Henri, Count of Chambord (29 September 1820-24 August 1883) was the legitimist pretender to the throne of France from 3 June 1844 to 24 August 1883. He was the last legitimate descendant in the male line of Louis XV of France, and his death in 1883 ended the Legitimists' main line.
Biography[]
Henri, Count of Chambord was born in the Tuileries Palace of Paris, France on 29 September 1820, the son of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry and Princess Caroline of Naples. At birth, he was given the title "Duke of Bordeaux", but his grandfather Charles X of France was overthrown in the July Revolution of 1830, which destroyed the Bourbon dynasty's rule over France. From 2 to 9 August 1830, he was the disputed King of France, with the Legitimists advancing the nine-year-old boy as their claimant to the throne. However, the National Assembly instead chose Louis Philippe, the Orleanist claimant, as the new King of France. Upon the death of Louis Antoine, Duke of Angouleme in 1844, Henri became the new Legitimist claimant, and the only title he was permitted to hold in exile was "Count of Chambord". In 1870, after the Franco-Prussian War, the Royalists won a majority in the National Assembly, and the Count of Chambord returned to France with the goal of becoming the new ruler of a French absolute monarchy. However, he insisted that the flag of France be reverted from the red-white-and-blue tricoleur to the white and gold fleur de lys flag, leading to the National Assembly establishing a temporary "French Third Republic" instead of restoring the Bourbons. The Assembly initially intended to wait for Henri's death and his replacement by the more liberal Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, but the public decided that a republic divided the people the least, leading to the republic being continued even after Henri's 1883 death. With his death, the last of Louis XV's male descendants had died, and Juan, Count of Montizon became the new Legitimist claimant to the throne.