Legitimists

The Legitimists (French: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution.^[1] They reject the claim of the July Monarchy of 1830–1848 which placed Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, head of the Orléans cadet branch of the Bourbon dynasty, on the throne until he too was dethroned and driven with his family into exile.

For other uses, see Legitimists (disambiguation).

Following the movement of Ultra-royalists during the Bourbon Restoration of 1814, Legitimists came to form one of the three main right-wing factions in France, which was principally characterized by its counter-revolutionary views. According to historian René Rémond, the other two right-wing factions were the Orléanists and the Bonapartists.

Legitimists believe that the traditional rules of succession, based on the Salic law, determine the rightful King of France. The last ruling king whom legitimists acknowledge as legitimate was Charles X, and when the line of his heirs became extinct in 1883 with the death of his grandson Henri, Count of Chambord, the most senior heir to the throne under these traditional rules was Infante Juan, Count of Montizón, a descendant of Louis XIV through his grandson Philip V of Spain. The fact that all French Legitimist claimants since 1883 have been members of the Spanish royal dynasty, the allegation that their patrilineal descent from Louis XIV has been in question since 1936, and the belief that Philip V renounced claims to the French throne for himself and his heirs-male in the Treaty of Utrecht, are all irrelevant to Legitimism; however, these facts have prompted other French monarchists to pivot to support of the Orléans line, who would be next in the traditional line of succession if Philip's heirs were excluded, or support to the Bonaparte family.

The current Legitimist pretender is Prince Louis, Duke of Anjou, the senior great-grandson of Alfonso XIII of Spain by male primogeniture, whose line was excluded from the Spanish succession due to the physical disability, political commitments, and morganatic marriage of Prince Jacques, Duke of Anjou and Segovia.

In 1946, the senior Capetian heir, , the eldest surviving son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, whom 13 years earlier had renounced his rights to the throne of Spain on account of his deafness, took up up the courtesy title of Duke of Anjou.

Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia

The academic work of historians like , jurists like Guy Augé and Stéphane Rials or genealogists like Patrick Van Kerrebrouck challenging the Orléanist theses have received a certain response from the public.

Hervé Pinoteau

The positions taken by , in particular in favor of General de Gaulle, Algerian independence and François Mitterrand shocked certain royalists.

Henri d'Orléans, Count of Paris

During the Capetian millennium of 1987, the then senior Capetian heir, , elder son of the aforementioned Infante Jaime, made himself known by presiding over numerous commemorative ceremonies. In the wake of the Capetian millennium, media personalities like Thierry Ardisson popularized legitimist conceptions.

Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou and Cadiz

Continuity (or immediacy) of the crown as upon the death of a monarch his heir automatically and immediately becomes king without the need of any formal act of investiture and even if political circumstances would not allow him to actually take power.

Unavailability (or inalienability) of the crown as it is not the personal property of the king, therefore nobody, not even the king himself, can alter the line of succession by abdication, renunciation, or appointment of an heir of his own choosing. This argument is crucial for Legitimists regarding the continuing validity of the rights of succession of the Spanish line of Philip V and his descendants. According to this view, Philip's renunciation of his rights of succession to the French throne in the of 1713 was null and void and therefore his descendants still retain their claim to the French throne ahead of the Orléans line.

Treaty of Utrecht

Legitimists consider the valid rationale for restoration and the order of succession to the French throne derives from fundamental laws of the Ancien Régime, which were formed in the early centuries of the Capetian monarchy.

According to these rules, monarchy is the basic form of government and the monarch the indispensable executive of government, succession to the throne being hereditary and passing by Salic primogeniture. Thus, females and any male who is not the premier né (i.e. the legitimate eldest descendant of the most senior Capetian line) are excluded from the throne. The king must also be Catholic.

Other tenets of the legitimist position are the following:

It has been a point of contention within the Legitimist camp to what extent French nationality constitutes a precondition for royal succession. While adherents of the Spanish Anjou line argue that princes of foreign nationality can still succeed to the French crown,^[4] others hold that French nationality of both the claimant and his ancestors is a requirement.^[5]^[6]