Pretender
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A pretender is a claimant to an abolished throne or to a throne already occupied by somebody else. The English word pretend comes from the French word prétendre, meaning "to put forward, to profess or claim". The term pretender is also applied to those persons on whose behalf a claim to a throne is advanced, regardless of whether that person himself actually makes an active claim.[citation needed] Significantly, the word pretender applies both to claimants with genuine rights to the throne (such as the various pretenders of the Wars of the Roses), to and those with fabricated claims (such as the pretender to Henry VII's throne Lambert Simnel). The papal equivalent of a pretender is an antipope.
[edit] Modern pretenders
The following list contains current pretenders. During the monarchical period of some countries listed here, there was no reigning house as it is known in the European sense – those are for example Tibet or the Central African Empire. These countries have a — in the column "House".
[edit] Europe
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[edit] Germany
Some of the former German monarchies are not listed here because all eligible dynasts of the respective formerly reigning houses are extinct: The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 2001, the duchy of Saxe-Altenburg in 1991 and the principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (since 1909 in personal union with Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt) in the male line in 1971. There may be potential claimants to the entirety of Schwarzburg, however.
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[edit] Italy
Modena, Naples and Parma do not mean the Italian cities but the former states on the territory of present-day's Italy.
| Country |
Pretender |
born |
Pretender since |
Link to past monarchy |
House |
Heir |
born |
References |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unified Italy | |||||||||
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Italy | Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples | 1937 | 1983 | son of Umberto II (King from May to June 1946) | Savoy | Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and Piedmont | 1972 | |
| Amedeo, Duke of Aosta | 1943 | 2006 | cousin of Umberto II (King from May to June 1946) | Prince Aimone, Duke of Apulia | 1967 | ||||
| Italian States prior to unification | |||||||||
 |
Etruria | Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma | 1940 | 1979 | great-great-grandson of Charles II (Louis II) (King from 1803 to 1807) | Bourbon | Carlos, Prince of Piacenza | 1970 | |
| Mantua | Prince Maurizio Gonzaga | 1938 | 1943 | descendant of Federico I Gonzaga (Marquess from 1478 to 1484) | Gonzaga | Prince Corrado Gonzaga | 1941 | ||
 |
Modena and Reggio | Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este | 1955 | 1996 | head of the ducal family of Modena | Habsburg-Lorraine | Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este | 1986 | |
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Naples | Joachim, 8th Prince Murat | 1944 | 1944 | descendant of Joachim Murat (King from 1808 to 1815, appointed by Napoléon I of France) | Murat | Joachim, Prince of Pontecorvo | 1973 | |
 |
Parma | Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma | 1930 | 1977 | grandson of Roberto I (Duke from 1854 to 1859) | Bourbon | Carlos, Prince of Piacenza | 1970 | |
| Piombino | Prince Niccolò Boncompagni-Ludovisi | 1941 | 1988 | descendant of Antonio I Boncompagni-Ludovisi (prince from 1778 to 1801) | Boncompagni | Prince Francesco Boncompagni-Ludovisi | 1965 | ||
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Tuscany | Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany | 1966 | 1993 | descendant of Ferdinand IV (Grandduke from 1859 to 1860) | Habsburg-Lorraine | Archduke Amadeo, Grand Prince of Tuscany | 2001 | |
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Two Sicilies | Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria | 1938 | 1964 | descendants of Ferdinand II (King from 1830 to 1859) | Bourbon | Prince Pedro, Duke of Noto | 1968 | |
| Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro | 1963 | 2008 | Prince Antoine of Bourbon Two Sicilies | 1929 | [11] | ||||
[edit] Africa
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[edit] Americas
| Country |
Pretender |
born |
Pretender since |
Link to past monarchy |
House |
Heir |
born |
References |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Araucania and Patagonia | Prince Felipe of Araucania | 1927 | 1951 | heir of Orélie Antoine I (self-proclaimed King from 1860 to 1878) | Boiry | ? | ||
 |
Brazil (Vassouras branch) | Prince Luís Gastão of Orléans-Braganza | 1938 | 1981 | great-great-grandson of Pedro II (Emperor from 1831 to 1889) | Orléans-Braganza (a sub-line of the House of Orléans, a sub-line of the House of Bourbon) | Prince Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza | 1941 | |
| Brazil (Petrópolis branch) | Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza | 1945 | 2007 | great-great-grandson of Pedro II (Emperor from 1831 to 1889) | Prince Pedro Thiago of Orléans-Braganza | 1979 | |||
 |
Mexico | Don Maximilian von Götzen-Itúrbide | 1944 | 1949 | descendant of Salvador de Itúrbide y de Marzán, grandson of Agustín I (proclaimed Emperor from 1822 to 1823) | Itúrbide | Don Fernando von Götzen-Itúrbide | 1992 | |
 |
Miskito Nation | Norton Cuthbert Clarence | ? | 1978 | since 1978 pretender to the Miskito Kingdom and hereditary chief of the Miskito Nation | ? | ? | ||
[edit] Asia
| Country |
Pretender |
born |
Pretender since |
Link to past monarchy |
House |
Heir |
born |
References |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Aceh | Hasan di Tiro | 1930 | ? | descendant of the Sultans of Aceh | ? | ? | ||
 |
Afghanistan | Crown Prince Ahmad Shah | 1934 | 2007 | Eldest surviving son of Mohammed Zahir Shah, Shah from 1933 to 1973 | Barakzai | Prince Muhammad Zahir Khan | 1962 | |
 |
Bukhara | Seyyid Mir Ibrahim Khan | 1903 | 1944 | son of Seyyid Mir Mohammed Alim Khan (Emir from 1910 to 1920) | Manġit | ? | ||
 |
Champasak | Keo Na Champassak | 1944 | 1980 | grandson of Ratsadanay (King from 1900 to 1904) | Na Champassak | Saysanasak na Champassak | 1946 | |
 |
China (Qīng) | Aisin Gioro Hêng Chen | 1944 | 1997 | descendant of Dàoguāng (Emperor from 1820 to 1850) | Qīng[12] | Aisin Gioro Chinsin | 1977 | |
 |
China (Yuán) | Vincent Yuán | ? | 2003 | great-grandson of Yuán Shìkǎi (self-proclaimed Emperor from 1915 to 1916) | — | Jada Yuán | ? | |
 |
Descendants of Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China, through the Japanese Hata clan. Mant other descendants of other chinese emperors or kings have descendants through clans in Japan. See foreign clans in Japanese clan article. | ? | ? | ? | Descendants of emperor Qin Shi Huang through Prince Yuzuki No Kimi. See Japanese clan for information on other chinese pretenders through Japanese clans. | Qin also other chinese dynasties listed on Japanese clan article | ? | ? | |
 |
Georgia | Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky | 1950 | 1984 | descendant of George XII (Last King of Georgia from 1798 to 1800) | Bagrationi | Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinski of Georgia | 1976 | |
| David Bagrationi of Moukrani | 1976 | 2008 | descendant of Constantine II (King from 1478 to 1505) | Gourami (Ugo) Bagration of Moukhrani | 1976 | ||||
 |
Iran (Pahlavī) | Rez̤ā Pahlavī | 1960 | 1980 | son of Mohammad Rez̤ā Pahlavī (Shah from 1941 to 1979) | Pahlavī | Ali-Rez̤ā Pahlavī II | 1966 | |
 |
Iran (Qâjâr) | Mohammad Hassan Mirza II | 1949 | 1988 | descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah Qâjâr (Shah from 1907 to 1909) | Qâjâr | Prince Arsalan Mirza | ? | |
 |
Iraq | Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid | 1936 | 1970 | cousins of Faysal II (King from 1939 to 1958) | Hāshim | Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein | 1964 | |
| Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein | 1956 | 1958[13] | ? | ||||||
 |
Jerusalem | Juan Carlos I | 1938 | 1975 | The Kingdom of Jerusalem was abolished in 1291. There are various succession theories as to how the claim were to pass and who the rightful heir or heiress is. | Bourbon | Felipe, Prince of Asturias | 1968 | |
| Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou | 1974 | 1989 | Juan Carlos I | 1938 | |||||
| Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples | 1937 | 1983 | Savoia | Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and Piedmont | 1972 | ||||
| Otto von Habsburg | 1912 | 1922 | Habsburg-Lorraine | Archduke Karl | 1961 | ||||
| Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria | 1938 | 1964 | Bourbon | Prince Pedro, Duke of Noto | 1968 | ||||
| Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro | 1963 | 2008 | Prince Antoine of Bourbon Two Sicilies | 1929 | |||||
| Charles-Antoine Lamoral, Prince de Ligne de La Trémoille | 1946 | 2005 | Ligne | Prince Edouard | 1976 | ||||
| Patrick Guinness | 1956 | 1999 | Guinness | Jasmine Guinness | 1976 | ||||
 |
Kalat | Agha Suleiman Jan | 1967 | 1998 | grandson of Ahmed Yar Khan (Khan from 1933 to 1955) | Ahmadzai | — | ||
 |
Korea | Yi Haewŏn [14] | 1919 | 2006 | granddaughter of Gwangmu (Emperor from 1863 to 1907) | Yi[15] | — | ||
| Yi Won | 1962 | 2005 | adoptive son of Prince Yi Gu, grandson of Gojong (Emperor from 1863 to 1907) | ? | |||||
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Laos | Soulivong Savang | 1963 | 1978/ 1984 |
grandson of Savang Vatthana (King from 1959 to 1975) | Khun Lo | Thayavong Savang | 1964 | |
 |
Maldives | Prince Muhammad Nur ud-din | ? | 1969 | son of Hassan Nooraddeen Iskandar II (Sultan from 1935 to 1943) | Huraa | Prince Ibrahim Nur ud-din | ? | |
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Manchukuo | Aisin Gioro Puren | 1918 | 1994 | brother of Kāngdé (Pǔyí) (Emperor from 1934 to 1945) | Qīng | Jin Yuzhang | 1942 | |
|
Mongolia | Aisin Gioro Hêng Chen | 1944 | 1997 | descendant of Dàoguāng (Emperor of China from 1820 to 1850) | Aisin Gioro Chinsin | 1977 | ||
| Myanmar | Taw Phaya | 1924 | 1962 | grandson of Thibaw Min (King from 1878 to 1885) | Konbaung | Taw Phaya Myat Gyi | 1945 | ||
 |
Nepal | Gyanendra | 1947 | 2008 | king from 2001 to 2008 | Shah | Crown Prince Paras | 1971 | |
| Qu'aiti | Ghalib II | 1948 | 1967 | Sultan from 1966 to 1967 | Al-Qu'aiti | Prince Saleh bin Ghalib al-Qu'aiti | 1977 | ||
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Ryūkyū | Shō Mamoru | ? | 1996 | descendant of Shō Tai (King from 1848 to 1879) | Shō | ? | ||
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Sarawak | Anthony Brooke[16] | 1912 | 1946 | nephew of Charles Vyner Brooke (White Raja from 1917 to 1946) | Brooke | James Bertram Lionel Brooke | 1940 | |
| Singapore | Tengku Sri Indra | ? | 1996 | descendant of Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah (Sultan from 1835-1877) | ? | — | |||
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Sulu | Jamalul Kiram III | 1938 | 1986 | grandson of Jamalul Kiram I (Sultan from 1884 to 1899) | Kiram | ? | ||
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Tibet | Tenzin Gyatso | 1935 | 1940 | Dalai Lama since 1940 | — | — | — | [17] |
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Turkey | Ertuğrul Osman V | 1912 | 1994 | grandson of Abdul Hamid II (Ottoman Sultan and Caliph from 1876 to 1909) | Osman | Burhaneddin Djem | 1920 | |
 |
Vietnam | Bảo Thắng | 1943 | 2007 | second son of Bảo Đại (Emperor from 1925 to 1945) | Nguyễn | — | ||
 |
Yemen | Ageel bin Muhammad al-Badr | 1974 | 1996 | son of Muhammad al-Badr (King from 1962 to 1970) | Al-Qasimi | Muhammad al-Hassan bin 'Ageel | ? | |
[edit] India
Satara, Surat, Alwar, Balasinor, Banganapalle, Baroda, Bhopal, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Idar, Indore, Jodhpur Kolhapur Mysore and Udaipur do not mean the Indian cities but the former states on the territory of present-day's India.
| Country |
Pretender |
born |
Pretender since |
Link to past monarchy |
House |
Heir |
born |
References |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political pensioners | |||||||||
| Carnatic | Muhammed Abdul Ali | 1951 | 1993 | descendant of Azimuddaula (Nawab from 1801 to 1819) | Farukhi | Muhammad Asif Ali Khan | ? | ||
| Khudadad | Shahzada Asif 'Ali | 1957 | 1983 | descendant of Tipu Sultan | Tipu Sultan | — | |||
| Mughal Empire | Mirza Ghulam Moinuddin Muhammad[18] | 1946 | 1975 | descendant of Alam II (Shah from 1759 to 1806) | Tīmūr | Mirza Shahrukh Shah Jahan | 1978 | ||
| Punjab | Beant Singh Sandhanwalia | 1926 | 1978 | heir of Duleep Singh | Sandhu Jat | Sukhdev Singh Sandhanwalia | ? | ||
| Satara | Udayanraje Maharaj Bhonsle | 1966 | 1978 | descendant of Shivaji Maharaj | Bhonsle | — | |||
| Surat | Usman Alam Khan Sahib | 1935 | 1989 | descendant of Mir Jaafar Ali Khan head of the Surat family (1842 to 1863) | Sehswani | Maqbul Alam Khan Sahib | ? | ||
| Salute states | |||||||||
| Alwar | Tej Singh | 1911 | 1947 | Maharaja from 1937 to 1947 | Kachwaha | Jitendra Singh | 1971 | ||
 |
Balasinor | Muhammad Salabat Khan II | 1944 | 1947 | Maharaja from 1945 to 1947 | Babi | Muhammed Salauddin Khan | 1979 | |
| Banganapalle | Fazli Ali Khan IV | 1959 | 1983 | grandson of Fazli Ali Khan III (Nawab from 1937 to 1948) | Naqdi | — | |||
| Baroda | Ranjitsinhrao Gaekwad | 1938 | 1988 | son of Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad (Maharaja Gaekwar from 1939 to 1949) | Gaekwad | Samarjitsinhrao Gaekwad | 1967 | ||
| Bhopal | Begum Saleha Sultan | 1940 | 1995 | granddaughter of Hamidullah Khan (Nawab from 1926 to 1949) | Orakzai | — | |||
 |
Gwalior | Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia | 1971 | 1998 | grandson of George Jiyajirao Scindia (Maharaja Scindia from 1925 to 1947) | Scindia | Mahanaryaman Scindia | 1995 | |
 |
Hyderabad | Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah | 1933 | 1967 | grandson of Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII (Nizam from 1911 to 1949) | Asif Jah | Prince Azmet Jah | 1960 | |
 |
Idar | Rajendra Singh Idar | 1938 | 1992 | grandson of Hirmat Singh Daulat Singh (Maharaja from 1925 to 1947) | Rathore | — | ||
| Indore | Usha Devi Maharaj Sahiba Holkar XV Bahadur | 1933 | 1961 | daughter of Yeshwant Rao II (Maharaja Holkar from 1926 to 1947) | Holkar | — | |||
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Jammu and Kashmir | Karan Singh | 1931 | 1949 | son of Hari Singh (Maharaja from 1925 to 1949) | Rathore | Vikramaditya Singh | 1964 | |
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Jodhpur | Gaj Singh | 1948 | 1952 | son of Hanwant Singh (Maharaja from 1947 to 1949) | Shivraj Singh | 1975 | ||
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Kolhapur | Shahu II Bhonsle | 1948 | 1983 | son of Shahaji II Puar (Maharaja from 1947 to 1949) | Bhonsle | Shrimant Sambhaji | 1971 | |
 |
Mysore | Srikantha Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar | 1953 | 1974 | Son of Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur (Maharaja from 1940 to 1950) | Wodeyar | — | ||
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Sikkim | Wangchuk Namgyal | 1953 | 1982 | Son of Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal from 1963 to 1975) | Namgyal | — | ||
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Travancore | Martanda Varma V | 1922 | 1991 | brother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma (Maharaja from 1924 to 1949) | Cheraman (Kulashekhara) | — | ||
 |
Udaipur (Mewar) | Mahendra Singh | 1941 | 1984 | adoptive grandson of Bhupal Singh (Maharana from 1930 to 1949) | Sisodia | Vishvaraj Singh | ? | |
[edit] Oceania
| Country |
Pretender |
born |
Pretender since |
Link to past monarchy |
House |
Heir |
born |
References |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Cocos (Keeling) Islands | John Cecil Clunies-Ross (Ross V) | 1928 | 1978 | self-proclaimed King from 1944 to 1978 | Clunies-Ross | John George Clunies-Ross | 1957 | |
 |
Hawaii | Quentin Kūhiō Kawananākoa | 1961 | 1998 | current head of the descendants of Lili'uokalani (Queen from 1891 to 1893) | Kawananākoa | Kincaid Kawananākoa | 1996 | |
| Owana Kaʻohelelani Mahealani-rose Salazar | 1953 | 1988 | descendant of Kalokuokamaile half-brother of Kamehameha (King from 1795 to 1819) | Keoua Nui | Noa Kalokuokamaile DeGuire | 1981 | |||
[edit] Pretenders in the Roman Empire
Ancient Rome knew many pretenders to the office of Roman Emperor, especially during the crisis of the Third Century.
These are customarily referred to as the Thirty Tyrants, which was an allusion to the Thirty Tyrants at Athens some five hundred years earlier; although the comparison is questionable, and the Romans were separate aspirants, not (as the Athenians were) a Committee of Public Safety. The Loeb translation of the appropriate chapter of the Augustan History therefore represents the Latin triginta tyranni by "Thirty Pretenders" to avoid this artificial and confusing parallel. Not all of them were afterwards considered pretenders; several were actually successful in becoming Emperor in at least in part of the Empire for a brief period.
[edit] The Byzantine Empire
Disputed successions to the Empire continued at Constantinople. Most seriously, after the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and its eventual recovery by Michael VIII Palaeologus, there came to be three Byzantine successor states, each of which claimed to be the Roman Empire, and several Latin claimants (including the Republic of Venice and the houses of Montferrat and Courtenay) to the Latin Empire the Crusaders had set up in its place. There were sometimes multiple claimants to some of the inheritances, as well.
[edit] Cypriot pretenders
Following the defeat and death of King Jacques III of Cyprus in 1474, his younger and illegitimate brother, Eugene Matteo de Armenia (c1485-1523) had moved to Sicily, then Malta. He was acknowledged as Heir to Cyprus, Armenia, Jerusalem and Antioch, though never took it seriously. From a genealogical point, Eugene Matteo (de Lusignan) de Armenia was created a Sicilian title and worked as a Jurat in Malta and in Sicily.
[edit] French pretenders
Following the death of the childless legitimist pretender "Henry V", Comte de Chambord, grandson of King Charles X of France in the 1880s, the majority of French monarchists accepted his distant relative, the Orleanist pretender, the Comte de Paris, grandson of King Louis-Philippe (who descends from King Louis XIII) as the pretender to the French throne. A small minority refused to accept this designation, and chose instead a descendant of Louis XIV and the Spanish line.
The arguments are, on one side, that Philip V of Spain renounced any future claim to the French throne when he became King of Spain, and that the Dukes of Orleans were therefore recognized as the next heirs before the French Revolution. On the other side, that this renunciation was invalid and impossible, and (in some cases) that Philippe Égalité and Louis-Philippe forfeited any remaining right to the crown for disloyalty. Hence there are two pretenders to the French throne; though the Orleanist pretender, the present Comte de Paris, is accepted by most French monarchists as the pretender, as the list above shows.
There is also a pretender to the imperial throne of France, in the person of Charles Napoléon, descendant of the Prince Napoléon.
[edit] Russian pretenders
There is much debate over who is the legitimate heir to the Russian throne. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna is considered by some to be the legitimate heir. She is the daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir who some considered the last male dynast. Supporters of Prince Nicholas' claim believe she is born of a morganatic marriage and therefore not entitled to inherit the throne under strict Russian succession law. Unequal marriages have made tracking a legitimate heir to the Russian throne very difficult, and some believe there is no legitimate heir at all. Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia a descendant of Emperor Nicholas I and president of Romanov Family Association believes himself to be Grand Duke Vladimir's successor. He is regarded by some as the head of the family,[19] but supporters of Grand Duchess Maria's claim believe he is born of a morganatic marriage and therefore not entitled to inherit the throne under strict Russian succession law, Prince Nicholas disputes this and considers himself a Russian dynast. Those who impersonated the murdered daughters of Nicholas II were not pretenders to the throne, as women could not succeed to the Russian throne while a male dynast was alive. Anna Anderson attempted to prove she was the lost daughter of Nicholas II, Anastasia, but DNA testing on her remains proved her claim false.
[edit] English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and British pretenders
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Pretenders to the thrones of the United Kingdom and its predecessor realms, as well as the other historical jurisdictions that are modernly England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, were essentially taken care of by making the Irish and English (and subsequently, British) monarchies purely statutory institutions. Ireland further precluded any and all possible pretenders by declaring itself a republic in 1949.
Prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, Anglo-Saxon England used a system of elective kingship. England originated, in fact, about the year 802, as an amalgam of several kingdoms (Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Mercia, East Anglia, etc.) under the transnational leadership of Egbert of Wessex. The Witenagemot had the right to determine the kingship.
The Norman Conquest eliminated elective kingship in England - for a few centuries - by replacing the Witenagemot with the Norman institution known as the Curia Regis, while the Thing simply disappeared. Gradually, however, the Normans became English; and modern forms of the old Anglo-Saxon institutions began to re-emerge. To this day, the form of Coronation contains vestigial elements of the consent of the people. In time, the new Parliament began to re-assert its ancient predecessor's right to choose the king, culminating in an Act of 1649, without the Royal Assent of Charles I, on the morning of his execution. However, the power is now held to be vested in the Crown in Parliament, so that an Act was necessary to effect the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936. It is arguable whether or not the Sovereign has the right to withhold either the Sovereign's Consent to consider such a Bill, or the Royal Assent to such an Act)
The change was first noticeable in England following the accession of Henry VIII, after a long period of strife and civil wars that began when Henry IV deposed Richard II. When Henry drafted his deed of succession - naming, first, his son, Edward, to succeed him; then, his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, in birth order - he submitted the document to Parliament for approval. When the regents for Edward then tried to change the succession to skip the teenage king's sisters, in favour of his cousin Lady Jane Grey, Edward signed the document but it did not have the approval of Parliament. Jane is still counted England's first queen regnant, but she only reigned nine days before Mary Tudor arrived from Lincoln. Mary was instantly recognised as Queen without fuss or question.
Attempts to disrupt the statutory nature of the monarchy in England were made by some of the Stuart monarchs, who had not experienced the English checks on royal power when they ruled in Scotland. The Act of Settlement 1701 took care of that problem, and the Act of Union 1707 essentially extended the Act of Settlement to Scotland. The Act of Union 1800 subsequently extended the Act of Settlement to Ireland, but the Irish monarchy had already been made a statutory institution when Henry VIII of England was named King of Ireland by the Irish Parliament in 1542. Previously, the English kings had been styled Lord of Ireland.
Nevertheless, there have been some great pretenders over the centuries. A few famous ones are noted here, and a few passive claims are still made.
James Francis Edward Stuart was the Roman Catholic son of the deposed King James VII and II, forever eclipsed in the succession to the throne by the Act of Settlement 1701. Notwithstanding the Act of Union 1707, he claimed the separate thrones of Scotland, as James VIII, and of England and Ireland, as James III, until his death in 1766. In Jacobite thinking, Acts of Parliament (of England or Scotland) after 1688, (including the Acts of Union) did not receive the required royal assent of the "legitimate" (Jacobite) monarch and, therefore, were without legal effect.
James's sons carried on their own claims. Charles Edward Stuart, the would-be Charles III, still famously known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, died in 1788. He is unquestionably the most famous pretender in British history, if not world history. His younger brother, Henry Benedict Stuart, took up the mantle after his death, if only symbolically, as the would-be Henry IX of England. He died in 1807.
James VIII & III was commonly called "the King over the water", because he was resident in France (across the Channel) and is also known as The Old Pretender. (As no Jacobite monarch since has resided in Britain, Jacobites ever since have toasted 'the King/Queen over the water'.) Bonnie Prince Charlie is also called The Young Pretender. See Jacobitism, Jacobite succession and the related category for more information, and Franz, Duke of Bavaria for the current Jacobite "pretender".
Owain Glyndŵr (1349-1416) is probably the best-known Welsh pretender, though whether he was pretender or Prince of Wales depends upon your source of information. Officially, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, who died in 1282, was the last native and arguably greatest Prince of Wales. Since 1301, the Prince of Wales has been the eldest living son of the King or Queen Regnant of England (subsequently of Great Britain, 1707, and of United Kingdom, 1801). The word "living" is important. Upon the death of Arthur, Prince of Wales, Henry VII invested his second son, the future Henry VIII, with the title. The title is not automatic, however, but merges into the Crown when a prince dies or accedes to the throne, and has to be re-conferred by the sovereign.
Nevertheless, it is Glyndŵr whom many remember as the last native Prince of Wales. He was indeed proclaimed Prince of Wales by his supporters on 16 September 1400, and his revolt in quest of Welsh independence was not quashed by Henry IV until 1409. Later, however, one of Glyndŵr's cousins, Owain Tudor, would marry the widow of Henry V, and their grandson would become Henry VII, from whom the current British monarch is descended (through his daughter Margaret Tudor, who was married off to James IV of Scotland). So, in a way, Glyndŵr might be said to have had the last laugh.
The business of Irish pretenders is rather more complicated because of the nature of kingship in Ireland before the Norman take-over of 1171. In both Ireland and Scotland, succession to kingship was elective, often (if not usually) by contest, according to matrilineal descent. That is, the head of state of any kingdom, sub-kingdom, high kingdom, etc., was always a king, but the king always inherited the crown through his mother, as a ranking princess royal, not through his father. (See, e.g., The Lion in the North: A Personal View of Scotland's History, by John Prebble ISBN 0-14-003652-0 ; among other works.)
Thus, you, as king, would not be succeeded by your own son but would normally be succeeded by your mother's other sons; then by your sisters' sons; then, your maternal aunt's sons; and so on, traveling through the female line of the royal house. This combination of male succession through matrilineal descent produced a cumbersome system under which the throne passed cyclically from brother to brother, then uncle to nephew, and then cousin to cousin, before starting over as brother to brother, uncle to nephew, etc. {See, e.g., The Lion in the North: A Personal View of Scotland's History, by John Prebble; among other works.} In Ireland, however, the high king from the time of Maelsheachlainn I (died 862) exercised a measure of control over the country. He belonged to the Ui Neill dynasty and under the Brehon laws, succession was open to any kinsman up to and including second cousin. His dynasty is today represented by the O'Neill family who would regard their head as the pretender. The O Conor dynasty provided two high kings and the head of the family, the O Conor Don, would also be considered a pretender to the Irish throne. The descendants of Brian Boroimhe are represented by Lord Inchiquin, who is also regarded as a claimant. In addition, pretenders or claimants exist to the localised kingdoms of Breifne, Fermanagh, Tyrconnel and Leinster. The O'Neills would also be regarded as claimants to the throne of Aileach and Lord Inchiquin to the throne of Thomond.
In Scotland, Malcolm II tried to get around this system by killing off all of the heirs between himself and his grandson, Duncan; except for Prince Lulach of Moray, who was just five years old at the time and - more importantly - was successfully rumoured to be half-witted (thus, he survived). Duncan I did become king, but Lulach's stepfather, Maelbeth - rendered "Macbeth" in English - successfully claimed the throne in his own right and on Lulach's behalf.
Duncan I's son, Malcolm III 'Canmore', ultimately returned from exile in England and took the throne from Maelbeth and Lulach (the latter reigning 1057-1058, after the death of Maelbeth in battle against Malcolm). Malcolm was succeeded by his brother, as Duncan II, but then by four of his own sons - one of whom, Edgar (1097-1107), changed the official language of Scotland from Gàidhlig (then, still a Scottish dialect of Old Irish) to Scots (then, a language similar to English but missing the Saxon element that has always been part of standard English). Gaelic dominance of Scotland ended during the reign of Alexander I (1107-1124), and the old Celtic system of matrilineal kingship finally ended and was replaced by a system of primogeniture.
Such a transition never happened in Ireland, but civil war and the imposition of Anglo-Norman rule intervened. Although Ireland had been culturally unified for centuries, it was not politically unified, even as a tribal nation. The Romans having ignored the big green island west of Britain, the Gaels themselves were the last people to successfully invade Ireland and, notwithstanding 750 years of English rule, it is very arguable whether the Norman English ever truly conquered Ireland. (They controlled Ireland, certainly, but that is not all there is to conquest.) So, even serious coastal encroachments by the Vikings a millennium after their arrival did not prompt the Gaels of Ireland to see a need for political unity even to build a concerted national defence. When a people believe they and their country are immune from invasion, it takes a while for them to realise how vulnerable they actually are.
The High King of Ireland was essentially a ceremonial, pseudo-federal overlord (where his over-lordship was even recognised), who exercised actual power only within the realm of which he was actually king. In the case of the southern branch of the Uí Niall, this would have been the Kingdom of Meath (modernly the counties of Meath, West Meath and part of County Dublin). High Kings from the northern branch of the family ruled various kingdoms in what eventually became the province of Ulster.
Nevertheless, the Uí Niall were apparently powerful in ceremony if not in politic, so that political unification of Ireland was not aided by the usurpation of the high kingship from Mael Sechnaill II and the southern Uí Niall in 1002 by Briain ‘Boruma’ mac Cennédig, of the Kingdom of Munster. This was the third of the so-called "Three Usurpations of Brian Boru."
Brian Boru was a strong king who could have unified Ireland politically, and there is some suggestion he intended to make himself High King of Scotland as well. But he was killed in the Battle of Contarf in 1014, and twelve years as High King was not long enough to unify the island politically. Mael Sechnaill II was restored to the High Kingship but he died in 1022, too soon to undo the damage done by Brian's "coup." From 1022 through the Norman take-over of 1171, the High Kingship was held by "Kings with Opposition" - that is, whoever was strong enough to overthrow the High King of the day and take the Hill of Tara simply did so. This 150-year period of regnal unrest between families now called O'Brian, O'Conner, McLoughlin/O'Melaghlin, and others, was eventually immortalised in the children's game called "King of the Hill." The game is still popular among American children, who take turns trying to push each other off a low stool, chair, or other make-shift hill while arguing, "I'm king of the hill!" "No! I'm king!"
Because the native Irish high kingship never transitioned to a system of nation-state kingship primogeniture but simply faded into an oblivion of civil war between competing Irish royal families, there are literally as many as a million or more people who can make a claim to the ancient high kingship of Tara that is as equally valid as anybody else's under the old system disrupted by what may be called Brian Boru's "coup de tribe." Indeed, as a reputed descendant of Brian Boru and of the Uí Niall Dynasty both through his late grandmother, the current heir to the statutory throne that includes Northern Ireland, Prince Charles, could be considered a viable pretender to the high kingship of Ireland, especially as he would be making the claim through the female line of his ancestry. {The British Royal Family has publicly claimed descent from Brian Boru through the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and from other ancestors associated with the Ui Niall Dynasty - usually via marriage through the Royal Family's Scottish ancestry; see the history section of the Royal Family's website for bloodlines and timelines.) But see the remarks above regarding existing native dynasties, whose claims are more valid than those of the current British royal family.
The claims of the British House of Windsor to the Tara Throne of the High Kings of Ireland are baseless since the Irish provincial royal thrones, as well as that of the High Kings can only be claimed strictly through the agnatic male line. Of all the former or reigning European royal houses, none have adhered more strictly to the agnatic principle than those of Ireland. Only recently, the Provincial Throne of Leinster was declared dormant, despite the existence of legitimate female line heirs. The claims by modern royal genealogists-most notably the late Lord Lyon, Sir Thomas Innes of Learney- that the Celtic monarchies of Ireland and Scotland relied heavily on the right of female line of succession is a complete fallacy, and one which has been used to attempt to justify the claims of the House of Windsor. Only the Pictish monarchy of Eastern and northern Scotland embraced this form of succession. The Scottish monarchy adhered strictly to the elective agnatic male-line, until the accession of MalColm II in 1005. This monarch first introduced the concept of hereditary monarchy in Scotland, mainly to end the strife between rival elective claimants. MalColm's new law allowed for both male and female line succession, but not without great conflict and strife which carried on for generations in Scotland. The Irish monarchies never at any stage allowed the introduction of female line succession.
Interestingly, some Irish rebels discussed offering the Irish throne to Prince Joachim of Prussia (son of Kaiser Wilhelm II) before the 1916 Easter Rising. This was obviously anti-English sentiment following the execution of the leaders of the rebellion. After the failure of the Rising (whose leaders established an Irish republic; the royalists were a minority among the rebels), the offer was, of course, never made. But had he been crowned, and Ireland had subsequently became a republic, Joachim's son, Franz Wilhelm, would be an Irish pretender; and, afterward, his son, George of Russia, would be an Irish as well as a Russian pretender.
[edit] Ottoman pretenders
Eldest son during the reign of his father, Mehmet the Conqueror claimed the Sultanate although he was defeated in battle months later by his eldest brother (by birth) Bayezid II. He fled to Rhodes Island then eventually to the Papal Territories. His descendants claimed Cem rights until Malta defeated the Ottomans in the 16th century. After the Ottoman empire was abolished, and the Republic of Turkey came into power, the successive heads of the Ottoman family claimed the throne of the Turkish empire.
[edit] Kingdom of Jerusalem
Since the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, many European rulers have claimed to be its rightful heir. None of these, however, have actually ruled over a part of the former Kingdom. Today there are several potential European claimants on the basis of the inheritance of the title. None of the claimants have any power in the area of the former Kingdom. See the article Kings of Jerusalem for a list of potential claimants.
Outside of Europe,the Emperors of Ethiopia held the title of "King of Zion" through their claim of decent from the Biblical House of David through his son King Solomon. Menelik II dropped the use of this title. The Ethiopian Emperors continued to use the honorific of "Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah" up until the monarchy ended with the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.
[edit] False pretenders
A number of individuals have claimed to be princes who disappeared or died under somewhat mysterious circumstances:
- Anna Anderson, who was one of several persons who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia
- Bertrand of Rais, who claimed to be Baldwin I of Constantinople
- Lambert Simnel, who claimed to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick
- Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York
- Yemelyan Pugachev, who claimed to be Peter III of Russia
- The three false Dimitris of Russia
- Karl Wilhelm Naundorff, who was one of over thirty persons who claimed to be Louis XVII of France
There have also been individuals who claimed to be descendants of royalty:
- Eugenio Lascorz, who claimed descent from the Lascaris of Byzantium
- Alexis Brimeyer, who claimed connections to various European royal houses
- Pierre Plantard, who claimed descent from Merovingian king Dagobert II
- Michel Roger Lafosse, who claims descent from Charles Edward Stuart
- Hiromichi Kumazawa (so-called "The Kumazawa Tenno"), who claimed descent from the last Tenno of Nancho (the Southern Court) of Japan
- Obren Christic, claimed illegitimate son of Milan I of Serbia.
- Hilda Toledano, claimed adulterine (illegitimate with no chance for legitimation) daughter of Carlos I of Portugal.
- Rosario Poidimani, designated, non-related heir of Hilda Toledano.
[edit] Japanese descendants of chinese emperors
Japanese clans like the Hata clan were descended from the first emperor of china, [Qin Shi Huang]]. See foreign clans in article Japanese clans for other descendants of Chinese emperors in Japan.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Johnston, Bruce. "Bank worker claims Albanian throne", Daily Telegraph, 1997-05-08. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
- ^ Otto von Habsburg "renounced" his claim in order to pass freely into Austria. However, he continues to act (and is supported) as Head of the House of Habsburg.
- ^ Simeon was democratically elected as Prime Minister of Bulgaria in June 2001 under the name Simeon Sakskoburggotski, and served from July 2001 to August 2005.
- ^ His son Prince Jean-Christophe was appointed heir in the will of his grandfather Prince Louis Napoléon
- ^ including the present-day states Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.
- ^ The Margrave has appointed his nephew Prince Alexander of Saxe-Gessaphe as his heir
- ^ Saisoneröffnung auf Gedenkstätte an Preußenkönigin Luise
- ^ Saisoneröffnung in Hohenzieritz. Official website of the House of Hohenzollern. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ A letter by Duke Georg Borwin of Mecklenburg
- ^ Princess Juliana Katharina of Anhalt is styled hereditary princess on the family's genealogical listing maintained on their website.
- ^ Prince Carlo's grandfather Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro was unanimously declared Head of the Bourbon Two Sicilies by all relatives except for Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria and his children due to the fact that the Infante's senior branch of the family abdicated their claims in order to be in line for the Spanish throne.
- ^ The Emperors of the Qīng the dynasty descend from the Aisin Gioro clan (chinese 爱新觉罗, „Àixīnjuéluó“).
- ^ Inofficially.
- ^ Declared Empress of Korea symbolically in 2006.
- ^ The Yi family consists of descendants of the Chosŏn Emperors.
- ^ Anthony Brooke was appointed hereditary Rajah Muda of Sarawak on August 27, 1937 but has since renounced any claim to the title.
- ^ Officially religious and secular head of Tibet − since the Chinese occupation in 1950 administration from Indian exile as far as possible.
- ^ The Indian government recognizes Mirza Ghulam Moinuddin Muhammad as current head of the House of Tīmūr.
- ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
