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Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (french: Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois, duc de Bordeaux, comte de Chambord; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883) was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Henry V, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. Afterwards, he was the
Legitimist 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. They ...
pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...
to the throne of France from 1844 until his death in 1883. Henri was the only son of
Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the third child and younger son of Charles X, King of France, (whom he predeceased) by his wife Maria Theresa of Savoy. In June 1832, two years after the overthro ...
, born after his father's death, by his wife, Princess Carolina of Naples and Sicily, daughter of King
Francis I of the Two Sicilies Francis I of the Two Sicilies ( it, Francesco Gennaro Giuseppe Saverio Giovanni Battista; 19 August 1777 – 8 November 1830) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1825 to 1830 and regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1806 to 1814. Biography Fran ...
. The Duke himself was the younger son of Charles X of France. As the grandson of Charles X, Henri was a . He was the last legitimate descendant of
Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
in the male line.


Early life

Henri d'Artois was born on 29 September 1820, in the Pavillon de Marsan, a portion of the
Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, f ...
that still survives in the compound of the Louvre Palace in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. His father, the ''duc de Berry'', had been assassinated seven months before Henri's birth. At birth, Henri was given the title of ''duc de Bordeaux''. Because of his birth after his father's death, when the senior male line of the House of Bourbon was on the verge of extinction, one of his middle names was ''Dieudonné'' (French for "God-given"). Royalists called him "the miracle child".
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...
was overjoyed, bestowing 35 royal orders to mark the occasion. Henri's birth was a major setback for the Duke of Orleans' ambitions to ascend the French throne. During his customary visit to congratulate the newborn's mother, the duke made such offensive remarks about the baby's appearance that the lady holding him was brought to tears.


Titular King

On 2 August 1830, in response to the
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
, Henri's grandfather, Charles X, abdicated, and twenty minutes later Charles' elder son Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, himself renounced his rights, in favour of the young Duke of Bordeaux. Charles X urged his cousin Louis Philippe of Orléans, as ''Lieutenant général du royaume'', to proclaim Henri as ''Henry V, King of France''. Louis Philippe requested the Duke of Bordeaux to be brought to Paris to have his rights recognised. The duchess of Berry was denied to escort her son; therefore, both the grandfather and the mother refused to leave the child in France. As a consequence, after seven days, a period in which legitimist monarchists considered that Henri had been the rightful monarch of France, the National Assembly decreed that the throne should pass to Louis Philippe, who was proclaimed King of the French on 9 August. Henri and his family left France and went into exile on 16 August 1830. While some French monarchists recognised him as their sovereign, others disputed the validity of the abdications of his grandfather and of his uncle. Still others recognised the
July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...
of Louis Philippe. With the deaths of his 79-year-old grandfather in 1836 and of his uncle in 1844, young Henri became the genealogically senior claimant to the French throne. His supporters were called
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. They r ...
, to distinguish them from the Orléanists, the supporters of the family of Louis Philippe. Henri, who preferred the courtesy title of Count of Chambord (from the
château de Chambord The Château de Chambord () in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with cla ...
, which had been presented to him by the Restoration government, and which was the only significant piece of personal property of which he was allowed to retain ownership upon his exile), continued his claim to the throne throughout the July Monarchy of Louis Philippe, the Second Republic, the
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
of Napoléon III, and the Third Republic. In November 1846, the Count of Chambord married his second cousin Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, daughter of Duke Francis IV of Modena and Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy. The couple had no children.


Hope

In 1870, as the Second Empire collapsed following its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War at the
battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...
on 2 September 1870, the royalists became a majority in the National Assembly. The Orléanists agreed to support the a Count of Chambord's claim to the throne, with the expectation that upon his death, with him lacking any sons, he would be succeeded by their own claimant, Philippe d'Orléans, Count of Paris. With Henri backed by both Legitimists and Orléanists, the restoration of monarchy in France seemed a likely possibility. However, he insisted that he would accept the crown only on condition that France abandon its
tricolour flag A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...
(associated with the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
) and return to the use of the ''fleur de lys'' flag, comprising the historic royal arms of France. He rejected a compromise whereby the ''fleur-de-lys'' would be the new king's personal standard, and the tricolour would remain the national flag. Pope Pius IX, upon hearing Henri's decision, notably remarked "And all that, all that for a napkin!" In 1873 another attempt to restore the monarchy failed for the same reasons. Henri traveled to Paris and tried to negotiate with the government, to no avail; and on 20 November the National Assembly confirmed
Patrice de MacMahon Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893) was a French general and politician, with the distinction of Marshal of France. He served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1 ...
as Chief of State of France for the next seven years.


Defeat

A temporary Third Republic was established (with then Chief of State MacMahon as President of the Republic) to wait for Henri's death and his replacement by his distant cousin the more liberal
Count of Paris Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of France in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived by the ...
, of the Orléanist branch of the House of Bourbon. However by the time this occurred in 1883, public opinion had swung behind the Republic as the form of government which, in the words of the former President Adolphe Thiers, "divides us least". Thus, Henri could mockingly be hailed by republicans such as
Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...
as "the French
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
" – the one man without whom the Republic could not have been founded. Henri died on 24 August 1883 at his residence in
Frohsdorf Lanzenkirchen is a market town in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography Lanzenkirchen is situated on the river Leitha, south of the city Wiener Neustadt, at the foot of the Rosaliengebirge mountain ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, at the age of 62, bringing the male line of Louis XV to an end. He was buried in the crypt of his grandfather Charles X, in the church of the Franciscan Kostanjevica Monastery in
Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...
, Austria (now
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
). His personal property, including the
Château de Chambord The Château de Chambord () in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with cla ...
, was left to his nephew
Robert I, Duke of Parma Robert I (Italian: ''Roberto Carlo Luigi Maria''; 9 July 1848 – 16 November 1907) was the last sovereign Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1854 until 1859, when the duchy was annexed to Sardinia-Piedmont during the ''Risorgimento''. He was a m ...
, son of Henri's late sister. Henri's death left the Legitimist line of succession distinctly confused. On the one hand, Henri himself had accepted that the head of the House of France (as distinguished from the House of Bourbon) would be the head of the Orléans line, i.e.
Prince Philippe, Count of Paris Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was disputedly King of the French from 24 to 26 February 1848 as Louis Philippe II, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. ...
. This was accepted by many Legitimists, and was the default on legal grounds; the only surviving Bourbon male line more senior was the branch of the Kings of Spain, descended from King Philip V, which had however renounced its right to inherit the throne of France as a condition of the Treaty of the
Peace of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...
. However, many if not most of Henri's supporters, including his widow, chose to disregard his statements and the Treaty, arguing that no one had the right to deny the senior direct male-line Bourbon to be the head of the House of France and thus the legitimate King of France; the renunciation of the Spanish branch would be, under this interpretation, illegitimate and therefore void. Thus the Legitimists settled on Juan, Count of Montizón, the
Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...
pretender to the
Spanish throne , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
(the Salic law having been suspended in Spain, the actual king,
Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...
, was not the senior descendant in the male line), as their claimant to the French crown.


Gallery

Image:François Gérard - La duchesse de Berry et ses enfants,1822.jpg, The Duchess of Berry and her children by
François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a prominent French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was It ...
, 1822 File:Portrait, The Duke of Bordeaux, Dubois-Drahonet.jpg, The young Duke of Bordeaux in a military uniform, by Alexandre-Jean Dubois-Drahonet, 1828 Image:Carolina, Duchess of Berry and her son the Duke of Bordeaux by François Pascal Simon Gérard (1770-1837).png, The Duchess of Berry and her son by
François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a prominent French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was It ...
, 1828 Image:Henri d'Artois as a child.jpg, Detail of portrait, c.1830 Image:Bordeaux, duc de.jpg, Portrait, c.1833


Honours

* House of Bourbon: Grand Master and Grand Croix of the
Order of the Holy Spirit , status = Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Henry III of France , head_title = Grand Master , head = Disputed: Louis Alphonse, Duke of AnjouJean, Count of Pari ...
* : Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece (1823)"Toison Espagnole (Spanish Fleece) - 19th century"
(in French), ''Chevaliers de la Toison D'or''. Retrieved 2018-09-05.


Ancestry


See also

* List of shortest-reigning monarchs


Footnotes


Further reading

* Brown, Marvin Luther. ''The Comte de Chambord :The Third Republic's Uncompromising King''. Durham, N.C.:, Duke University Press, 1967. * Delorme, Philippe. ''Henri, comte de Chambord, Journal (1846-1883), Carnets inédits''. Paris: Guibert, 2009. * * "The Death of the comte de Chambord", '' British Medical Journal'' 2, no. 1186 (September 22, 1883): 600–01.


External links

*
The Birth of the Duc de BordeauxObituary
in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Henri Of Chambord, Count 1820 births 1883 deaths 19th-century monarchs of France Nobility from Paris Kings of France Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Legitimist pretenders to the French throne Rulers deposed as children Princes of France (Bourbon) Burials at Kostanjevica Monastery Navarrese titular monarchs