretender [[Henri, Count of Paris (1908–1999)|Henri, Count of Paris]] and to the active efforts of the claimants of the elder line after extinction of the Carlist male line—[[Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia]], the disinherited second son of [[Alfonso XIII|Alfonso XIII of Spain]]; and his son [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz|Prince Alphonse, Duke of Anjou]]—to secure Legitimist support, such that by the 1980s the elder line had fully reclaimed for its supporters the political title of Legitimists.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

The Spanish-born [[Louis Alphonse de Bourbon|Prince Luis Alfonso]] is the Bourbon whom the French Legitimists consider to be the ''de jure'' king of France under the name ''Louis XX''. A 1987 attempt<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/proces2.htm |title=Lawsuit brought by the comte de Clermont against the duc d'Anjou (1988–89) |work=Heraldica.org |access-date=2 August 2014}}</ref> by the Orléanist heir (and other Bourbons, none of the elder branch) to contest Louis-Alphonse's use of the Anjou title<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/apanage.htm#early-modern |title=Apanages in the French Monarchy |work=Heraldica.org |date=22 April 2010 |access-date=2 August 2014}}</ref> and to deny him use of the plain [[coat of arms]] of France was dismissed by the French courts in March 1989 for lack of jurisdiction (the courts did not address the merits of the claims). He is a French citizen through his paternal grandmother and is generally recognised as the senior legitimate representative of the [[Capetian dynasty|House of Capet]].

== Dynastic arguments ==
{{original research|date=October 2011}}
Legitimists consider the valid rationale for restoration and the order of succession to the French throne derives from fundamental laws of the [[Ancien Régime]], which were formed in the early centuries of the Capetian monarchy.

According to these rules, monarchy is the basic form of government and the monarch the indispensable executive of government, succession to the throne being hereditary and passing by [[Salic law|Salic]] [[primogeniture]]. Thus, females and any male who is not the {{lang|fr|premier né}} (i.e. the legitimate eldest descendant of the most senior Capetian line) are excluded from the throne. The king must also be Catholic.{{dubious|date=May 2024}}

Other tenets of the Legitimist position are the following:
* Continuity (or immediacy) of the crown as upon the death of a monarch his heir automatically and immediately becomes king without the need of any formal act of investiture and even if political circumstances would not allow him to actually take power.
* Unavailability (or inalienability) of the crown as it is not the personal property of the king, therefore nobody, not even the king himself, can alter the line of succession by abdication, renunciation, or appointment of an heir of his own choosing. This argument is crucial for Legitimists regarding the continuing validity of the rights of succession of the Spanish line of Philip V and his descendants. According to this view, Philip's renunciation of his rights of succession to the French throne in the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] of 1713 was null and void and therefore his descendants still retain their claim to the French throne ahead of the Orléans line.

It has been a point of contention within the Legitimist camp to what extent French nationality constitutes a precondition for royal succession. While adherents of the Spanish Anjou line argue that princes of foreign nationality can still succeed to the French crown,<ref name="sainty">{{cite web |url=http://www.chivalricorders.org/royalty/bourbon/france/frenlegt.htm |title=The French Legitimist Case |first=Guy Stair |last=Sainty |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613004735/http://chivalricorders.org/royalty/bourbon/france/frenlegt.htm |archive-date=13 June 2010}}</ref> others hold that French nationality of both the claimant and his ancestors is a requirement.<ref name="dumoulin">A. Pedone, ed. {{lang|fr|2=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SmNIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA190 Revue d'Histoire Diplomatique]}} (1889). Volume 3. {{lang|fr|italic=no|Société d'Histoire Générale et d'Histoire Diplomatique: Société d'Histoire Diplomatique}}. Paris {{in lang|fr}}. p. 190. Retrieved 11 October 2011.</ref><ref name="velde1">Velde, François (31 December 2004). [https://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/nationality.htm "The Nationality Requirement in the French succession laws"]. ''Heraldica''. Retrieved 11 October 2011.</ref>

== List of Legitimist claimants to the French throne ==
{|style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:22%;"|Claimant
!style="width:105px;"|Portrait
!Birth
!style="width:25%;"|Marriages
!style="width:19%;"|Death
|-
|'''[[Louis XVI|Louis XVI of France]]'''<br />1792–1793
|[[File:Louis XVI of France.jpg|100px]]
|23 August 1754, Versailles<br />Son of [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765)|Louis, Dauphin of France]]<br />and [[Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France|Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, Dauphine of France]]
|[[Marie Antoinette|Marie Antoinette of Austria]]<br />16 May 1770<br />4 children
|21 January 1793<br />Paris<br />Aged 38
|-
|'''[[Louis XVII|Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France]]'''<br />'''(Louis XVII)'''<br />1793–1795
|[[File:Louis Charles of France6.jpg|100px]]
|27 March 1785, Versailles<br />Son of [[Louis XVI|Louis XVI of France]]<br />and [[Marie Antoinette]] of Austria
|Never married
|8 June 1795<br />Paris<br />Aged 10
|-
|'''[[Louis XVIII]]'''<br />1795–1824<br />(King of France 1814–1815, 1815–1824)
|[[File:Louis Stanislas Xavier de Bourbon, Comte de Provence, the future King Louis XVIII.png|100px]]
|17 November 1755, Versailles<br />Son of [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765)|Louis, Dauphin of France]]<br />and [[Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France|Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, Dauphine of France]]
|[[Marie Joséphine of Savoy]]<br />14 May 1771<br />No children
|16 September 1824<br />Paris<br />Aged 68
|-
|'''[[Charles X of France|Charles X]]'''<br />1824–1836<br />(King of France 1824–1830)
|[[File:Portrait of charles x 1757-183 hi.jpg|100px]]
|9 October 1757, Versailles<br />Son of [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765)|Louis, Dauphin of France]]<br />and [[Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France|Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, Dauphine of France]]
|[[Marie Thérèse of Savoy]]<br />16 November 1773<br />3 children
|6 November 1836<br />[[Gorizia]]<br />Aged 79
|-
|'''[[Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême]]'''<br />'''(Louis XIX)'''<br />1836–1844
|[[File:N10377-157-4fd4h-web.jpg|100px]]
|6 August 1775, Versailles<br />Son of [[Charles X of France|Charles X]]<br />and [[Maria Theresa of Savoy|Marie Thérèse of Savoy]]
|[[Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême]]<br />10 June 1799<br />No children
|3 June 1844<br />[[Gorizia]]<br />Aged 68
|-
|'''[[Henri, Count of Chambord]]'''<br />'''(Henri V)'''<br />1844–1883
|[[File:Roi Henri V de Bourbon.jpg|100px]]
|29 September 1820, Paris<br />Son of [[Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry]]<br />and [[Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry]]
|[[Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1817–1886)|Marie Thérèse of Austria-Este]]<br />7 November 1846<br />No children
|24 August 1883<br />[[Schloss Frohsdorf]]<br />Aged 63
|-
|}

===The Succession after Henri, Count of Chambord===
====House of Orléans====

In the 1870s, the rival Legitimist and Orléanist claimants agreed for the sake of restoration of the monarchy in France to end their rivalry. [[Prince Philippe, Count of Paris|Philippe d'Orléans, Count of Paris]] and grandson of Louis Philippe I, accepted the prior claim to the throne of Chambord, who remained childless; Chambord in turn acknowledged that Philippe would claim the right to succeed him as heir, and after his death many Legitimists accepted the descendants of Philippe as the rightful pretenders and became known as Unionists.<ref>{{cite book |title=The ralliement in French politics, 1890–1898 |url=https://archive.org/details/ralliementinfren0000sedg |url-access=registration |first=Alexander |last=Sedgwick |year=1965 |place=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/ralliementinfren0000sedg/page/12 12]|isbn=9780674747517 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/dreux-breze.htm "Henri-Scipion-Charles, marquis de Dreux-Brézé"].</ref>

{|style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
!width=22%|Claimant !! width=105px|Portrait !! Birth !! width=25%|Marriages !! width=19%|Death
|-
|'''[[Prince Philippe, Count of Paris|Philippe, Count of Paris]]'''<br>'''(Philippe VII)'''<br>1883–1894||[[File:Philippe d'Orléans comte de Paris.jpg|100px]] || 24 August 1838<br>Paris<br>Son of [[Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans]] and [[Duchess Helen of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]||[[Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans]]<br>30 May 1864<br>8 children || 8 September 1894<br>[[Stowe House]]<br>Aged 56
|-
|'''[[Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926)|Philippe, Duke of Orléans]]'''<br>'''(Philippe VIII)'''<br>1894–1926 || [[File:Philippe, Duke of Orléans.jpg|100px]] || 24 August 1869<br>[[York House, Twickenham]]<br>Son of [[Prince Philippe, Count of Paris|Philippe, Count of Paris]] and [[Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans]]||[[Archduchess Maria Dorothea of Austria]]<br>5 November 1896<br>No children || 28 March 1926<br>[[Palermo]]<br>Aged 56
|-
|'''[[Prince Jean, Duke of Guise|Jean, Duke of Guise]]'''<br>'''(Jean III)'''<br>1926–1940 || [[File:Jean d'Orléans (1874-1940).jpg|100px]] || 4 September 1874<br>France<br>Son of [[Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres|Robert, Duke of Chartres]] and [[Princess Françoise d'Orléans (1844–1925)|Marie-Françoise of Orléans]]||[[Princess Isabelle d'Orléans (1878–1961)|Isabelle of Orléans]]<br>30 October 1899<br>4 children || 25 August 1940<br>[[Larache, Morocco|Larache, Spanish Morocco]]<br>Aged 65
|-
|'''[[Henri, Count of Paris (1908–1999)|Henri, Count of Paris]]'''<br>'''(Henri VI)'''<br>1940–1999 || [[File:HenriDOrleans-StudioHarcourt-1951.png|138x138px]]|| 5 July 1908<br>Chateau de Nouvion-en-Thiérache, [[Aisne]], France<br>Son of [[Prince Jean, Duke of Guise|Jean, Duke of Guise]] and [[Princess Isabelle d'Orléans (1878–1961)|Isabelle of Orléans]]||[[Princess Isabelle, Countess of Paris|Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza]]<br>8 April 1931<br>11 children || 19 June 1999<br>[[Chérisy]]<br>Aged 90
|-
|'''[[Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019)|Henri, Count of Paris]]'''<br>'''(Henri VII)'''<br>1999–2019 || [[File:Henri d'Orléans, comte de Paris, à Poissy, le 27 avril 2014..jpg|100px]] || June 14, 1933<br>[[Woluwe-Saint-Pierre]], Belgium<br>Son of [[Henri, Count of Paris (1908–1999)|Henri, Count of Paris]] and [[Princess Isabelle, Countess of Paris|Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza]]||[[Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Montpensier]]<br>5 July 1957<br>5 children<br>[[Micaela, Countess of Paris|Micaëla Cousiño Quiñones de León]]<br>31 October 1984<br>(Civil)<br>26 September 2009<br>(Religious)|| 21 January 2019<br>[[Paris]]<br>Aged 85
|-
|'''[[Jean, Count of Paris]]'''<br>'''(Jean IV)'''<br>2019–present|| [[File:Jean d'Orléans.jpg|100px]] || May 19, 1965<br>Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France<br>Son of [[Henri, Count of Paris (1933-2019)|Henri, Count of Paris]] and [[Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg|Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg]]||Philomena de Tornos Steinhart<br>19 March 2009<br>5 children ||
|-
|}

====House of Bourbon-Anjou====
Those Legitimists who did not accept the Orléanist line as the successors of Chambord argued that the renunciation of the French throne by Philip V of Spain, second grandson of Louis XIV, was invalid; in 1883 (when Chambord died childless), the throne passed by right to Philip V's heirs in the male-line. In 1883, the senior male of the Spanish branch of Bourbons was [[Infante Juan, Count of Montizón]]. His father, [[Infante Carlos, Count of Molina]], had lost Spain's throne in favour of his niece, the [[Salic Law|non-Salic]] heiress of his elder brother, [[Isabella II of Spain|Isabella II]] and his lineage became known as the [[Carlism|Carlist]] pretenders in Spain.

When the Carlist branch died out in 1936, the French claim was inherited by the Isabelline Spanish line. As Isabella II's consort and (official) father of her children was her paternal first cousin, [[Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz]], (a male-line grandson of Charles IV via his third son, [[Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain]]) their grandson, [[Alfonso XIII]], was now the most senior agnatic descendant of Philip V (although by that time Alfonso had been dethroned by the [[Second Spanish Republic]]). The French and Spanish claims separated at Alfonso's death as his eldest surviving son [[Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia]] renounced his claim to the Spanish throne due to physical disability and some years later asserted a claim to the French succession based on Legitimist principles. The present French Legitimist claimant descends from Jaime while the present king of Spain descends from his younger brother Don Juan.<ref>There are, however, some Legitimists who have questioned the claims of all pretenders from Alfonso XIII onward, as it is commonly believed that his father, [[Alfonso XII]], was not the biological son of the Duke of Cadiz. If true, this would mean that [[Francisco de Borbón y Escasany, 5th Duke of Seville#Marriages and children|Francisco de Paula Joaquín de Borbón y Hardenberg]] (3rd great grandson of Cádiz's younger brother) is currently the true Legitimist heir to the French throne.</ref>

{|style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:22%;"|Claimant
!style="width:105px;"|Portrait
!Birth
!style="width:25%;"|Marriages
!style="width:19%;"|Death
|-
|'''[[Infante Juan, Count of Montizón]]'''<br />'''(Jean III)'''<br />1883–1887
|[[File:Jean III de France.png|100px]]
|15 May 1822, Aranjuez<br />Son of [[Infante Carlos, Count of Molina]]<br />and [[Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal]]
|[[Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este]]<br />6 February 1847<br />2 children
|21 November 1887<br />[[Hove]]<br />Aged 65
|-
|'''[[Infante Carlos, Duke of Madrid]]'''<br />'''(Charles XI)'''<br />1887–1909
|[[File:Carlos Duke of Madrid.jpg|100px]]
|30 March 1848, [[Ljubljana]]<br />Son of [[Infante Juan, Count of Montizón]]<br /> and [[Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este]]
|[[Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma]]<br />4 February 1867<br />5 children<br />[[Princess Berthe de Rohan]]<br />28 April 1894<br />No children
|18 July 1909<br />[[Varese]]<br />Aged 61
|-
|'''[[Infante Jaime, Duke of Madrid]]'''<br />'''(Jacques I)'''<br />1909–1931
|[[File:Don Jaime de Borbón1.jpg|100px]]
|27 June 1870, [[Vevey]]<br />Son of [[Infante Carlos, Duke of Madrid]]<br />and [[Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma]]
|Never married
|2 October 1931<br />[[París]]<br />Aged 61
|-
|'''[[Infante Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime]]'''<br />'''(Charles XII)'''<br />1931–1936
|[[File:Alfonso Carlos of Bourbon, Duke of San Jaime.JPG|100px]]
|12 September 1849<br />London<br />Son of [[Infante Juan, Count of Montizón]]<br />and [[Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este]]
|[[Infanta Maria das Neves of Portugal]]<br />26 April 1871<br />No children
|29 September 1936<br />[[Vienna]]<br />Aged 87
|-
|'''[[Alfonso XIII|Alfonso XIII of Spain]]'''<br />'''(Alphonse I)'''<br />1936–1941<br />
|[[File:Alfonso XIII, retrato con uniforme militar.jpg|100px]]
|17 May 1886, Madrid<br />Son of [[Alfonso XII|Alfonso XII of Spain]]<br />and [[Maria Christina of Austria]]
|[[Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg]]<br />31 May 1906<br />7 children
|28 February 1941<br />Rome<br />Aged 54
|-
|'''[[Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia]]'''<br />'''(Henri VI)'''<br />1941–1975
|[[File:Jaime Enrique de Borbón.jpg|100px]]
|23 June 1908, [[Segovia]]<br />Son of [[Alfonso XIII|Alfonso XIII of Spain]]<br />and [[Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg]]
|First marriage<br />[[Emmanuelle de Dampierre]]<br />4 March 1935<br />Rome<br />Divorced on 6 May 1947<ref>{{cite book |last=McNaughton |first=C. Arnold |title=The Book of Kings |volume=1 |publisher=Garnstone Press |year=1973 |location=London |page=432 |isbn=978-0-8129-0280-8}}</ref><br />2 children
----
Second marriage (civil only, not recognized by the Church)<br />[[Charlotte Tiedemann|Charlotte Luise Auguste Tiedemann]]<br />3 August 1949<br />[[Vienna]]<br />No children
|20 March 1975<br />[[St. Gallen]]<br />Aged 67
|-
|'''[[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz|Prince Alphonse, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz]]'''<br />'''(Alphonse II)'''<br />1975–1989
|[[File:Duke Alfonso 1963b.jpg|100px]]
|20 April 1936, Rome<br />Son of [[Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia]]<br />and [[Emmanuelle de Dampierre]]
|[[María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco]]<br />8 March 1972<br />[[Royal Palace of El Pardo]]<br />Divorced on 1982 and annulled in 1986<br />2 children
|30 January 1989<br />[[Beaver Creek, Colorado|Beaver Creek]]<br />Aged 53
|-
|'''[[Louis Alphonse de Bourbon|Prince Louis, Duke of Anjou]]'''<br />'''(Louis XX)'''<br />1989–present
|[[File:19 janvier 2020 (77) cropped.jpg|100px]]  
|25 April 1974, Madrid<br />Son of [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz]]<br />and [[Carmen Martínez-Bordiú|María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco]]
|[[Marie Marguerite, Duchess of Anjou|María Margarita Vargas Santaella]]<br />5 November 2004<br />[[Caracas]]<br />4 children
|
|}

== Electoral results ==
These are the results for broadly Legitimist parties in French national elections.
{|class=wikitable
|-
!Election year
!No. of<br />overall votes
!% of<br />overall vote
!No. of<br />overall seats won
!+/–
!Leader
|-
![[1831 French legislative election|1831]]
|28,270
|22.6
|{{composition bar|104|460|hex={{party color|Ultra-royalist}}}}
|{{center|{{steady}} 0}}
|{{center|[[François-René de Chateaubriand]]}}
|-
![[1834 French legislative election|1834]]
|4,218
|3.3
|{{composition bar|15|460|hex={{party color|Ultra-royalist}}}}
|{{center|{{decrease}} 89}}
|{{center|[[Pierre-Antoine Berryer]]}}
|-
![[1837 French legislative election|1837]]
|4,855
|3.2
|{{composition bar|15|460|hex={{party color|Ultra-royalist}}}}
|{{center|–}}
|{{center|[[Pierre-Antoine Berryer]]}}
|-
![[1839 French legislative election|1839]]
|8,655
|4.3
|{{composition bar|20|460|hex={{party color|Ultra-royalist}}}}
|{{center|{{increase}} 5}}
|{{center|[[Pierre-Antoine Berryer]]}}
|-
|colspan=7|[[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] ([[French Third Republic]])
|-
![[February 1871 French legislative election|1871]]
|Unknown (2nd)
|?
|{{composition bar|182|675|hex={{party color|Ultra-royalist}}}}
|{{center|{{increase}} 182}}
|{{center|[[Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot]]}}
|-
![[1876 French legislative election|1876]]
|332,470
|4.5
|{{composition bar|24|553|hex={{party color|Ultra-royalist}}}}
|{{center|{{decrease}} 158}}
|{{center|[[Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot]]}}
|-
![[1877 French legislative election|1877]]
|687,422
|8.5
|{{composition bar|44|521|hex={{party color|Ultra-royalist}}}}
|{{center|{{increase}} 20}}
|{{center|[[Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot]]}}
|}

== See also ==
{{stack|{{portal|conservatism|Monarchy|France}}}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Bonapartism]]
* [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]]
* [[Carlism]]
* [[France in the long nineteenth century]]
* [[French dynastic disputes]]
* [[Fundamental laws of the Kingdom of France]]
* [[Jacobitism]]
* [[Line of succession to the former French throne (Orléanist)|Line of succession to the French throne (Legitimist-Orléanist)]]
* [[Loyalism]]
* [[Miguelist]]
* [[Orléanist]]
* [[Party of Order]]
* [[René Rémond]]
* [[Reactionary]]
* [[Royalist]]
* [[Succession to the French throne]]
* [[Ultra-royalist]]s
* [[List of movements that dispute the legitimacy of a reigning monarch]]
* [[Bourbon-Orléanist Restoration Project]]{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{EB1911 Poster|Legitimists}}
* [https://uclf.org/ Union of Legitimist Circles of France]
* [https://www.royaute.info/ Institut de la Maison de Bourbon] {{in lang|fr}}

{{Pretenders to the French throne}}
{{House of Bourbon (France)}}
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{{Authority control}}

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