The New Murrey and Blue blog

Just over six years ago, we published an article about the claimants to the French throne. They divide into three lines:

BOURBONS: Charles X’s male line, comprising the entire legitimate male line of Louis XIV with one proviso, became extinct in 1883.

The exceptions are the Spanish Borbons, with their habit of abdicating, who are banned from reigning in France by the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the War of the Spanish Succession. Because even a hypothetical French monarchy practices a Salic Law, which truncated Charles X’s line, whilst Spain does not now, Felipe VI would not be King of France but a cousin named “Louis XX”, grandson of General Franco, would be.

ORLEANISTS: The descendants of Louis XIV‘s brother, who thrive today, led by Jean, Duc de Vendome in straightforward descent.

BONAPARTISTS: The collateral descendants of Napoleon I, who thrive today, led by Charles, Prince Napoleon. Just like that of Henry VIII, Napoleon I’s will dictated the order of descent from himself and his siblings beyond primogeniture, which was later adapted by Napoleon III.

This video, by “Useful Charts” illustrates the points shown above and comes to a conclusion, eliminating two of the known candidates and three others, some in other parts of the world.