Question: Does the French royal family still exist?

Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou




French royal family
Legitimist
HRH The Duke of Anjou
HRH The Duchess of Anjou
HRH The Duke of Burgundy
HRH The Duke of Berry
HRH The Duke of Touraine
HRH Princess Eugenie

HRH The Duchess of Aquitainevt
Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou[1][2][3] (Spanish: Luis Alfonso Gonzalo Víctor Manuel Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú, French: Louis Alphonse Gonzalve Victor Emmanuel Marc de Bourbon;[4][5][6] born 25 April 1974 in Madrid) is a member of the Royal House of Bourbon, and one of the current pretenders to the defunct French throne as Louis XX.
As the senior male heir of Hugh Capet by traditional male-line primogeniture, he is often recognised as the "Head of the House of Bourbon", and by Legitimist royalists as the rightful claimant to the French crown, being the senior agnatic descendant of King Louis XIV of France (ruled 1643–1715) through his grandson King Philip V of Spain.[7]
Louis Alphonse is patrilineally the senior great-grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. However, his grandfather Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, renounced his rights to the Spanish throne for himself and his descendants due to his disability. The crown of Spain has descended to his second cousin, King Felipe VI of Spain. Through his mother, he is also a great-grandson of Spain's caudillo, General Francisco Franco and through his father, a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.[4]
Early life
Birth

Louis Alphonse was born in Madrid, the second son of Alfonso de Borbón, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, and of his wife María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, eldest granddaughter of Francisco Franco. Alfonso was at that time the dauphin (using "Duke of Bourbon" as title of pretence) according to those who supported the claim of his father, Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia to the French throne. On 20 March 1975, the Infante Jaime ("Henri VI" by Legitimist reckoning) died. Alfonso then asserted his claim to be both Head of the House of Bourbon and Legitimist claimant to the throne of France and the Co-Principality of Andorra. As such, he took the title "Duke of Anjou",[8] and on 19 September 1981 gave Louis Alphonse the title Duke of Touraine.
Childhood
Louis Alphonse's parents separated in 1982, and their Catholic marriage was annulled in 1986. His mother has since remarried 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.[9] From that date Louis Alphonse was recognised as the heir apparent to his father by the Legitimists. As such, he was given the additional title Duke of Bourbon on 27 September 1984 by his father.[9] 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 grandeeship.[9]
Succession
On 30 January 1989, his father died in a skiing accident near Vail, Colorado. Later, in 1994 Louis Alphonse would receive 150 million pesetas following a lawsuit against Vail Associated, which owned the ski resort where the accident occurred.[9] Louis Alphonse was recognised by some members of the Capetian dynasty as Chef de la Maison de Bourbon (Head of the House of Bourbon)[9][10] and took the title Duke of Anjou, but not his father's Spanish dukedom. He is considered the rightful pretender to the French throne by adherents of the Legitimist movement.[9]
Louis’ father was elected by the French Society of the Cincinnati to be the representative of Louis XVI (leading to the resignation of the Count of Paris, who had represented the Admiral d'Orléans). On 16 June 1994, Louis Alphonse was elected to succeed his father as the representative of Louis XVI,[11] whose military aid was instrumental to the independence of the United States of America.
In addition to his Spanish citizenship, Louis Alphonse acquired French nationality through his paternal grandmother, Emmanuelle de Dampierre, also a French citizen.[9] He attended the Lycée Français de Madrid, obtaining his COU in June 1992.[9] He studied economics at the IESE Business School. He worked several years for BNP Paribas, a French bank in Madrid. Although he regularly visited France, where his mother lived for several years, he continued to live in Spain.
In June 2006, Louis Alphonse did not attend his mother's third wedding, because he disapproved her separation from his stepfather, whom he greatly respected, and disagreed with her "celebrity" lifestyle.[12]
Marriage and children
Louis Alphonse's engagement to marry Venezuelan María Margarita Vargas Santaella, the daughter of Victor Vargas, was announced in November 2003. They were married civilly in Caracas on 5 November 2004 and religiously on 6 November 2004 in La Romana, Dominican Republic. 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, 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".[13] As from 2005, the couple resided in Venezuela, where he worked at Banco Occidental de Descuento, before moving to the United States. Subsequently, they took up residence in Madrid.
Louis Alphonse and María Margarita had their first child, Eugénie, on 5 March 2007, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami. She was baptised at the papal nunciature in Paris in June 2007. Her godparents are Prince Charles-Emmanuel of Bourbon-Parma and his wife Constance. Legitimists recognise her as Princess Eugénie (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.[14]
Their father has conferred upon them the historic French titles of, respectively, Duke of Burgundy (duc de Bourgogne), and Duke of Berry (duc de Berry). (In Spain, the twins are Don Luis and Don Alfonso de Borbón Vargas). Prince Louis, as Legitimist Dauphin of France, is expected to succeed his father as head of the French royal house, the senior Bourbon/Capetian line, in Legitimist reckoning. However, under Spanish law, and assuming Felipe VI does not in future father a son, the Spanish crown will be inherited by his elder daughter Leonor, Princess of Asturias, who will become queen regnant, and if Felipe does have a son, that son will inherit the Spanish throne regardless of the genealogical seniority of the Anjou branch. Louis and Alphonse were baptised on 5 September 2010 at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Louis' godparents were Arancha Martínez-Bordíu and Francisco D'Agostino and Alphonse's were Amparo Corell de Trenor, Baroness de Alacuas and Lorenzo Perales.
The couple are expecting their fourth child together, a boy, in Spring 2019.[15]
Heraldry


Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
Titles and styles of pretence in France:
1974 – 1984: His Royal Highness Louis Alphonse, fils de France (1974–1984)
1981 – 1984: His Royal Highness The Duke of Touraine (1981–1984)[16]
1984 – 1989: His Royal Highness the Duke of Bourbon (1984–1989)[16]
1989 – present: His Royal Highness the Duke of Anjou (1989–present)[4][6]
in pretense: His Most Christian Majesty The King of France
Titles and styles in Spain:
1974 - 2018: The Most Illustrious Don Luis Alfonso Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú
2018 - present: The Most Excellent Don Luis Alfonso Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú
The title "Duke of Anjou" was the last French title used by Philip V of Spain, in his capacity as a French prince, prior to his accession as Spanish king. It had long merged with the French crown, last granted by Louis XV to his grandson Louis XVIII of France in 1773. Since 1883, Legitimist pretenders use this style as a courtesy title.[8][17] According to Legitimist usage, dynasts who are French nationals are accorded the style Prince of the Blood (prince du sang).
He is expected to eventually succeed to the Dukedom of Franco, held by his mother Carmen Martínez-Bordiú, 2nd Duchess of Franco.[18]
Honours
 House of Bourbon: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Order of the Holy Spirit[19][20][21]
SMOM: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Obedience of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 1st Class[22][23][24]
Ancestry

Ancestors
Ancestors of Main Page16. Alfonso XII of Spain8. Alfonso XIII of Spain17. Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria4. Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia and Anjou18. Prince Henry of Battenberg9. Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg19. Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom2. Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz20. Richard de Dampierre, 1st Duca di San Lorenzo10. Roger de Dampierre, 2nd Duca di San Lorenzo21. Jeanne Marie Carraby5. Emmanuelle de Dampierre22. Emanuele Ruspoli, 1st Prince of Poggio Suasa11. Princess Vittoria Ruspoli of Poggio Suasa23. Josephine Mary Beers-Curtis1. Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou24. Andrés Martínez y Cobo de Guzmán12. José María Martínez y Ortega25. Catalina Ortega y Toledo6. Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquess of Villaverde26. Cristóbal Bordiú y de Prat, 9th Marquess de Villaverde13. María de la O Esperanza Bordiú y Bascarán, 7th Countess of Argillo27. María de la O de Bascarán y Reina3. María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco28. Nicolás Franco y Salgado-Araújo14. Francisco Franco y Bahamonde, Head of the State of Spain29. María del Pilar Bahamonde y Pardo de Andrade7. María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco30. Felipe Polo y Flórez de Vereterra15. María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, 1st Lady of Meirás31. Ramona Martínez-Valdés y Martínez-Valdés
Patrilineal descent
Louis is the senior agnate of the House of Bourbon, the senior-surviving cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, itself a branch of the Robertians.
Louis' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son (in accordance with Salic law). It follows the Kings of Spain, then of France, the Dukes and Counts of Vendôme, the Counts of La Marche, the first Duke of Bourbon, a Count of Clermont, and before them, again the Kings of France. The line can be traced back more than 1,200 years and is one of the oldest recorded lineages in Europe.
Robert II of Worms and Rheingau, 770–807
Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808–834
Robert IV the Strong, 830–866
Robert I of France, 866–923
Hugh the Great, 895–956
Hugh Capet, 941–996
Robert II of France, 972–1031
Henry I of France, 1008–1060
Philip I of France, 1053–1108
Louis VI of France, 1081–1137
Louis VII of France, 1120–1180
Philip II of France, 1165–1223
Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226
Louis IX of France, 1214–1270
Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317
Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, c. 1280–1342
James I, Count of La Marche, 1315–1362
John I, Count of La Marche, 1344–1393
Louis, Count of Vendôme, c. 1376–1446
John VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428–1478
Francis, Count of Vendôme, 1470–1495
Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537
King Antoine I of Navarre, 1518–1562
King Henry IV of France, 1553–1610
King Louis XIII of France, 1601–1643
King Louis XIV of France, 1638–1715
Crown Prince Louis de Bourbon of France, 1661–1711
King Philip V of Spain, 1683–1746
King Charles III of Spain, 1716–1788
King Charles IV of Spain, 1748–1819
Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain, 1794–1865
Francisco de Asis, Duke of Cádiz, 1822–1902
King Alfonso XII of Spain, 1857–1885
King Alfonso XIII of Spain, 1886–1941
Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, 1908–1975
Prince Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, 1936–1989
Prince Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, b. 1974


Bibliography
Thierry Ardisson. Louis XX. Contre-enquête sur la monarchie., Olivier Orban, 1986, ISBN2-85565-334-7
Jean Foyer, Titre et armes du prince Louis de Bourbon, Diffusion-Université-Culture, 1990.
Apezarena, José. Luis Alfonso de Borbón: Un príncipe a la espera. Forthcoming.
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.



 of which he is Président d'honneur under the appellation: