The rightful King
Today is the birthday of Francis, Duke of Bavaria, rightful King of England and Australia. He is recognised as the successor of James II, who was forcibly removed from the throne in 1688 because of his Catholic faith.
I discovered this fact when web searching for information about the Jacobites. I saw an interesting documentary recently on Charles II, which led me to enquire about the brief reign of his brother James.
I knew vaguely about the rebellion under “Bonnie Prince Charlie” and how it nearly succeeded. But what happened after that?
Basically the cause fizzled as various European governments came to formally recognise the House of Hanover. The bonnie prince died without any legitimate children and was succeeded in law by his brother Henry.
Henry was a priest and became a Cardinal. When he died in 1807 the House of Stuart no longer had direct male lineage.
At the death of the Cardinal called Duke of York, Charles Emanuel, Prince of Savoy, succeeded to all of his British rights as lineal heir of King Charles I.
He was the great-great-grandson of Henrietta Anne, youngest daughter of King Charles I. Charles Emanuel’s hereditary rights were confirmed by the will of the Cardinal. Charles Emanuel was henceforward recognised by the Jacobites as “King Charles IV”.
Francis is not a direct descendant of Charles of Savoy, but he is recognised as the rightful heir to James II. His grandfather Rupert fought for the German Army in World War I. Francis’ father Albert opposed the Nazis and escaped to Hungary during World War II. They were captured and Francis spent time in concentration camps, including the infamous Dachau.
Despite much support throughout the world, Francis has never claimed his British rights. He is not officially recognised as having any claim to the throne because he is Catholic.
Charles II strongly opposed Parliament’s wish to bar James from the throne. He and his brother were the last absolute monarchs. To replace James, Parliament imported a series of Protestant pretenders from Holland and Germany. Arguably, the throne only became English again after Queen Victoria.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
