Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon | |
|---|---|
 Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon of Bourbon-Bhopal with his family, 2013 | |
| Born | 29 July 1958 |
| Noble family | House of Bourbon-Bhopal |
| Spouse(s) | Elisha Pacheco |
| Issue | Frederick de Bourbon Michelle de Bourbon Adrian de Bourbon |
| Father | Salvador III de Bourbon |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
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 descendants of the House of Bourbon, descended from Jean Philippe de Bourbon, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, an exiled French noble who served in Mughal Emperor Akbar's court. The family is also known as "Bourbon-Bhopal", a name derived from the city of Bhopal in central India where their last few generations have resided and worked in the royal court of the princely Bhopal State. Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon, the current head of the family is a lawyer and a part-time farmer by profession. He is married to Elisha Pacheco and has three children: Frederick, Michelle, and Adrian. His mission is "to preserve for history the political, cultural and religious contribution of the Bourbons of India in the subcontinent and prevent this important contribution from being relegated to a footnote in history books." [1]
On 22 May 2013, the Ambassador of France to India visited Bhopal and met with Balthazar of Bourbon at a function and in a statement declared, "It is extraordinary to have a Bourbon here today!" [2] [3]
In his historical novel, Le Rajah Bourbon, [4] the publication of which spurred a renewed interest in this claim to the French throne, Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark claimed that Balthazar Napoleon IV is the eldest in line to the French throne. [5] [6] [7] [8] Prince Michael of Greece said he would be willing to organize a DNA test to verify de Bourbon's claim of kinship. [9]
The Capetian dynasty, also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians agnatically, and the Karlings through female lines. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Capet, the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled in France without interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. The senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. That line was succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and then Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favor of the last Capetian monarch of France, Louis Philippe I, who belonged to the House of Orléans. Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon are still reigning over Spain and Luxembourg.
The House of Bourbon is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from the French Bourbons came to rule Spain in the 18th century and is the current Spanish royal family. Further branches, descended from the Spanish Bourbons, held thrones in Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Today, Spain and Luxembourg have monarchs of the House of Bourbon. The royal Bourbons originated in 1272, when Robert, the youngest son of King Louis IX of France, married the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon. The house continued for three centuries as a cadet branch, serving as nobles under the direct Capetian and Valois kings.
Charles IV was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808.
The grand ducal family of Luxembourg constitutes the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, headed by the sovereign grand duke, and in which the throne of the grand duchy is hereditary. It consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, whose sovereign territories passed cognatically from the House of Nassau to the House of Bourbon-Parma, itself a branch of the Spanish royal house which is agnatically a cadet branch of the House of Capet that originated in France, itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians and the Karlings and the founding house of the Capetian dynasty.
Ferdinand I was King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand IV and King of Sicily as Ferdinand III. He was deposed twice from the throne of Naples: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799, and again by a French invasion in 1806, before being restored in 1815 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
Louis Alphonse de Bourbon is the head of the House of Bourbon. Members of his family formerly ruled France and other countries.
Jacques Laffitte was a leading French banker, governor of the Bank of France (1814–1820) and liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies during the Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy. He was an important figure in the development of new banking techniques during the early stages of industrialization in France. In politics, he played a decisive role during the Revolution of 1830 that brought Louis-Philippe, the duc d'Orléans, to the throne, replacing the unpopular Bourbon king Charles X.
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 may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimate.
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon was a French military leader and noble. He was the count of Montpensier, Clermont-en-Auvergne, and dauphin of Auvergne from 1501 to 1525, and then duke of Bourbon and Auvergne, count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, Forez and La Marche, and lord of Beaujeu from 1505 to 1521. He was also the constable of France from 1515 to 1521. Also known as the Constable of Bourbon, he was the last of the great feudal lords to openly oppose the king of France. Bourbon and Francis I of France finally fell out over disputes concerning inheritance. Bourbon commanded the troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in what became known as the Sack of Rome in 1527, where he was killed.
Alfonso, Duke of Anjou, Duke of Cádiz, Grandee of Spain was a grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, a potential heir to the throne in the event of the restoration of the Spanish monarchy, and the Legitimist claimant to the throne of France.
Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, was a Greek historian, author, and member of the Greek royal family. He wrote several historical books and biographies of Greek and other European figures, in addition to working as a contributing writer to Architectural Digest.
The 4th House of Orléans, sometimes called the House of Bourbon-Orléans to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. The house was founded by Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger son of Louis XIII and younger brother of Louis XIV, the "Sun King".
The House of Capet ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians and the Karlings.
Maria Luisa of Parma was, by marriage to King Charles IV of Spain, Queen of Spain from 1788 to 1808 leading up to the Peninsular War. Her relationship with Manuel Godoy and influence over the King made her unpopular among the people and aristocrats. She was rivals with the Duchess of Alba and the Duchess of Osuna. The death of her daughter-in-law Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, whom she disliked, was said to be the result of poisoning by the Queen.
Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon, Prince of Montfort is the disputed head of the Imperial House of France, and as such the heir of Napoleon Bonaparte, the first Emperor of the French. He would be known as Napoleon VII.
The Bourbons of India are an Indian family who claim to be legitimate heirs of the House of Bourbon, descended from Jean Philippe de Bourbon, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, an exiled French noble who served in Mughal emperor Akbar's court. The family is also known as the House of Bourbon-Bhopal, a name derived from the city of Bhopal in central India where their last few generations resided and worked in the pre-independent Indian Bhopal State royal court.
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.
Demetrio Stefanopoli was a Corsican notable and military officer in French service. A member of the Greek community of Corsica, in 1782 he received letters patent from Louis XVI recognizing him as the descendant and heir of David Komnenos, the last Emperor of Trebizond, after which he was known in French as Démétrius Stephanopoli Comnène.
Lady Juliana was a woman who lived at the court of Mughal emperor Akbar. She is said to have been the physician in charge of Akbar's royal harem, and to have married the legendary Bourbon prince Jean-Philippe de Bourbon-Navarre, and to have been the sister of one of Akbar's wives. She is credited with building the first church in Agra.