Bourbon
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Bourbon
(bo͞orbôN`), European royal family, originally of France; a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. One branch of the Bourbons occupies the modern Spanish throne, and other branches ruled the Two Sicilies and Parma. It takes its name from the now ruined castle of Bourbon, at Bourbon-l'Archambault, Allier dept., which was the seat of a powerful family descended from Adhémar, a noble of the 9th cent.The French Bourbons
Robert of Clermont, sixth son of Louis IX of France, married (1272) Beatrice, heiress of Bourbon, and is considered the founder of the line. Robert's son, Louis, was created (1327) 1st duc de Bourbon. The ducal title remained with the descendants of his eldest son until 1527, when Charles, duc de Bourbon, died without issue. Because of his treason, his extensive fiefs were seized by the crown and the ducal title was discontinued.
A younger son of Louis, 1st duc de Bourbon, gave issue to the line of Bourbon-Vendôme. The marriage (1548) of Antoine de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, with Jeanne d'Albret added vast territories in S France (see AlbretAlbret
, former duchy, SW France, in the Landes of Gascony. The powerful lords of Albret became kings of Navarre by the marriage (1484) of Jean d'Albret with Catherine de Foix, queen of Navarre, who also brought him Foix and Béarn.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and the title king of Navarre to his other fiefs (Vendôme, Périgord, Rouergue). From Antoine's brother, Louis I de Condé, the houses of CondéCondé
, family name of a cadet branch of the French royal house of Bourbon. The name was first borne by Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé, 1530–69, Protestant leader and general.
..... Click the link for more information. and ContiConti
, cadet branch of the French royal house of Bourbon. Although the title of prince of Conti was created in the 16th cent., the founder of the continuous line was Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti,
..... Click the link for more information. were issued.
Antoine's son became (1589) the first Bourbon king of France as Henry IVHenry IV,
1553–1610, king of France (1589–1610) and, as Henry III, of Navarre (1572–1610), son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret; first of the Bourbon kings of France.
..... Click the link for more information. , the older branches of Louis IX's issue having become extinct (see ValoisValois
, royal house of France that ruled from 1328 to 1589. At the death of Charles IV, the last of the direct Capetians, the Valois dynasty came to the throne in the person of Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois and grandson of Philip III.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Henry IV was succeeded by his son, Louis XIII, and his grandson, Louis XIV. Louis XIV's descendants ruled France (except during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era, 1792–1814) until the deposition (1830) of Charles X (see FranceFrance
, officially French Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 60,656,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. France is bordered by the English Channel (N), the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay (W), Spain and Andorra (SW), the Mediterranean Sea (S; the location of the
..... Click the link for more information. ). With the death (1883) of Henri, comte de ChambordChambord, Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné, comte de
, 1820–83, Bourbon claimant to the French throne, posthumous son of Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry. His original title was duke of Bordeaux.
..... Click the link for more information. , grandson of Charles X, the senior French branch of Bourbon came to an end. From Louis XIV's brother Philip the cadet branch of Bourbon-Orléans (see OrléansOrléans
, family name of two branches of the French royal line.
The house of Valois-Orléans was founded by Louis, duc d'Orléans (see separate article), whose assassination (1407) caused the civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians.
..... Click the link for more information. , family) is issued; it furnished one king, Louis Philippe (1830–48), and inherited the claim to the French crown in 1883.
The Spanish Bourbons
The line of Bourbon-Spain, or Borbón, began with the accession (1700) of Philip VPhilip V,
1683–1746, king of Spain (1700–1746), first Bourbon on the Spanish throne. A grandson of Louis XIV of France, he was titular duke of Anjou before Charles II of Spain designated him as his successor.
..... Click the link for more information. , a grandson of Louis XIV, to the Spanish throne. He was succeeded by Ferdinand VI, Charles III, Charles IV, and Ferdinand VIIFerdinand VII,
1784–1833, king of Spain (1808–33), son of Charles IV and María Luisa. Excluded from a role in the government, he became the center of intrigues against the chief minister Godoy and attempted to win the support of Napoleon I.
..... Click the link for more information. . Ferdinand VII set aside the Salic law of succession, introduced into Spain by Philip V, in favor of his daughter, Isabella IIIsabella II,
1830–1904, queen of Spain (1833–68), daughter of Ferdinand VII and of Maria Christina. Her uncle, Don Carlos, contested her succession under the Salic law, and thus the Carlist Wars began (see Carlists).
..... Click the link for more information. . Her succession was contested by supporters (see CarlistsCarlists,
partisans of Don Carlos (1788–1855) and his successors, who claimed the Spanish throne under the Salic law of succession, introduced (1713) by Philip V. The law (forced on Philip by the War of the Spanish Succession to avoid a union of the French and Spanish
..... Click the link for more information. ) and descendants of Don Carlos, second son of Charles IV.
Relative order was reestablished after Isabella's son was proclaimed (1874) king as Alfonso XII. His son, Alfonso XIII, was deposed in 1931 and died in exile in 1941. His marriage (1906) with Victoria of BattenbergBattenberg
, German princely family, issued from the morganatic union of Alexander, a younger son of Louis II, grand duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Countess Julia von Hauke, who was created (1858) princess of Battenberg.
..... Click the link for more information. introduced hemophiliahemophilia
, genetic disease in which the clotting ability of the blood is impaired and excessive bleeding results. The disease is transmitted through females but almost invariably affects male offspring only.
..... Click the link for more information. into his family. His first and fourth sons both died. His second son, Jaime, renounced his right of succession, which fell to Alfonso's third son, Don Juan, who was free from the disease. His son Juan CarlosJuan Carlos I
, 1938–, king of Spain (1975–2014), b. Rome. The grandson of Alfonso XIII, he was educated in Switzerland and in Spain. Placed by his father, Don Juan de Borbón, under the care of Francisco Franco as a possible successor, he graduated from
..... Click the link for more information. , who married Princess Sophia of Greece, was chosen by Spanish dictator Francisco FrancoFranco, Francisco
, 1892–1975, Spanish general and caudillo [leader]. He became a general at the age of 32 after commanding the Spanish Foreign Legion in Morocco.
..... Click the link for more information. as his successor. Juan Carlos became king of Spain in 1975 and established a constitutional monarchy and a liberal democracy.
The Sicilian Bourbons
The line of Bourbon-Sicily came out of the Spanish line. It was founded by Ferdinand I of the Two SiciliesTwo Sicilies, kingdom of the.
The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of). Alfonso V of Aragón, who in 1442 reunited the two kingdoms under his rule, styled himself king of the Two
..... Click the link for more information. , who succeeded (1759) his father as king of Naples and of Sicily when the latter became king of Spain as Charles IIICharles III,
1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the duchies to Austria after Spain reconquered (1734) Naples and Sicily in
..... Click the link for more information. . His great-grandson, Francis II, was deposed in 1860.
The Parma Bourbons
The house of Bourbon-Parma was established (1748) in the duchy of ParmaParma
, city (1991 pop. 170,520), capital of Parma prov., in Emilia-Romagna, N Italy, on the Parma River and on the Aemilian Way. It is a rich agricultural market, a transportation junction, and a major industrial center.
..... Click the link for more information. and Piacenza by Philip, a younger son of Philip V of Spain and Elizabeth FarneseElizabeth Farnese
, 1692–1766, queen of Spain, second consort of Philip V; niece of Antonio Farnese, duke of Parma. Soon after her marriage (1714), arranged by Cardinal Alberoni and the princesse des Ursins, she gained a strong influence over her weak husband and for some
..... Click the link for more information. of Parma. Robert, fifth duke of the line, was deposed in 1859. Among his numerous children were Empress ZitaZita
, 1892–1989, last empress of Austria and queen of Hungary. The daughter of Duke Robert of Parma, she was married (1911) to Archduke Charles Francis, who in 1916 became emperor as Charles I.
..... Click the link for more information. of Austria, Sixtus of Bourbon-ParmaSixtus of Bourbon-Parma, Prince,
1886–1934, son of Robert, last duke of Parma. While serving as an officer in the Belgian army, he was the intermediary for his brother-in-law, Emperor Charles I of Austria-Hungary, in Charles's secret attempt to negotiate peace with the
..... Click the link for more information. , and Prince René, who married Princess Margaret of Denmark. René's and Margaret's daughter, Anne, married (1948) MichaelMichael,
1921–2017, king of Romania (1927–30, 1940–47). His father, Prince Carol (later Carol II), renounced his right of succession in 1925, and young Michael ascended the throne under a regency on the death of Ferdinand.
..... Click the link for more information. of Romania.