Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou (; born 25 April 1974) is regarded by French Legitimists as the head of the House of Bourbon and the rightful claimant to the defunct throne of France under the name Louis XX. 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.

Louis Alphonse is patrilineally the senior great-grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. His grandfather Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, renounced his rights to the Spanish throne for himself and his descendants owing to his deafness. The crown of Spain has descended to his second cousin, King Felipe VI. 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.

Childhood

Louis Alphonse's parents separated in 1982, and their Catholic marriage was annulled in 1986. His mother has since remarried 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. 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.

Succession

thumb|right|Coat of arms as pretender to the French throne

On 30 January 1989, his father died in a skiing accident near Vail, Colorado. In 1994, Louis Alphonse received 150 million pesetas from a lawsuit against Vail Associates, which owned the ski resort where the accident occurred. 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 Dukedom of Franco and Grandeeship until the abolition of the titles by the Democratic Memory Law.

In 2002, Louis Alphonse was elected by the French Society of the Cincinnati as the representative of Louis XVI. He is also an honorary member of the "Academia de Historia y Geografía Militar del Paraguay" (Academy of History and Military Geography of Paraguay).

In addition to his Spanish citizenship, Louis Alphonse acquired French nationality through his paternal grandmother, Emmanuelle de Dampierre, also a French citizen.

In 2021, Louis Alphonse attended the wedding of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia.

Politics

thumb|With [[Thierry Lazaro in 2014]]

Louis Alphonse describes himself as a 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.

He opposes same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, euthanasia, and abortion.

He holds ties to the right-wing populist Spanish 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. 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 social democratic 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 social democratic Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

In 2019, he expressed public support for the yellow vests movement in France. Later that year, he spoke at the World Congress of Families XIII, where he called for a return to "Christian society".

In 2025, he offered to replace French President Emmanuel Macron saying, "My family has served France for centuries, and if France asks, I will be at its service."

Marriage and children

thumb|With his wife in 2015

Louis Alphonse's engagement to marry María Margarita Vargas Santaella, the daughter of Venezuelan 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, 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".

Louis Alphonse and María Margarita had their first child, Eugénie, on 5 March 2007 at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, Florida. She was baptised in June 2007 at the papal nunciature in Paris. Her godparents are Prince Charles-Emmanuel of Bourbon-Parma and his wife, Constance. French Legitimists recognize her as , Their father has conferred upon them the historic French titles of, respectively, Duke of Burgundy () and Duke of Berry (). In Spain, the twins are and .

References

Bibliography

  • Thierry Ardisson. Louis XX. Contre-enquête sur la monarchie., Olivier Orban, 1986,
  • 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, .
  • 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.
  • Union of Legitimist Circles of France
  • Institut de la Maison de Bourbon