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The House of Bourbon

The House of Bourbon is a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Its members have ruled France, Navarre, Spain, the Two Sicilies, Parma and Luxembourg [1]. Today, Spain and Luxembourg have monarchs from the House of Bourbon [1].

Origins: 1272

The royal Bourbons began in 1272, when Robert, Count of Clermont, the youngest son of King Louis IX of France (Saint Louis), married the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon [1]. The name comes from Bourbon-l'Archambault [1].

1589: Kings of France

The senior Bourbon line died out in the male line in 1527, which made the junior Bourbon-Vendôme branch the senior one [1]. In 1589, on the death of Henry III, the House of Valois became extinct in the male line. Under Salic law, the head of the House of Bourbon, as the senior representative of the senior surviving branch of the Capetians, became King of France as Henry IV [1]. Henry had previously been King of Navarre [1].

The Bourbons ruled France until the Revolution, and again after the Restoration. The last king of the senior line was Charles X (1824–1830). Louis Philippe I, of the Orléans branch, reigned as "King of the French" from 1830 to 1848 [1]. Louis XVI, a Bourbon, married Marie Antoinette, a daughter of Empress Maria Theresa [1].

1700: Kings of Spain

When Charles II of Spain died childless in 1700, his will named the second grandson of Louis XIV, the Duke of Anjou, as his successor. The prince became Philip V of Spain [1]. To keep the French and Spanish thrones permanently apart, Philip renounced the French throne for himself and his descendants [1]. Branches descended from the Spanish Bourbons also held thrones in Naples, Sicily and Parma [1].

The dynasty was interrupted in Spain in the 20th century. General Franco named Juan Carlos de Borbón, a grandson of Alfonso XIII, as his successor in 1969. When Franco died six years later, Juan Carlos I took the throne and restored the Bourbon dynasty [1].

King Felipe VI

Felipe VI (Felipe de Borbón y Grecia) was born in Madrid on 30 January 1968, the third child of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía. The name Felipe was given in memory of the first Bourbon to reign in Spain [2]. Juan Carlos I abdicated and signed the required Organic Law on 18 June 2014. On 19 June 2014, Felipe took the oath before the Cortes Generales and was proclaimed King as Felipe VI [2]. His daughters are Leonor, born 31 October 2005, and Sofía, born 29 April 2007 [2].

Leonor, Princess of Asturias

Leonor became heir to the throne when her father was proclaimed King. Under Article 57.2 of the Constitution she holds the title of Princess of Asturias, as well as Princess of Girona and Princess of Viana [3]. The Constitution still gives a man precedence over a woman of the same degree [4], so Leonor is heir presumptive.

Luxembourg: The Bourbon-Parma Line

Luxembourg's grand ducal family belongs to the House of Bourbon in the male line [1]. See our page on the House of Nassau-Weilburg for how that came about.

The French Claim Today

France has had no king since 1848. The head of the senior, "Legitimist" line is Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou [1]. The Orléans branch has its own claimant. GOTHA records these claims neutrally.

In the historical Almanach de Gotha

• The House of Bourbon (Spain) in the historical Almanach de Gotha, 1872–1924

Licence: contains material adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This article is released under the same licence. Primary and institutional sources are summarised or briefly quoted.