A Different Comtesse de Chambord

Francesco de Asis accepted the children so that's good enough for me.

It seems like one's opinion of the efficacy of the legal paternity of Francisco de Asis by his acceptance of the offspring would hinge on whether or not one accepts the Pragmatic Sanction of 1830. The argument for Francisco de Asis's paternity is not as strong as many often say. I mean, he was attached to what was seen by many people as a usurpatory and illegitimate government, so of course he accepted his wife's children as his own. I can't imagine what else he would do in such a situation. Doing anything else could have caused the downfall of everything, not that it saved them in the end from that fate. If somebody wanted to challenge the Isabelline-descended Bourbons of today, they could certainly find a casus belli there and force the issue, at least if they were to use the legal standards of the time period. Wars of succession have been fought on weaker arguments than that.

Juan Carlos is definitely a Bourbon (even if by just appearance) by blood in any case.

Naturally. Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon (;)) has many ancestors of Bourbon blood. The question lies in his patrilineal descent.

And then you have the Bourbon-Parmas in Luxembourg (under the name of Nassau) and they have adapted as well. Even the Bourbon-Two Sicilies have learned to compromise has the two branches of it are no longer disputing who is the head of this or that.

The cause of compromise is greatly helped when your only ruling members are collaborators with the revolutionary régimes and the rest have little real power but are surrounded by and live as citizens in social democracies. :)

The legacy of Louis XIV. Which is why one of my favorite TL is if the Petite Dauphin Louis lives and we are not only spared OTL Louis XV and the excess that came with that but the monarchy had devolved a bit.

Indeed, though I think that Louis XIV -- who was by any standard a remarkably talented man -- did have the raw ability required to accomplish his goals, just not the humility and wisdom for them, it seems. If any of his descendants were as skilled as he and his ancestors were at ruling, they might still be ruling outside of Spain, where the ruling Bourbon rules because of being the son of a compromise candidate chosen by Franco (and who then broke his oath to continue Franco's programme).

The Bourbons of today are a strange mix. They share some qualities with the House of Orléans, combined with the legacy of the easy-going pleasure of Louis XV, who was mediocre by the standards of a monarch, allowed himself to be manipulated by his many mistresses, and wanted himself to be seen as "first gentleman of Europe." Their ancestors had the stubbornness of the quintessential Gallic rooster, Louis XIV, without his gifts. They seem like they can't quite get themselves together.
 
The legacy of Louis XIV. Which is why one of my favorite TL is if the Petite Dauphin Louis lives and we are not only spared OTL Louis XV and the excess that came with that but the monarchy had devolved a bit.

I also like that TL. On top of that, if Louis XIV could have somehow prevented the effects of the Great Famine of 1693-1694, he would have absorbed the Spanish Netherlands after the Nine Years' War, putting him in a great position for the next war. He could then use that as a springboard for a better position overseas. That POD, plus the Duc de Bourgogne surviving, would make for an excellent TL, I think, and a completely different modernity than we know.
 
I also like that TL. On top of that, if Louis XIV could have somehow prevented the effects of the Great Famine of 1693-1694, he would have absorbed the Spanish Netherlands after the Nine Years' War, putting him in a great position for the next war. He could then use that as a springboard for a better position overseas. That POD, plus the Duc de Bourgogne surviving, would make for an excellent TL, I think, and a completely different modernity than we know.

Yes. As you say Louis XIV was not just an absolute monarch but gifted at what he did (those who attempted to accomplish the same failed). Even he lived long enough to regret his mistakes though.

The Duc de Bourgogne and Marie-Adelaide are my favorite Royal deaths to butterfly away since I think France (and Europe) might have been radically different had the smallpox passed them by. Louis XV would not only never have a parent-less regency but in all likelihood his brother would have been King instead. France probably would have become a less-centralized state with the provinces having more power than Paris. Also it is also likely if Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen of Spain still dies it is Marie-Adelaide who will pick the next bride to succeed her sister and raise her nephews. Philip V was also said to love Bourgogne more than anyone else in his life and the quadruple deaths of both of his brothers, his beloved sister-in-law, and his wife in the span of less than 2 years broke him where he could be dominated by Isabel Farnese.

The reign of Louis XV is the real cleavage that brought on the Revolution. I don't blame Louis XVI just because he did not have the ability of the Sun King.
 
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