Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz
Encyclopedia
Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Duke of Cádiz, Grandee of Spain (Alfonso Jaime Marcelino Manuel Víctor María de Borbón y Dampierre, French citizen as Alphonse de Bourbon) (20 April 1936 – 30 January 1989) was a grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain
and a Legitimist claimant to the throne of France
.
, the elder son of Infante Jaime of Spain
and of his first wife, Donna Emmanuella de Dampierre. He was baptised at the home of his maternal grandmother, the Italian princess Donna Vittoria Ruspoli, of the princes of Poggio Suasa, the Palazzo Ruspoli, on the Via del Corso
, 418, Rome
, by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII
).
Since Alfonso's mother was not born a princess of royal descent, his grandfather Alfonso XIII did not consider young Alfonso in line to the Spanish throne in accordance with the Pragmatic Sanction
of 1776. Alfonso's father Jaime disagreed, however, and maintained that his sons were Spanish dynasts with the style of Royal Highness. In Spain up until 1972 Alfonso was generally addressed as Don Alfonso de Borbón y Dampierre. Elsewhere he was often addressed as a prince with the style His Royal Highness.
From his birth Alfonso was considered a French prince with the style His Royal Highness by those legitimists who believed that Alfonso XIII was also the heir to the French throne. When his grandfather died on 28 February 1941, Alfonso's father Jaime succeeded him in this French claim; Alfonso was thereupon recognised by the legitimists as Dauphin of France.
In 1941 Alfonso moved with his family to Lausanne
in Switzerland
. They lived first at the Hotel Royal, before Alfonso and his younger brother Gonzalo were sent to the Collège Saint-Jean in Fribourg
. On 8 December 1946 Alfonso made his first communion
with his brother, Gonzalo; on the same day he was confirmed by Cardinal Pedro Segura y Sáenz
, Archbishop of Seville
.
On 25 November 1950, Alfonso received the title Duc de Bourbon (Duke of Bourbon
) from his father.
In the 1960s General Francisco Franco
toyed with the idea of naming Alfonso as his successor as Head of State of Spain, before designating Juan Carlos as the future monarch in July 1969. In December 1969 Alfonso was appointed Ambassador
of Spain to Sweden
, a position he held until 1973.
On 8 March 1972, in the Palace of El Pardo
in Madrid
, Alfonso married Doña María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco
, daughter of Don Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú
, 10th Marquess of Villaverde, and of his wife, Doña Carmen Franco y Polo
, 1st Duchess of Franco (only daughter of General Franco). The witnesses of the marriage were General Franco and Alfonso's mother. Alfonso and Carmen separated in 1979, received a civil divorce 1982 and an annulment
in 1986.
On 22 November 1972, General Franco awarded Alfonso the Spanish title Duque de Cádiz (Duke of Cádiz
) with the dignity Grandes de España (Grandee of Spain), and was recognised and granted with the style of Royal Highness. The title Duke of Cadiz was a title used by the Royal House of Spain and had formerly been held by Alfonso's great-great-grandfather the Infante Francisco de Asís
.
On 20 March 1975, Alfonso's father Jaime died; he was immediately recognised by his supporters as King Alphonse II of France. On 3 August 1975, he took the courtesy title Duc d'Anjou (Duke of Anjou).
From 1977 to 1984 Alfonso was President of the Spanish Skiing Federation. From 1984 to 1987 he was President of the Spanish Olympic Committee.
On 7 February 1984 in Pamplona
, Alfonso was driving home with his sons from a ski trip in the Pyrenees
. His car collided with a truck. His eldest son Francisco de Asís was killed in the accident; his younger son Luis-Alfonso was in hospital for a month; Alfonso himself required six operations. A judge ruled that Alfonso had been negligent and stripped him of the custody of Luis-Alfonso.
In 1987, Prince Henri of Orléans, Count of Clermont, eldest son of Henri, Count of Paris, the then Orléanist
claimant to the defunct throne of France, initiated a court action against Alfonso for his use of the title Duke of Anjou and the coat-of-arms France Moderne (three fleur-de-lis
or); Henri asked the court to fine Alfonso 50,000 French franc
s for each future violation. In 1988, Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro
and Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma joined Henri's lawsuit in reference to the use of the title Duke of Anjou, but not in respect to the coat-of-arms. On 21 December 1988, the Tribunal de grand instance
of Paris
ruled that the lawsuit was inadmissible because the title's legal existence could not be proven; that neither the plaintiff (Henri) nor the intervenors (Fernando and Sixtus) had established their claims to the title; and that Henri was not injured from the use of the plain arms of France by the Spanish branch of the Bourbon family.
In 1989 Prince Henri d'Orléans and Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma appealed the judgment in the lawsuit about the use of a title and arms by Alfonso; the original judgment against them was upheld.
accident
in Beaver Creek
, Eagle County
, Colorado
on 30 January 1989. He collided with a cable which was being raised to support a banner at the finish line of a course at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
.
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Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...
and a Legitimist claimant to the throne of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Life
Alfonso was born in the Clinica Santa Anna in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, the elder son of Infante Jaime of Spain
Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia
Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, Grandee of Spain , was the second son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and his wife Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg...
and of his first wife, Donna Emmanuella de Dampierre. He was baptised at the home of his maternal grandmother, the Italian princess Donna Vittoria Ruspoli, of the princes of Poggio Suasa, the Palazzo Ruspoli, on the Via del Corso
Via del Corso
The Via del Corso , commonly known as the Corso, is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is remarkable for being absolutely straight in an area characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas...
, 418, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
).
Since Alfonso's mother was not born a princess of royal descent, his grandfather Alfonso XIII did not consider young Alfonso in line to the Spanish throne in accordance with the Pragmatic Sanction
Pragmatic sanction
A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor....
of 1776. Alfonso's father Jaime disagreed, however, and maintained that his sons were Spanish dynasts with the style of Royal Highness. In Spain up until 1972 Alfonso was generally addressed as Don Alfonso de Borbón y Dampierre. Elsewhere he was often addressed as a prince with the style His Royal Highness.
From his birth Alfonso was considered a French prince with the style His Royal Highness by those legitimists who believed that Alfonso XIII was also the heir to the French throne. When his grandfather died on 28 February 1941, Alfonso's father Jaime succeeded him in this French claim; Alfonso was thereupon recognised by the legitimists as Dauphin of France.
In 1941 Alfonso moved with his family to Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. They lived first at the Hotel Royal, before Alfonso and his younger brother Gonzalo were sent to the Collège Saint-Jean in Fribourg
Fribourg
Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...
. On 8 December 1946 Alfonso made his first communion
First Communion
The First Communion, or First Holy Communion, is a Catholic Church ceremony. It is the colloquial name for a person's first reception of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Catholics believe this event to be very important, as the Eucharist is one of the central focuses of the Catholic Church...
with his brother, Gonzalo; on the same day he was confirmed by Cardinal Pedro Segura y Sáenz
Pedro Segura y Sáenz
Pedro Segura y Sáenz was a Spanish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Toledo from 1927 to 1931, and Archbishop of Seville from 1937 until his death...
, Archbishop of Seville
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville
The Archdiocese of Seville is part of the Catholic Church in Seville, Spain. The Diocese of Seville was founded in the 3rd century. It was raised to the level of an archdiocese in the 4th century. The current Archbishop is Juan José Asenjo Pelegrina...
.
On 25 November 1950, Alfonso received the title Duc de Bourbon (Duke of Bourbon
Duke of Bourbon
Duke of Bourbon is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of Bourbon...
) from his father.
In the 1960s General Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
toyed with the idea of naming Alfonso as his successor as Head of State of Spain, before designating Juan Carlos as the future monarch in July 1969. In December 1969 Alfonso was appointed Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
of Spain to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, a position he held until 1973.
On 8 March 1972, in the Palace of El Pardo
El Pardo
The Royal Palace of El Pardo is a historical building near Madrid, Spain, in the present-day district of Fuencarral-El Pardo. Owned by the Spanish state and administered by the Patrimonio Nacional agency, the palace began as a hunting lodge.-Overview:...
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Alfonso married Doña María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco
María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco
María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco is a Spanish aristocrat and social figure. Under Spanish law since 2006 she precedes her younger brother as heir to her mother's dukedom, and is eligible to be succeeded by and/or to cede that grandeza to her descendants.-Birth and youth:She was born in...
, daughter of Don Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú
Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú
Don Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Ortega, 10th Marquis of Villaverde was a Spanish aristocrat and noted heart surgeon.-Family:...
, 10th Marquess of Villaverde, and of his wife, Doña Carmen Franco y Polo
Carmen Franco y Polo
María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco, Grandee of Spain, Dowager Marquise of Villaverde is the only child of Spain's Caudillo, dictator General Francisco Franco and his wife Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdès...
, 1st Duchess of Franco (only daughter of General Franco). The witnesses of the marriage were General Franco and Alfonso's mother. Alfonso and Carmen separated in 1979, received a civil divorce 1982 and an annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
in 1986.
On 22 November 1972, General Franco awarded Alfonso the Spanish title Duque de Cádiz (Duke of Cádiz
Duke of Cádiz
The Duchy of Cádiz is Spanish nobility title. Its name refers to the Andalusian city of Cádiz.-History:After the death of the 1st Duke, the Catholic Monarchs negotiated with Francisca Ponce de León y de la Fuente, the abolition of the Marquisate and Duchy of Cádiz, reinstating the city and the...
) with the dignity Grandes de España (Grandee of Spain), and was recognised and granted with the style of Royal Highness. The title Duke of Cadiz was a title used by the Royal House of Spain and had formerly been held by Alfonso's great-great-grandfather the Infante Francisco de Asís
Francis of Spain
Francis of Spain was King consort of Spain as spouse of Isabella II of Spain. He is commonly styled the Duke of Cádiz, the title he held before his marriage.-Family:...
.
On 20 March 1975, Alfonso's father Jaime died; he was immediately recognised by his supporters as King Alphonse II of France. On 3 August 1975, he took the courtesy title Duc d'Anjou (Duke of Anjou).
From 1977 to 1984 Alfonso was President of the Spanish Skiing Federation. From 1984 to 1987 he was President of the Spanish Olympic Committee.
Marriage and children
Alfonso and Carmen had two sons:- Don Francisco de Asís Alfonso Jaime Cristóbal Víctor José Gonzalo Cecilio de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú, Duc de Bourbon (MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 22 November 1972 - PamplonaPamplonaPamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
, 7 February 1984) - Don Luis Alfonso Gonzalo Víctor Manuel de Borbón y Martínez-BordiúLouis Alphonse, Duke of AnjouPrince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou was not originally among his given names ; born 25 April 1974, Madrid) is a member of the historically royal dynasty of the House of Bourbon, and one of the current pretenders to the defunct crown of France...
(born 1974).
On 7 February 1984 in Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
, Alfonso was driving home with his sons from a ski trip in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. His car collided with a truck. His eldest son Francisco de Asís was killed in the accident; his younger son Luis-Alfonso was in hospital for a month; Alfonso himself required six operations. A judge ruled that Alfonso had been negligent and stripped him of the custody of Luis-Alfonso.
Lawsuit of the Count of Clermont against the Duke of Anjou
Orléanist
The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in...
claimant to the defunct throne of France, initiated a court action against Alfonso for his use of the title Duke of Anjou and the coat-of-arms France Moderne (three fleur-de-lis
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
or); Henri asked the court to fine Alfonso 50,000 French franc
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
s for each future violation. In 1988, Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro
Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro
Prince Ferdinando of the Two Sicilies was a claimant to the headship of the House of the Two Sicilies. He was known as the Duke of Castro.-Biography:...
and Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma joined Henri's lawsuit in reference to the use of the title Duke of Anjou, but not in respect to the coat-of-arms. On 21 December 1988, the Tribunal de grand instance
Tribunal d'instance
In France, the Tribunal d'instance , is a judicial inferior court of record of first instance for general civil suits and includes a criminal division, the Police Court , which hears cases of misdemeanors or summary offences...
of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ruled that the lawsuit was inadmissible because the title's legal existence could not be proven; that neither the plaintiff (Henri) nor the intervenors (Fernando and Sixtus) had established their claims to the title; and that Henri was not injured from the use of the plain arms of France by the Spanish branch of the Bourbon family.
In 1989 Prince Henri d'Orléans and Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma appealed the judgment in the lawsuit about the use of a title and arms by Alfonso; the original judgment against them was upheld.
Death
Alfonso died in a skiingSkiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
accident
Accident
An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its...
in Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek, Colorado
Beaver Creek is an unincorporated community in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. Beaver Creek is located immediately south of the town of Avon and encompasses the Beaver Creek Resort and adjacent business, lodging, and residential areas. The U.S...
, Eagle County
Eagle County, Colorado
Eagle County is the thirteenth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado in the United States. The county is named for the Eagle River. The county population was 41,659 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is the Town of Eagle...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
on 30 January 1989. He collided with a cable which was being raised to support a banner at the finish line of a course at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1989
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1989 were held in Vail, Colorado, U.S.A., from February 2-12, 1989.Vail and Beaver Creek would also host the World Championships a decade later, in 1999....
.
Ancestors
External links
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