Chambord, Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie DieudonnE, comte de, French History, Biographies

Related Category: French History, Biographies

Chambord, Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie DieudonnE, comte de[ANrE´ shArl ferdEnAN´ mArE´ dyOdOnA´ kONt du shANbOr´] Pronunciation Key, 1820–83, Bourbon claimant to the French throne, posthumous son of Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry. His original title was duke of Bordeaux. His grandfather, Charles X, abdicated in his favor during the Revolution of 1830, and he is known to the legitimists as Henry V, although he never held the throne. He accompanied Charles into exile and spent most of the rest of his life at Frohsdorf, Austria. In 1832 his mother, Caroline de Berry, unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow Louis Philippe. Efforts to reconcile his claims with those of the Orleanist pretender, Louis Philippe Albert d'OrlEans (see under OrlEans, family), after the February Revolution of 1848, met with little success. In 1871, after the fall of the Second Empire, Chambord's prospects improved, and in 1873 the Orleanist pretender relinquished his claims in Chambord's favor. However, his stubborn adherence to the Bourbon flag in preference to the national flag, destroyed his chance of recognition. He died without issue, and his claims passed to the house of Bourbon-OrlEans.

See biography by M. L. Brown, Jr. (1967).