Bourbon-Busset

The Bourbon-Busset family is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, being thus agnatic descendants of the Capetian dynasty. Historically, they have been regarded as non-dynastic since decisions rendered by Louis XI of France.

House of Bourbon-Busset
Original arms of the family
Parent house	House of Bourbon
Country	France
Founded	1498; 526 years ago (1498)
Founder	Pierre de Bourbon, Baron of Busset
Current head	Charles de Bourbon, Count of Busset
Titles	Count of Busset Baron of Busset Baron of Châlus Baron of Puysagut Baron of Vésigneux
Cadet branches	House of Bourbon-Châlus

Possibly, however, the family may be canonically legitimate, in which case it is the most senior extant male-line branch of the Capetians, and senior to the Bourbons which reign today in Spain and Luxembourg and have in the past ruled France, Naples and Sicily, as well as to the House of Braganza, also Capetians by illegitimate descent.

The head of the family uses the title of Count of Busset, which derives its name from the marriage of Pierre de Bourbon (son of Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège) with Marguerite de Tourzel, heiress of the barony of Busset. Their son Philippe married Louise Borgia, Duchess of Valentinois, only legitimate child of Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois.

Origin

The Bourbon-Bussets are descended from Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège

Claude de Bourbon-Busset (1531–1588), father of César de Bourbon-Busset (1565–1630)

The House of Bourbon-Busset descends in male line from Pierre de Bourbon (1464–1529), the eldest son of Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège (1438–1482),^[1] who was a son of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon. Louis, in male line a sixth cousin of King Charles VII of France, married, without royal licence, Catharine d'Egmond, a daughter of Arnold, Duke of Gelderland (probably illegitimate, as the ducal House of Egmont's chronicles never recognized her among princesses of Gelderland).^{[citation needed]}

From this union, three natural sons were born:

• Pierre de Bourbon (1464–1529), chamberlain of Louis XII of France;^[2] married in 1498 Marguerite de Tourzel d'Alègre, heiress to the barony of Busset; this alliance was the start of the House de Bourbon-Busset;
• Louis de Bourbon (1465–1500);
• Jacques de Bourbon (1466–1537), Jesuit priest.

Although the marriage between Louis and Catherine took place before Louis was ordained a priest, which would have made it canonically impossible for him to marry, it was kept secret, being against the interests of Louis XI of France. French alliances in the Low Countries were not compatible with those of the House of Egmont. The French king therefore never recognized any children of the marriage as legitimate. There was a de facto legitimization of the Bourbon-Bussets when they were allowed the treatment of a Cousin du Roi. For the rest of history, the Bourbon-Bussets never claimed anything more than what they had, and constantly remained faithful servants of the Bourbon kings.

Historical evolution

François Louis Antoine, Count of Bourbon-Busset (1722–1793)

Members of the Bourbon-Busset family later acquired the titles of count of Châlus and count of Lignières.

When the Valois-Angoulême branch on the throne was nearing its end in the 16th century, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, was recognized as the premier prince du sang of France, although he only descended from James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), the younger brother of Peter I, Duke of Bourbon (from whom the Bourbon-Bussets descend in the male line).

Modern era

Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset (1898–1984), Duchess of Parma

Charles de Bourbon-Busset (born 1945)

Modern arms of the family

Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset (1898–1984), daughter of the count of Lignières, is a great-great-granddaughter of Jacques, youngest son of the 8th Count of Busset (1722–1793), making her Jacques' (the 14th count) fourth cousin once removed. She got married in 1927 with a royal Bourbon relative, Xavier, titular duke of Parma and Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain. Although Madeleine brought as dowry the chateau of Lignières, at the time this marriage was not accepted as dynastic by the titular duke, Xavier's elder brother, obtaining dynastic recognition retroactively around the time of the engagement of Xavier's eldest son to the daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in 1964.

As the wife of Xavier, Madeleine was, however, proclaimed Queen consort of Spain by the remaining Carlists in 1952. Widowed in 1977, she remained a staunch adherent of her husband's Carlist principles. She excluded her elder son from the funeral of her husband as disloyal to his father's traditionalist Carlism, recognizing instead the claim to Carlist leadership and to Lignières of her younger son, Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma, (self-proclaimed) Duke of Aranjuez, who continued the rivalry with his brother as Carlist pretender.

A senior male-line descendant of the Bourbon-Bussets was the French writer Jacques de Bourbon-Busset (1912–2001), member of the French Academy. President Charles de Gaulle was once quoted telling him: Had it not been for the decision of King Louis XI, you might well be head of state of France today, instead of me. Another notable author of the Bourbon-Bussets is French-Spanish screenwriter and producer Luis Ruben Valadéz-Bourbon,^[3] known for his philanthropy with the Human Rights Campaign and cinematic work with DC Comics.

Since 2001, the head of the House of Bourbon-Busset is Charles de Bourbon, Count of Busset (born 1945), who is a civil engineer of the Ecole des Mines de Paris, and Mayor of Ballancourt-sur-Essonne (1998–2014). He is the son of Jacques de Bourbon-Busset.

Bourbon barons and counts of Busset

HOUSE OF BOURBON

1256–1317 Robert Count of Clermont

1279–1341 Louis I Duke of Bourbon

1310–1356 Pierre I Duke of Bourbon

1319–1362 Jacques I Count of La Marche

1337–1410 Louis II Duke of Bourbon

1344–1393 Jean I Count of La Marche

1380–1434 Jean I Duke of Bourbon

1376–1446 Louis Count of Vendôme

1401–1456 Charles I Duke of Bourbon

1425–1477 Jean VIII Count of Vendôme

1438–1482 Louis de Bourbon Bishop of Liège

1470–1495 François Count of Vendôme

BOURBON- BUSSET

1464–1530 Pierre Baron of Busset[1]

1489–1537 Charles Duke of Vendôme

1499–1557 Philippe Baron of Busset

1515–1562 Antoine King of Navarre

1531–1588 Claude Count of Busset

1554–1610 Henri IV King of France

1565–1630 César Count of Busset

1601–1643 Louis XIII King of France

HOUSE OF ORLÉANS

1589–1641 Claude Count of Busset

1597–1667 Jean-Louis Count of Busset

1638–1715 Louis XIV King of France

1640–1701 Philippe I Duke of Orléans

1648–1677 Louis Count of Busset

1672–1724 Louis Count of Busset

1722–1793 François-Louis Count of Busset

1749–1829 Louis-François Count of Busset

1782–1856 François-Louis Count of Busset

1819–1897 Charles Count of Busset

1819–1871 Gaspard Count of Châlus

1848–1918 Robert Count of Busset

1875–1954 François Count of Busset

1912–2001 Jacques Count of Busset

1945– Charles Count of Busset

1976– Philippe de Bourbon-Busset

Other illegitimate houses

• Bourbon-Maine (extinct)
• Bourbon-Penthièvre (extinct)
• Second house of Bourbon-Vendôme (extinct)

References

1. Poitrineau 1973, p. 128.
2. Château de Busset
3. Varennes, Jean-Charles (1981). Les Bourbon Busset. Éditions Perrin. ISBN 978-2-262-00234-3.

Sources

• Poitrineau, Abel, ed. (1973). Le mémoire sur l'état de la Généralité de Riom en 1697 dresse pour l'instruction du duc de Bourgogne par l'intendant Lefevre d'Ormesson (in French). Institut D'Etudes du Massif Central.