View source for Louis Alphonse de Bourbon

{{short description|Spanish-French aristocrat}}
{{family name hatnote|de Borbón|Martínez-Bordiú|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox royalty
| birth_name   = Luis Alfonso Gonzalo Víctor Manuel Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú
| title        = [[Duke of Anjou]] ([[#Succession|more]])
| image        =19 janvier 2020 (77) cropped.jpg
| image_size   = 225px
| caption      = Louis de Bourbon in 2006
| succession   = [[Legitimists|Legitimist pretender to the French throne]]
| reign        = 30 January 1989 – present
| reign-type   = Pretence
| predecessor  = [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz]]
| successor    = Louis<ref name="etat">{{cite book |last= |first= |author-link= |date=2020 |title=Etat présent de la Maison de Bourbon |edition=6th |location=Paris |publisher=Le Léopard d'or |page=55 |isbn=9782863772782}}</ref>
| suc-type     = {{nowrap|Heir apparent}}
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Marie Marguerite, Duchess of Anjou|María Margarita Vargas Santaella]]|5 November 2004}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[[Eugenia de Borbón]]
*Luis de Borbón
*Alfonso de Borbón
*Henri de Borbón
}}
| house        = [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]]
| father       = [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz]]
| mother       = [[Carmen Martínez-Bordiú]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1974|4|25|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Madrid]], Spain
| death_date   = 
| death_place  = 
| burial_place = 
| religion     = [[Catholic Church]]
}}
{{French royal family (Legitimist)}}
'''Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou'''<ref name =Opfell>His name is given as "Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon and Martínez-Bordiú, Duke of Anjou" by Olga S. Opfell in ''Royalty who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe'' (2001), p. 11.</ref> ({{langx|es|Luis Alfonso Gonzalo Víctor Manuel Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú}};<ref name="eilers">Eilers, Marlene A. Queen Victoria's Descendants. ''Princess Beatrice''. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp. 166, 181; {{ISBN|91-630-5964-9}}</ref><ref name="enache">Enache, Nicolas. La Descendanace de Marie-Therese de Habsburg Reine de Hongrie and Boheme. ''Maison royale regnante d'Espagne''. ICC/Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris, 1999, p. 535. (French). {{ISBN|2-908003-04-X}}.</ref><ref name="willis">Willis, Daniel A. The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain. ''The Descendants of Princess Anne, The Princess of Orange''. Clearfield, Baltimore, 2002. p. 231. {{ISBN|0-8063-5172-1}}</ref> born 25 April 1974) is the head of the [[House of Bourbon]]. Members of his family formerly ruled [[France]] and other countries.

According to the French [[Legitimists]], Louis Alphonse is the rightful claimant to the [[Throne of France|defunct throne of France]], under the name '''Louis XX'''.<ref>Ardisson, Thierry, ''Louis XX: Contre-enquête sur la monarchie'', 1986. {{ISBN|978-2855653341}}.</ref> His claim is based on his descent from [[Louis XIV]] (r. 1643–1715) through his grandson [[Philip V of Spain]]. Philip renounced his claim to the French throne under the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713. The rival [[Orleanist]] pretenders argue that this, as well as being born a Spanish citizen, makes Louis Alphonse ineligible for the throne.<ref>{{cite book |last= Opfell |first= Olga S. |title= Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe |publisher= [[McFarland & Company]] |year= 2001 |isbn= 978-0-7864-0901-3}}</ref> They also question whether he truly is the heir-male of Louis XIV, given the rumors of illegitimacy surrounding [[Alfonso XII]] (his great-great-grandfather).<ref>Juan Sisinio Pérez Garzón, Isabel II: Los Espejos de la Reina (2004)</ref>

Louis Alphonse is [[patrilineality|patrilineally]] the senior great-grandson of [[Alfonso XIII|Alfonso XIII, King of Spain]]. However, his grandfather [[Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia]], renounced his rights to the Spanish throne for himself and his descendants owing to his deafness.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Preston |first1=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KWPBvZEHstMC&pg=PA4 |title=Juan Carlos: Steering Spain From Dictatorship To Democracy |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=2004 |isbn=978-0393058048 |location=New York, NY |pages=4 |quote=In Fontainebleau, 21 June 1933, Don Jaime, who was single at the time, finally agreed to renounce his rights to the throne, as well as those of his future heirs. The renunciation was irrevocable and would be ratified on 23 July 1945.}}</ref> 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]]'' (dictator) General [[Francisco Franco]]; and through his father, a great-great-great-grandson of [[Queen Victoria]] of the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="eilers"/> Since the death of his father in 1989, he has used the [[courtesy title]] of [[Duke of Anjou]].<ref name=Opfell/>

==Early life==
===Birth===
Louis Alphonse was born in [[Madrid]], the second son of [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz|Alfonso de Borbón, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz]], and of his wife [[Carmen Martínez-Bordiú|María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco]], eldest granddaughter of [[Francisco Franco]]. [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz|Alfonso]] was at that time the [[Dauphin of France|dauphin]] (using "[[Duke of Bourbon]]" as [[pretender|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, Jaime died, and [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz|Alfonso]] then asserted his claim to be Head of the [[House of Bourbon]] and Legitimist claimant to the throne of France. As such, he took the title "[[Counts and dukes of Anjou#Dukes of Anjou without legal creation|Duke of Anjou]]".<ref name="poulon">Gazette du Palais, Tribunal de grande instance de Paris (1re Ch.) 21 décembre 1988, accompanied by the comments of G. Poulon, président de chambre honoraire à la cour de Paris. ''Prince Henri Philippe Pierre Marie d'Orléans et autres c. Prince Alphonse de Bourbon''. 8 March 1990. In French.</ref>

===Childhood===
Louis Alphonse's parents separated in 1982, and their Catholic marriage was [[Declaration of nullity|annulled]] in 1986. His mother has since [[Remarriage|remarried]] [[Civil marriage|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.<ref name="cedre">''Les Manuscrits du CEDRE V, Le Royaume d'Espagne III. Cercle d'Etudes des Dynasties Royales Europėennes'' (CEDRE), Paris, 1992, {{ISSN|0993-3964}} p. 162-164</ref> 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.<ref name="cedre"/> 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 [[grandee]]ship.<ref name="cedre"/>

===Education===
Louis Alphonse took his primary studies at College Molière, a bilingual school, where he earned his baccalaureate. In 1991, he was admitted to [[CUNEF University]], where he earned a master's degree in international finance. Louis is multilingual, speaking English, Spanish, and French (in addition to some [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[German language|German]]).<ref>{{cite book|author=Opfell.|title=Royalty who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe|year=2001|page=16}}</ref>

==Succession==
[[File:Grandes armes de Louis de Bourbon, Duc d'Anjou, comme successeur des Rois de France.svg|thumb|right|Coat of arms as pretender to the French throne <ref name="pinoteau">
Pinoteau, Hervé.''L'heraldique capetienne en 1976'' Nouvelles Editions latines, Paris, 1977, p. 17.</ref>]] 
On 30 January 1989, his father died in a [[skiing]] accident near [[Vail, Colorado]]. In 1994, Louis Alphonse received 150 million ''[[Spanish peseta|pesetas]]'' from a lawsuit against Vail Associated, which owned the ski resort where the accident occurred.<ref name="cedre"/> Louis Alphonse was recognised by some members of the [[Capetian dynasty]] as ''Chef de la Maison de Bourbon'' (Head of the House of Bourbon)<ref name="cedre"/><ref name="ghda">''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Band XV''. "Spanien". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, p.98. {{ISBN|3-7980-0814-0}}.</ref> and took the title Duke of Anjou, but not his father's Spanish dukedom. [[Legitimists]] consider him the rightful [[pretender]] to the defunct French throne.

Louis Alphonse was the heir apparent to his mother's Spanish [[Duke of Franco|Dukedom of Franco]] and [[Grandee]]ship until the abolition of the titles by the [[Democratic Memory Law]].<ref>{{Smallcaps|Jefatura del Estado}}: {{Cite journal|journal=[[Boletín Oficial del Estado]]|issn=0212-033X|date=20 October 2022|url=https://www.boe.es/buscar/pdf/2022/BOE-A-2022-17099-consolidado.pdf|pages=33–34|title=Ley 20/2022, de 19 de octubre, de Memoria Democrática|publisher=Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado|location=Madrid}}</ref>

Louis Alphonse was elected by the French [[Society of the Cincinnati]] as the representative of [[Louis XVI]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Bern |first=Stéphane |date=28 May 2002 |title=L'Amérique en pince pour les Bourbons |url= |work=[[Le Figaro]] |location=Paris }}</ref>

In addition to his Spanish citizenship, Louis Alphonse acquired French nationality through his paternal grandmother, [[Emmanuelle de Dampierre]], also a French citizen.<ref name="cedre"/> He attended the [[Lycée Français de Madrid]], obtaining his ''[[Curso de Orientación Universitaria|COU]]'' in June 1992.<ref name="cedre"/> He studied [[economics]] at the [[IESE Business School]]. He worked several years for ''[[BNP Paribas]]'', a French bank in [[Madrid]].

In 2017, Louis Alphonse stated that he wishes for the remains of his ancestors, including [[Charles X of France|King Charles X]], to remain at the [[Kostanjevica Monastery]], after a movement reportedly began to have the King's remains moved to be buried along with other French monarchs in [[Basilica of St Denis]].<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.rtvslo.si/slovenija/francoski-princ-burbonski-zeli-da-njegovi-predniki-ostanejo-pokopani-na-kostanjevici/415424 | title = Francoski princ Burbonski želi, da njegovi predniki ostanejo pokopani na Kostanjevici |trans-title=A French prince of Bourbon wishes the remains of his ancestors to remain at Kostanjevica | author = Al. Ma. | publisher = [[RTV Slovenija]] | date = 19 February 2017 | access-date = 20 February 2017 | language = sl }}</ref>

In 2021, Louis Alphonse attended the wedding of [[Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Hopkins|first=Valerie|title=After 100 years, a royal wedding in Russia evokes days of the czars|url=https://bdnews24.com/world/europe/2021/10/02/after-100-years-a-royal-wedding-in-russia-evokes-days-of-the-czars|work=BDNews|date=2 October 2021}}</ref>

==Politics==
[[File:Thierry_Lazaro_&_Louis_de_Bourbon.jpg|thumb|200px|Louis de Bourbon with [[Thierry Lazaro]].]]
Louis Alphonse describes himself as a [[monarchism|monarchist]], "but not anti-republican". He argues for a constitutional monarchy, with a king who acts as moral authority, foreign ambassador, unifying figure, and reminder of a nation's history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parismatch.com/Royal-Blog/royaute-francaise/Bourbon-Louis-XX-164954|title=Louis de Bourbon - Les descendants du Roi-Soleil|first=Paris|last=Match|website=parismatch.com|date=20 June 2010 }}</ref> He has spoken out against same-sex marriage and [[same-sex adoption]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allianceroyale.fr/articles/actualites/345-manifeste-de-mgr-le-duc-danjou-au-sujet-du-mariage-pour-tous-|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000139/http://www.allianceroyale.fr/articles/actualites/345-manifeste-de-mgr-le-duc-danjou-au-sujet-du-mariage-pour-tous-|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 December 2013|title=Manifeste de Mgr le duc d'Anjou au sujet du mariage pour tous &#124; Alliance Royale &#124; Le parti politique royaliste|website=archive.wikiwix.com|access-date=22 September 2021}}</ref> In 2019, he spoke at the [[World Congress of Families|World Congress of Families XIII]], where he called for return to "Christian society".<ref>{{cite web|last=Bourbon|first=Louis de|title=The Present Battle|url=https://europeanconservative.com/2019/04/the-present-battle/|date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922122157/https://europeanconservative.com/2019/04/the-present-battle/|archive-date=22 September 2020}}</ref>

He holds ties to the conservative Spanish political party [[Vox (political party)|Vox]] and is a close friend of its leader, [[Santiago Abascal]]. In March 2018, Louis Alphonse was named honorary president of the [[Francisco Franco National Foundation]], a position held by his grandmother, [[Carmen Franco, 1st Duchess of Franco]], until her death in December 2017.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/09/19/inenglish/1537358338_305064.amp.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180920111434/https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/09/19/inenglish/1537358338_305064.amp.html| archive-date = 2018-09-20| title = Franco legacy: Luis Alfonso de Borbón becomes 'king' of the Franco faithful {{!}} In English {{!}} EL PAÍS}}</ref> On 15 July, later that year, he headed a Movement-for-Spain demonstration at the [[Valley of the Fallen]] monument, leading supporters of the late Spanish dictator, his great-grandfather [[Francisco Franco]]. They opposed the Spanish socialist government's plan to remove Franco's remains from a basilica near Madrid. He also launched a change.org petition, calling for the resignation of the Socialist Prime Minister [[Pedro Sánchez]].

In 2019, he expressed public support for the [[Yellow vests movement]] in France.<ref name="local">{{cite news|last=O'Reilly|first=Edward|title=Did You Know? The Tale of the three Frenchmen who still lay claim to the throne|date=24 January 2019|url=https://www.thelocal.fr/20190124/did-you-know-the-three-rival-pretenders-who-lay-claim-to-the-french-throne|work=[[The Local]]|location=Stockholm|access-date=5 February 2019}}</ref>

==Marriage and children==
Louis Alphonse's engagement to marry [[Venezuela]]n [[Marie Marguerite, Duchess of Anjou|María Margarita Vargas Santaella]], the daughter of the businessman [[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, La Romana|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 of Spain, [[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".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elsemanaldigital.com/arts/49888.asp?tt=Enmanuela |title=Emanuela de Dampierre, a cuchillo contra Carmen Martínez-Bordíu |publisher=Elsemanaldigital.com |access-date=29 November 2011 }} {{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Louis Alphonse and María Margarita had their first child, [[Princess Eugénie of Bourbon|Eugénie]], on 5 March 2007, at [[Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute|Mount Sinai Medical Center]], [[Miami]]. She was baptised at the [[papal nunciature]] in [[Paris]] in June 2007. Her [[godparent]]s are [[Prince Charles-Emmanuel of Bourbon-Parma]] and his wife Constance. French Legitimists recognize her as {{lang|fr|Eugénie, Madame Royale}},<ref name="etat" />{{rp|47}} the style commonly attributed to the eldest unmarried daughter of a king of France (in Spain her name is {{lang|es|Dona Eugenia de Borbón Vargas}}).<ref name="etat" />{{rp|47}}

The couple had twin sons, Louis and Alphonse, on 28 May 2010 in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|author=Terra Noticias |url=http://noticias.terra.es/2010/genteycultura/0528/actualidad/los-duques-de-anjou-anuncian-el-nacimiento-de-sus-hijos-luis-y-alfonso.aspx |title=Los Duques de Anjou anuncian el nacimiento de sus hijos Luis y Alfonso |publisher=Noticias.terra.es |access-date=29 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906144541/http://noticias.terra.es/2010/genteycultura/0528/actualidad/los-duques-de-anjou-anuncian-el-nacimiento-de-sus-hijos-luis-y-alfonso.aspx |archive-date=6 September 2011 }}</ref> Their father has conferred upon them the historic French titles of, respectively, [[Duke of Burgundy]] ({{lang|fr|duc de Bourgogne}}), and [[Duke of Berry]] ({{lang|fr|duc de Berry}}). In Spain, the twins are {{lang|es|Don Luis}} and {{lang|es|Don Alfonso de Borbón Vargas}}.<ref name="etat" />{{rp|47}}

Their fourth child, Henri, was born on 1 February 2019 in New York and was granted the title [[Duke of Touraine]] ({{lang|fr|duc de Touraine}}) by his father.<ref>{{cite web |title=Je suis heureux, avec Marie-Marguerite, de vous annoncer la naissance d'Henri, notre quatrième enfant, aujourd'hui à 13:05 GMT. Il pèse 4,200 kg et mesure 53 cm. La maman et le bébé se portent bien. Nous remercions tous ceux qui s'associent à cette naissance par la prière. |url=https://twitter.com/louisducdanjou/status/1091401942042116097?lang=fr |website=@louisducdanjou |access-date=14 July 2019 |language=fr |date=2019}}</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsible=yes
|collapsed=yes
|ref=
|float=
|align=center
|boxstyle_1= background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
| 1 = 1. '''Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou'''
| 2 = 2. [[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz]]
| 3 = 3. [[Carmen Martínez-Bordiú]]
| 4 = 4. [[Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia]]
| 5 = 5. [[Emmanuelle de Dampierre]]
| 6 = 6. [[Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquis of Villaverde]]
| 7 = 7. [[Carmen Franco, 1st Duchess of Franco]]
| 8 = 8. [[Alfonso XIII of Spain]]
| 9 = 9. [[Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg|Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg]]
| 10 = 10. Roger de Dampierre, 2nd Duke of [[San Lorenzo Nuovo]]
| 11 = 11. ''[[Don (honorific)|Donna]]'' Vittoria Ruspoli dei Principi di Poggio Suasa
| 12 = 12. José María Martínez y Ortega
| 13 = 13. María de la Esperanza Bordiú y Bascarán, 7th Countess of Argillo
| 14 = 14. [[Francisco Franco]]
| 15 = 15. [[Carmen Polo, 1st Lady of Meirás]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* [[Thierry Ardisson]]. ''Louis XX. Contre-enquête sur la monarchie.'', Olivier Orban, 1986, {{ISBN|2-85565-334-7}}
* [[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'', Random House Mondadori, 2007, {{ISBN|978-84-01-30552-8}}.
* [[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.

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Bourbon]]|25 April|1974|||[[Capetian dynasty]]|name=Louis XX of France}}
{{s-pre}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz]]}}
{{s-tul|title=[[List of French monarchs|King of France and Navarre]]|years=30 January 1989 – present|reason=[[July Revolution|Bourbon monarchy deposed in 1830]]}}
{{s-inc|heir=[[:fr:Louis de Bourbon (2010)|Louis, Dauphin of France]]}}
|-
{{s-bef| before=[[:fr:François de Bourbon (1972-1984) |François de Bourbon]]}}
{{s-tul|title=[[Dauphin of France]]|years= 7 February 1984 - 30 January 1989}}
{{s-vac| next= [[:fr:Louis de Bourbon (2010)|Louis]]}}

{{s-end}}

{{French Pretenders}}
{{Dukes of Anjou}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholics]]
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[[Category:Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]
[[Category:BNP Paribas]]
[[Category:Child pretenders]]
[[Category:Dukes of Anjou]]
[[Category:Dukes of Bourbon]]
[[Category:Dukes of Touraine]]
[[Category:Francoists]]
[[Category:House of Bourbon (Spain)]]
[[Category:Legitimist pretenders to the French throne]]
[[Category:Navarrese titular monarchs]]
[[Category:Nobility from Madrid]]
[[Category:Princes of France (Bourbon)]]
[[Category:Society of the Cincinnati]]
[[Category:University of Navarra alumni]]