Thande
Donor
Had a thought earlier...what did the various rival claimants to the French throne do during the occupation in the Second World War?
The Armenian Genocide informs me that:
The Legitimist claimant was Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, second son of Alfonso XIII of Spain. He was deaf-mute and renounced his claim to the throne of Spain because of this, but in 1941 proclaimed his claim to the throne of France as Henri V - though doing nothing about it.
The Orleanist claimant was Henri, Comte de Paris, who was refused entry to the French and British Armies in 1939 so joined the French Foreign Legion.
The Bonapartist claimant was Louis, Prince Napoléon, who claimed to be Napoleon VI. He also was refused entry to the French Army so joined the Foreign Legion, then the French Resistance and was briefly captured by the Nazis.
Note that at the time France had a law which exiled all members of the royal families, which was not repealed until 1950.
Now, two questions: one, could any of these men played a significant enough role to lead to the restoration of the French monarchy after WW2 (unlikely at this stage, I know) or two, could any of them have turned traitor if the Nazis and Petain had made Vichy France a kingdom and offered its throne up?
In the first aspect I think the most likely candidate is Louis, who seemed to get on reasonably well with de Gaulle and certainly fought hard both in North Africa and under the Occupation. For the second, probably Jaime, given Franco.
Thoughts?
The Armenian Genocide informs me that:
The Legitimist claimant was Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, second son of Alfonso XIII of Spain. He was deaf-mute and renounced his claim to the throne of Spain because of this, but in 1941 proclaimed his claim to the throne of France as Henri V - though doing nothing about it.
The Orleanist claimant was Henri, Comte de Paris, who was refused entry to the French and British Armies in 1939 so joined the French Foreign Legion.
The Bonapartist claimant was Louis, Prince Napoléon, who claimed to be Napoleon VI. He also was refused entry to the French Army so joined the Foreign Legion, then the French Resistance and was briefly captured by the Nazis.
Note that at the time France had a law which exiled all members of the royal families, which was not repealed until 1950.
Now, two questions: one, could any of these men played a significant enough role to lead to the restoration of the French monarchy after WW2 (unlikely at this stage, I know) or two, could any of them have turned traitor if the Nazis and Petain had made Vichy France a kingdom and offered its throne up?
In the first aspect I think the most likely candidate is Louis, who seemed to get on reasonably well with de Gaulle and certainly fought hard both in North Africa and under the Occupation. For the second, probably Jaime, given Franco.
Thoughts?