Alfonso de Borbón and Dampierre

Alfonso Jaime Marcelino Manuel Victor María de Bourbon and Dampirerre , Duke of Cádiz, Duke of Anjou (Rome, Italy, April 20, 1936 – Beaver Creek Resort, Eagle County, Colorado, United States, January 30, 1989), was a legitimist suitor to the throne of France between 20 March 1975 (date of the death of his father) and his death in 1989. He was the son of the infant Jaime de Borbón and Battenberg, Duke of Segovia (and therefore grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain), and his first Wife, Emanuela de Dampierre.

Alfonso was born at the Santa Anna Clinic, in Rome. ^{[ first ]} She was baptized in her maternal grandmother’s house, the Italian Donna Vittoria Ruspoli, of the princes of Poggio Suase Sponsors his paternal grandfather, Alfonso XIII and his maternal grandmother, Victoria Ruspoli. ^{[ 2 ]} ​ ^{[ 3 ]} ​

His father, Jaime de Borbón, resigned in 1933 to the rights of succession to the throne of Spain for him and his descendants for his physical limitation, since he was deaf and dumb, and by express order of King Alfonso XIII of Spain (his father), which, which At that time he was already in exile due to the proclamation in 1931 of the Second Spanish Republic. Jaime de Borbón married, some years later, with Emanuela de Dampierre, a woman who, although she came from a noble family, did not belong to royalty, a requirement to avoid being excluded from the succession line, which was in force in the Spanish monarchy From the reign of Carlos III.

Alfonso de Borbón only had one brother, Gonzalo de Borbón and Dampierre (1937-2000), with whom he had a very good relationship. They received the First Communion together on December 8, 1946 at the Palace of their Maternal uncles, the Condes Miani Di Angoris. The same day, they were confirmed by the Archbishop of Seville. His parents separated very soon, and Infante Jaime married, this time with a Prussian cabaret singer, divorced and mother of a daughter, Charlotte Luise Auguste Tiedemann (1919-1979); Meanwhile, Doña Emanuela married a Milanés banker, Antonio Sozzani (1918-2007). The two brothers, Alfonso and Gonzalo, first studied at the French Liceo Chateaubriand in Rome, and later in a Swiss boarding school, San Juan de Friburg. They used to go to Lausana to visit their grandmother “Gangan”, Queen Victoria Eugenia, who professed them true affection. Alfonso, who until age 17 did not speak Spanish and only understood Italian and French, hired a private teacher who gave him Spanish classes in the boarding school where he lived.

Alfonso XIII never considered his grandchildren Alfonso and Gonzalo members of the succession line due to the resignation of his father. In 1954, after the permission of General Franco, the brothers marched to Spain. It was not the first time that Alfonso stepped on Spanish, since a few years before, while sailing with his friends for the Mediterranean from the French coast, a storm forced them to anchor in a port of a nearby island, which by chance turned out to be Ibiza . ^{[ 4 ]} Alfonso subsequently commented that, compared to Italy and France, Spain seemed like a very poor country.

First resided in Bilbao, where he studied law at the University of Deusto. Then he continued studying in Valladolid and at the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. In the middle of the university career, he was able to fulfill the military service at the Military College of Valladolid, and as an anecdote, a certain general of said school protested that registration of young Alfonso, arguing that he was Italian and had to return to the country of his birth, Italy.

Alfonso was a gentleman of honor and devotion of the Order of Malta, Caballero Grand Cruz de Justicia of the Sacred Constantinian military order of San Jorge, gentleman of the Order of the Saints Mauricio and Lázaro, Knight of the Order of the Polar Star, and Caballero Great Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica, among other decorations. It was also prebos of the Spanish -American Chapter of Knights of Corpus Christi in Toledo, dying in office.

He was a godfather of Baptism of Infanta Cristina in 1965.

Public life [ To edit ]

Francisco Franco designated, in 1969, Alfonso’s cousin, that is, Juan Carlos de Borbón and Bourbon, as a successor at the State Headquarters. Years before that, Alfonso de Borbón had speculated on French television his possibility of being a king of Spain: «There are three conditions for this: having real blood, being thirty years old and being Spanish. Obviously, I fulfill these requirements, ”he said. Possibly, these speculations had their origin when their father, Don Jaime de Borbón and Battenberg, retracted his resignation to the throne and proclaimed himself the Chief of the Royal House of Bourbons In its Spanish and French branches, as well as Duque de Anjou.

When Franco appointed the future Juan Carlos I as a successor, he appointed Alfonso de Borbón and Dampierre Ambassador of Spain in Sweden, ^{[ 5 ]} Position he held from 1969 to 1973. It was there that he met his future wife, María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú and Franco. Her father-in-law, the Marquis de Villaverde, Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, took her to an act in Stockholm whom Alfonso de Borbón had invited her.

Among other positions, he was president of the Institute of Hispanic Culture (current AECID), making several official trips in Latin America. ^{[ 6 ]} ​

Asimism, was the president of the Spanish Federation of Esqué and the Spanish Olympic Committee of Campsa and asserates.

Military, Alfonso had the degree of Air Force officer.

Marriage and children [ To edit ]

On December 23, 1971, before numerous media, Alfonso made his request for the hands of María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú and Franco (1951) in the Palacio de El Pardo, with his mother’s assistance, Emanuela de Emanuela de Dampierre, and his brother, Gonzalo de Borbón and Dampierre, although not his father, infant Jaime de Borbón and Battenberg. On March 8, 1972, they married in the chapel of said palace. To attend this event, Alfonso’s father, Jaime de Borbón and Battenberg arrived in Madrid, for the first time in forty years since his exile departure and broke down to cry, according to his other son, Gonzalo, who received him at the airport of decks. General Franco (by the bride) and Emanuela de Dampierre (by the boyfriend).

After Alfonso married Carmen Martínez-Bordiú, the rumors of a possible alteration of the succession line were disclosed again. The marriage received the Duchy of Cádiz. Very soon, at the beginning of June 1972, the first controversy occurred when from the Monarchical newspaper ABC the embassy was accused of wanting to impose the title of royal highness and loaded hard against its possible use and that of the Prince. ^{[ 7 ]} Some relatives and people around Francisco Franco, as well as ultras sectors, wanted Alfonso to be appointed successor of the head of the State with the title of King, instead of his cousin Juan Carlos. Franco felt true aversion towards Juan Carlos’s father, Juan de Borbón and Battenberg, and from some sectors they were speculated and movements were made so that this change was carried out.

Previously, Badajoz’s duchy had been offered by the Count of Barcelona to his nephew Alfonso de Borbón and Dampierre In the 1950s, but he rejected him alleging that he was still young and hoped to show a greater dignity, as king. ^{[ 8 ]} ​

However, Franco did not alter the succession plans of the State Headquarters planned since 1969, and Juan Carlos de Borbón was proclaimed King of Spain, after his death, on November 20, 1975.

After the wedding, the newlyweds moved to Stockholm, where Alfonso continued to perform ambassador’s work throughout his mandate. While in Sweden, the marriage announced that they were waiting for their first child: Francisco de Asís de Borbón, who was born at the San Francisco de Asís Clinic in Madrid on November 22, 1972. General Franco had as godparents, and General Franco, and His paternal great -grandmother, Donna Vittoria Ruspoli. Almost two years later, on April 25, 1974, Luis Alfonso de Borbón was born, at the same clinic as his brother. He had as godparents his maternal great-grandmother, Mrs. María del Carmen Polo Martínez-Valdés, and his paternal grandfather, the infant Jaime de Borbón and Battenberg, who was represented by his youngest son, Gonzalo de Borbón and Dampierre.

On March 20, 1975, Infante Jaime de Borbón and Battenberg died in Switzerland; He had been twice in his homeland in the last years of his life and only met his first grandson, Francisco, when he was baptized shortly after his birth. The Duke of Cádiz and his brother were able to arrive on time to the Swiss hospital where his father was hospitalized, who was still aware; He then fell into a coma and died a few days later. In that same year 1975, Alfonso also lost his maternal grandfather, Roger de Dampierre, Vizconde de Dampierre, Duke – Pontificio – of San Lorenzo Nuovo and noble of Viterbo.

In 1979, Alfonso and Carmen separated. On May 24, 1982, they announced their divorce. That same year, his maternal grandmother, Donna Vittoria Emilia Ipsicratea Agricola, Ruspoli di Poggio Suasa dies.

Last years of life and death [ To edit ]

Two years after his divorce, on Sunday, February 5, 1984, five minutes before eight in the afternoon, driving a Citroën Cx 25 GTI tourism, suffered a car accident when a stop sign, a stop sign, against a pegaso truck, against a pegaso truck At the crossroads of the A15 highway output branch (today AP15) with the C-101 Regional High , as a consequence, his eldest son, Francisco de Asís, died at the hospital in Pamplona, ​​on February 7, 1984 at 11 years of age, unable to recover from the very serious wounds suffered. In the car was also traveling his youngest son, Luis Alfonso, and the children’s governess, Manuela Sánchez Prat. They were transferred to the Hospital de Navarra, in Pamplona. Alfonso de Borbón and Dampierre could not be present at his son’s burial when his own life was in danger. Alfonso XIII’s grandson suffered a great psychological impact as a result of these events.

On December 16, 1986, the Duke of Cádiz and María del Carmen (surname then Rossi) obtained in the Rota Sacra court in Madrid, the ecclesiastical nullity of their marriage.

He had a relationship with the Argentine actress Mirta Miller, who subsequently published a book about her relationship with Alfonso de Borbón. Her profession, as well as her participation in various uncover films in the time of the transition, caused some controversy among the legitimists, who saw the relationship as inappropriate. Subsequently, in the last stage of his life, he had a stable sentimental relationship, with visos to end in marriage, with the archduke María Constanza de Habsburg,-daughter of the archduke Carlos Luis (1918-2007), and Princess Yolanda de Ligne (n. 1923) – Laturity relationship of Alfonso’s mother, Emanuela.

In 1988, his political grandmother, María del Carmen Polo and Martínez-Valdés died in Madrid.

Alfonso de Borbón and Dampierre died tragically on January 30, 1989 in a ski accident in Beaver Creek, Eagle County (Colorado). He had traveled to the United States to enjoy his favorite sport, skiing, during the celebration of world championships. His death occurred while he was inspecting the slopes of Beaver Creek after the celebration of female ski tests; He found his friend Toni Sailer (1935-2009), Austrian ski champion and went down together on the slopes; Upon arriving at the goal, Sailer stopped when he saw a cable too low and went to warn the skiers. However, Alfonso de Borbón passed through Sailer’s left and the cable segated his neck. ^{[ 9 ]} Alfonso’s presence on tracks was the object of discussion and, apparently, an employee named Daniel Conway had been manipulating the steel cable. Both situations were justified in a report published in the following article. ^{[ ten ]} Alfonso’s death was certified upon arrival at a medical center in the area. According to the preliminary autopsy report, death was instantaneous but when they picked him up from the clues, time after the accident, he still had a weak pulse. ^{[ 11 ]} ​ ^{[ twelfth ]} ​ ^{[ 13 ]} His body was repatriated and buried in the monastery of the Royal Barefoot, where the remains of his son Francisco de Asís also resist since 1984. Since 2000, the remains of Alfonso’s brother, Gonzalo de Borbón and Dampierre, who died in Lausana, Switzerland, as a result of leukemia.

The strange event of his death resulted in a strong debate that continues today about whether he was intentionally or a simple carelessness of the Daniel Conway operator that should have placed a warning signal, and that would disappear in the following days to the event. The few relatives who have talked about the case have wanted to consider an accident, although none dodges the possibility that it has been a homicide, since, as such it has been recorded in the archives of the Beaver Creek sheriff. ^{[ 14 ]} ​ ^{[ 15 ]} ​

Alfonso de Borbón and Dampierre was considered by French legitimism as head of the French royal house with the name of Alphons II of France, being the most direct descendant by Paterna line of Hugo Capeto and, therefore, heir to the ancient French kings according to the right of the old regime. However, these claims have never obtained any official recognition or validity. The explicit resignation of Alfonso’s rights, for himself and for his descendants, concerns only the crown of Spain but not that of France, since in the fundamental laws of the kingdom of France, the resignation does not exist, nor is it limiting to those rights to contract unequal marriage.

Since Alfonso’s death, his son Luis Alfonso is considered by the French legitimist as Louis XX of France , dynastic king of that country, and head of the ducats of Anjou, Bourbon and Touraine, although such distinctions are not officially recognized, or any other. In Spain, it also does not have any noble title today.

During the second half of September 2010, the Spanish Telecinco chain issued a biographical film about the life of Alfonso de Borbón and Dampierre, in two chapters, entitled Alfonso, the cursed prince. Alfonso’s role is played by actor José Luis García Pérez.

Accident in Navarra [ To edit ]

• Judgment for the traffic accident of the Duke of Cádiz in Navarra.
• Navarra accident chronicle in the press of the next day.

Titles and orders [ To edit ]

Coat of arms like Caballero Grand Cruz of the Order of Isabel la Católica

Titles and treatments [ To edit ]

In Spain [ To edit ]

• ?-November 25, 1972: His Royal Highness Don Alfonso de Borbón y Dampierre. ^{[ 16 ]} ​
• November 25, 1972-30, 1989: His Royal Highness Don Alfonso de Borbón and (de) Dampierre, Duke of Cádiz. ^{[ 17 ]} ​ ^{[ 18 ]} ​

Orders [ To edit ]

As a legitimist successor to the throne of France, Alfonso de Borbón and Dampierre held the great teacher of the royal orders of the kingdom of France. In addition, as head of the French Bourbon house, he received numerous distinctions.

French orders

Foreign orders

References [ To edit ]

Grades

Bibliography

• The, Marc. The Duke of Anjou said to me: The life of the elder of Bourbons. Paris: Perrin, 1989. ISBN 2-262-00725-X.
• Silve de Ventavon, Jean. The legitimacy of the lilies and the Duke of Anjou. Paris: EDITIONS F. Lanore, 1989. Isbn 2-85157-060-9.
• Zavala, José María. Two infants and a destination. Barcelona: Plaza & Janés, 1998. ISBN 84-01-55006-8. The Bourbon Non pleasant. The silenced life and the violent death of the Duke of Cádiz. Madrid: General, 2008.

external links [ To edit ]