Monday, December 21, 2009

Awaiting a [Legitimist] Dauphin

"Tiberge" of GalliaWatch, a useful right-wing, monarchist-friendly blog intended for those interested in French history and politics who do not understand French, helpfully translates some recent royalist discussion about the pregnancy of Margarita Duchess of Anjou, wife of Legitimist claimant to the French throne Louis "XX," who is expecting twins (they already have a daughter), and the implications of the dispute between "Legitimists" and "Orleanists."

It is my position that since the extinction of the senior Bourbon line in 1883, it is possible to be a truly traditional monarchist, not desiring any ideological compromise with the principles of the French Revolution, and still regard the head of the House of Orléans, currently Henri "VII," as rightful King of France and heir not only to Louis Philippe but also to Henri V. The purely genealogical angle, focusing on whether the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht truly and validly excludes the Spanish Bourbons from the French throne (if so, Henri should be King; if not, Louis), tends to get overshadowed in these discussions by ideological, religious, and historical baggage. Henri's devoutly Catholic son Jean would certainly appear to be closer to the values of Louis XVI than to those of the despicable Philippe "Egalite." However, the perception that Henri "VII" necessarily stands for a modern secular constitutional monarchy like that of Spain's Juan Carlos, and only Louis "XX" can stand for the ancien regime and a thorough repudiation 0f the Revolution remains an influential one in French royalist circles and cannot be casually dismissed.

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