Special Sub-Topic: Pretender to the Throne Click Here To Play: Pretender to the Throne

Lets take a trip to France to the fall of the French Bourbon monarchy in 1830. Charles X had abdicated in favour of his eldest son, whose title was...?

the Duke of Angouleme. Duke Louis de Bourbon of Angouleme was born on 6 Aug 1775 in Versailles, France as the son of the Count of Artois. He married on 10 Jun 1799 in Mittau, Courland to his first cousin, Princess Royale Marie Therese Charlotte de Bourbon of France, the daughter of King Louis XVI de Bourbon of France. Upon his father's abdication, Louis technically ruled for twenty minutes and took the nominal title of Louis XIX; before he renounced his rights to the throne, in favour of his nephew, the Count of Chamboard. He died childless on 3 Jun 1844 in Gorz, Austria.

In Russia, there are two main claimants to the throne. Is the claimant that descended from Alexander II male or female?

female & Female. The current Head of the Russian Royal family is Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanov of Russia, the second great grand daughter of Tsar Alexander II Romanov of Russia. She was born on 10 Dec 1953 in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Krillovich Romanov of Russia and Princess Leonide Bagration of Moukhransky. She married on 4 Sep 1976 in Dinard, France to Prince Franz Wilhelm Hohenzollern of Prussia, a descendant of the Kaiser. They had one son; Grand Duke George, born 13 Mar 1981 in Madrid, Spain; before they divorced.

The claimant to the Portuguese throne is the Duke of Braganca. From which House is he descended from?

The House of de Braganca. Queen Maria II de Braganca married Duke Ferninand Saxe-Coburg of Gotha on 9 Apr 1836 in Lisbon, Portugal and her descendants reigned until 1910 when Manuel II was deposed and the monarchy abolished. However, he had died childless and there were no more Saxe-Coburg-Gotha descendants alive. Therefore the lineage reverted back to the de Braganca line, which is descended from Maria II's uncle, who ruled as Miguel I. The claimant since 1976 is Duke Duarte Pio de Braganca, the son of Duke Duarte Nuno and Princess Maria Francsica de Orleans-Braganca. Even though it has been over a hundred years since Portugal abolished its monarchy, Duarte is treated respectfully with his wedding in 1995 being attended by the Prime Minister and President of Portugal. With his marriage to Isabel de Heredia, he has three children, Alfonso (b,1996), Maria (b.1997) and Dinis (b.1999).

Back to France to the abdication of Louis Philippe I in 1848. He abdicated in favour of his grandson, who carried the title of?

The Count of Paris. This Count of Paris was Louis Philippe de Orleans of France - born 24 Aug 1838 in Palace des Tuileries, Paris, France; the eldest son of Duke Ferdinand I Philippe de Orleans of Orleans and Duchess Helen Louise von Mecklenburg of Schwerin. He married his first cousin, Princess Marie Isabella de Orleans of Spain, on 30 Apr 1864 in Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, England. From this marriage Louis Philippe had eight children, including a queen of Portugal, a duke of Orleans, a duchess of Aosta, a duchess of Guise, a princess of Sicily and a duke of Montpensier. He died on 8 Sep 1894 in Bucks, France.

Further east we go and Bulgaria is where we are. Which king of this nation abdicated early in his life, only to become its Prime Minister in 2001?

Simeon II. Simeon II was forced to abdicate at the young age of 11 in 1946 and was exiled to Egypt for some time, before being allowed asylum in Spain. Once in Spain, he studied Business Administration and Law and married Margarita Gomez-Acebo in 1962. Returning to his native country in 1996 and was elected as the country's Prime Minister from 2001-2005.

What is the title of the Spanish pretender to the French throne?

The Duke of Anjou. The current Duke of Anjou takes the title of Louis XX, in the tradition of nominal numbers. He claims the French throne through his ancestor, King Felipe V de Bourbon of Spain; the grandson of Louis XIV of France. As a condition of Felipe's succession, he had to renounce his rights to the French throne, to ensure that France and Spain were never united under one monarch. Louis XX is claiming that Felipe's renunciation was invalid.

What is the title of the pretender to the Austrian Imperial throne?

The Archduke of Austria. Archduke Otto Robert Habsburg-Lotharingen of Austria is the eldest son of Emperor Karl I and Empress Zita. He was born on 20 Nov 1912 in Reichenau, Austria; and married on 10 May 1951 in Nancy, France to Princess Regina Saxe-Meiningen of Meiningen. Together they have seven children; five daughters and two sons

What is the title of the pretender to the Yugoslavian throne?

Crown Prince of Yugoslavia. The Crown Prince of Yugoslavia is Prince Alexander Karadjordjevic, the son of Peter II and Queen Alexander, formerly a Princess of Greece. He was born on 17 Jul 1945 in London, England; in a hotel room, which was specially classed as Yugoslav territory, due to a clause in the Yugoslavian constitution that each monarch must be born in the country. He married on 1 Jul 1972 in Princess Maria de Gloria de Orleans-Braganca of Grao Para, the daughter of Prince Pedro de Alcantra de Orleans-Braganca and Princess Maria de el Esperzana de Bourbon of Sicily. Together, they have three children; Prince Peter, born 5 Feb 1980; and twin boys, Prince Philip and Prince Alexander, born 15 Jan 1982. Alexander and Maria de Gloria have since divorced and Alexander has remarried.

How many pretenders are there to the Brazilian Imperial throne?

2. There are two pretenders, both claiming the Brazilian crown. Both are descended from Crown Princess Isabel de Braganca of Brazil, the eldest daughter of Emperor Pedro II. The first is Prince Pedro de Alcantara, the son of Isabel's elder son, Prince Pedro of Grao Para; by right of elder succession. However, the Prince of Grao Para married a countess and his marriage is considered unequal, therefore his descendants are barred from the throne. This is the argument that the second pretender puts forward. The second pretender is Prince Luiz Gaston, the son of Isabel's second son, the Prince of Brazil.

The rival claimants of the Sicilian throne are the Duke of Calabria and...?

the Duke of Castro. The Duke of Calabria states his claim through Prince Carlos Maria, the second son of the Count of Caserta. However, Carlos Maria married Maria de las Mercedes, the eldest daughter of Alfonso XII, and was technically Queen of Spain between the months of her father's death and her brother's birth. Therefore, Carlos Maria had to renounce his rights to the Sicilian throne, in case Maria de las Mercedes officially inherited the Spanish crown, which did not happen. Therefore, the Duke of Calabria challenges that renunciation. The Duke of Castro states his claim through Duke Ranieri Gaetano of Castro, the younger son of the Count of Caserta. They claim that Carlos Maria's renunciation is valid and they are the rightful claimants.