The Princes of Canino and Musignano formed the genealogically senior line of the Bonaparte family following the death of

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic ...

in 1844. The line was succeeded by one of

Emperor Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's younger brothers, Lucien Bonaparte. It became extinct in the male line in 1924. The dynastic Bonapartist pretenders descend in the male line from Prince Jérôme Napoléon, Napoleon's youngest brother.

Canino Canino is a town and '' comune'' of Italy, in the province of Viterbo (northern Lazio) in the internal part of Maremma Laziale. It is west of Valentano and northwest of Viterbo. It is also near the ancient Etruscan town of Vulci, and the d ...

and Musignano are two neighbouring villages in the

Province of Viterbo Viterbo ( it, provincia di Viterbo) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. Geography Viterbo is the most northerly of the provinces of Lazio. It is bordered to the south by the Metropolitan City of Rome ...

in Italy. They were bestowed on Lucien Bonaparte by papal authority on 18 August 1814 (Prince of Canino) and on 21 March 1824 (Prince of Musignano).

First Empire law

Article 7 of the monarchical constitution of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

, promulgated 20 May 1804, established that upon extinction of the legitimate natural and adopted male,

agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

descendants of Napoleon I (1769–1821), and those of two of his brothers, Prince Joseph Napoléon (1768–1844) and Prince Louis Napoléon (1778–1846), the throne was to be awarded to a man selected by the non-dynastic princely and ducal dignitaries of the empire, as ratified by

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

. On 24 September 1806, the emperor's youngest brother, Jérôme Napoléon (1784–1860), was made a French prince, along with the future issue of his second marriage to Duchess Catharina of Württemberg, and he and his heirs were added into the succession. On 22 March 1815, during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoratio ...

, Napoleon also recognized his brother Lucien and Lucien's sons as Imperial French princes. At no time, however, were Lucien and his issue recognized during the First Empire as eligible by law to inherit the French throne, or any other throne. The title of ''Principe di Canino e Musignano'' borne by Lucien and his heirs male was a

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

title of nobility, never legally recognized in France. Therefore, upon the death without issue in 1832 of the

Duke of Reichstadt , house = Bonaparte , father = Napoleon I, Emperor of the French , mother = Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma , birth_date = , birth_place = Tuileries Palace, Paris, French Emp ...

, titular ''Emperor Napoleon II'', the claim to the Bonaparte crown of France devolved upon

, formerly King of Naples and then King of Spain. Following his death without sons in 1844, the Imperial claim bypassed Lucien's sons and devolved upon

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French ...

, formerly King of Holland, even though Louis had been younger than Lucien.

Second Empire law

Louis's two elder sons pre-deceased their father, but his third son became Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

in 1852. The Second Empire's constitution recognized the dynasticity of all of Napoleon I's brothers and their issue, but allowed the emperor to choose the order in which they would inherit the throne in the event he died without male issue. On 18 December 1852 the emperor appointed his only remaining uncle, Prince Jérôme Napoléon, former King of Westphalia, as

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

, again bypassing the male line of Lucien. In May 1870, that order of succession was confirmed by referendum, except that Prince Napoléon Joseph (1822–1891), Jérôme's surviving son by his second wife, Duchess Catharina of Württemberg, was named to follow the emperor's son, the Prince Imperial Napoléon Eugène in the succession line.{{cite web , url = http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/nap_succ.htm#first, title = Heraldica.org, accessdate = 2006-11-07, last = Velde, first = François, work = Second Empire (1852-70) However, a few months later the French Empire was abolished, and has not been restored. Meanwhile, the

descendants of Jérôme Napoléon's branch (the Prince Napoléon Line) are still extant, and still hold the dynastic claim to the Napoleonic legacy.

Princes of Canino and Musignano

* Lucien Bonaparte from 1814-1840 *

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

from 1840-1857 *

from 1857-1865 * Lucien Cardinal Bonaparte from 1865-1895 *

Napoléon Charles Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

from 1895-1899 *

Roland Bonaparte Roland Napoléon Bonaparte, 6th Prince of Canino and Musignano (19 May 1858 – 14 April 1924) was a French prince and president of the Société de Géographie from 1910 until his death. He was the last male-lineage descendant of Lucien Bonapart ...

from 1899-1924

Family tree

Lucien Bonaparte (1775–1840) married twice: first to Christine Boyer, who gave birth to a stillborn son and three daughters; and second to

Alexandrine de Bleschamp Alexandrine Bonaparte, Princess of Canino and Musignano (née Alexandrine de Bleschamp; 23 February 1778 – 12 July 1855) was a French aristocrat. She was first married to the banker Hippolyte Jouberthon, with whom she had one child, Anne, ...

and had eight children. Children from his second marriage include: #

(1803–1857). #* Married Zénaïde Bonaparte; 12 children including: ## Joseph Lucien Bonaparte (1824–1865) ## Lucien Cardinal Bonaparte (1828–1895) ##

(1839–1899). ##* Married Cristina Ruspoli; three daughters including: ### Marie Bonaparte (1870–1947). Married Enrico Gotti; no children. ###

Eugenie Bonaparte Eugénie Laetitia Bonaparte (Eugénie Laetitia Barbe Caroline Lucienne Marie Jeanne Bonaparte; 6 September 1872 – 1 July 1949) was the youngest daughter of Napoléon Charles Bonaparte, 5th Prince of Canino and princess Maria Cristina Ruspoli. ...

(1872–1949). Married Napoleon Ney, duc d'Elchingen; no children. #

Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

(1815–1881). #* Married Justine Eléonore Ruffin; 1 son: ##

(1858–1924). ##* Married

Marie-Félix Blanc Princess Marie-Félix Bonaparte (née Marie-Félix Blanc; 22 December 1859 – 1 August 1882) was a French heiress. Born into a wealthy French bourgeoisie family with financial holdings in Monaco and Germany, she was left with a large inheritanc ...

; one daughter: ### Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882–1962). ###* Married Prince George of Greece and Denmark; 2 children: ####

Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark ( el, Πέτρος; 3 December 1908 – 15 October 1980) was a Greek prince, soldier and anthropologist specialising in Tibetan culture and polyandry. Born in Paris and high in the line of succession to the Gre ...

(1908–1980). Married Irina Aleksandrovna Ovtchinnikova; no children. #### Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark (1910–1988). ####* Married first Prince Dominic Radziwiłł; two children including: ##### Prince George Radziwiłł (1942–2001). ####* Married second Raymundo, Duke of Castel Duino; one son: ##### Carlo Alessandro, Duke of Castel Duino (b. 1952). #####* Married Veronique Lantz; three children including: ###### Prince Dimitri della Torre e Tasso (b. 1977) On November 26, 1853 the Bonapartes sold the principality of Canino and the castle of Musignano to

Alessandro Torlonia, 2nd Prince of Civitella-Cesi Prince '' Don'' Alessandro Raffaele Torlonia, Prince of Fucino, Prince of Civitella-Cesi, Duke of Ceri (January 1, 1800 – February 7, 1886) was an Italian nobleman of the House of Torlonia, titled Duca di Ceri, Prince di Fucino. He was the so ...

"including the titles and honorary rights"

References

thePeerage.com
European royal family trees website Bonapartist pretenders to the French throne Prince of Canino and Musignano