Expert: Joseph Logue - 12/19/2005

Question
I did note your comments re later Stuarts but you might have a clearer idea than I do.  Is there still a claiment to the British throne?

Answer
Hello Pete,

Thanks for taking the time to read my profile, and while I don't know much about the politics during the latter Stuarts I know there is a lot of information out there about Stuart claimants to the throne.  The last true claimant was Henry, Cardinal York, who died in 1807.  There are always relatives, however.  Had things gone differently for the Stuarts, the present king would be Franz, the Duke of Bavaria (1933-).  Naturally, had the Stuarts kept the throne, Franz would not have been born Bavarian.  As with most academic questions, there is a lot more to the story.

On a BBC discussion board regarding the topic, I found this parapgraph:

The opening of the Scottish Parliament briefly focused some renewed interest on the traditional Jacobite claims to the British (especially the Scottish) throne. Jacobites have regarded the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the 1701 Act of Settlement, and the 1714 accession of the House of Hanover (Guelf) as illegitimate and illegal. They may have had a point up until 1807, when Henry Benedict Stuart, the last remaining Stuart in the male line, died. But after then the Jacobite claim becomes rather absurdly academic. The line twists and turns from Charles I?s daughter Henrietta through the royal houses of France, Sardinia, Modena, and Bavaria. So Jacobites, whose position was originally strengthened by the fact that the first two Georges were foreigners, have been forced to defend the rights of a line that became much more foreign than the descendants of the Hanoverians. It should also be noted that this line descends through an uncle-niece marriage, illegal in Britain. The current "claimant", as I believe I've said before, is Franz, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1933), who is childless. His brother Max, Duke in Bavaria (b. 1937), has five daughters; the eldest, Sophia (b. 1969), is married to Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, making their son Joseph (b. 1995) the eventual heir. If the Jacobite position were adhered to, the result would be the ridiculous spectacle of the sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein also becoming King of the United Kingdom (or perhaps of an independent Scotland). In any case, by the Principle of Acquired Legitimacy, the Jacobite claim is irrelevant. No direct ancestor of Duke Franz has ruled either England or Scotland since 1649. In contrast, Queen Elizabeth II is descended from almost all of the monarchs who reigned from 1714 to 1952 (as well as those prior to Charles I), as I pointed out painstakingly in the "Foreign Userpers" thread; therefore any suggestion that Duke Franz?s claim is "better" is meaningless.*

*-http://discussions.bbcamerica.m23.com/thread.jspa?threadID=10680&tstart=90 | Viewed December 19, 2005.

Reading the whole post is enlightening as to the nature of monarchy itself.

On another site**, there is a chronological list of how the succession would have come about, to the present-day Franz and beyond:

Jacobite Claimants to the Thrones of England, Scotland, (France), and Ireland

James II and VII (February 6, 1685 – September 16, 1701).
James III and VIII (September 16, 1701 – January 1, 1766), James Francis Edward Stuart, also known as the Chevalier de St. George or as the Old Pretender.
Charles III (January 1, 1766 – January 31, 1788), Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Chevalier, or as the Young Pretender.
Henry IX and I (January 31, 1788 – July 13, 1807).
Since Henry's death, none of the Jacobite heirs has actually claimed the throne. They are as follows (given with their Jacobite regnal titles):

Charles IV (ex-King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia (July 13, 1807 – October 6, 1819), who was descended from the youngest daughter of Charles I).
Victor (King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia) (October 6, 1819 – January 10, 1824), his brother.
Mary III and II1 (Maria Beatrice, Princess of Sardinia and later by marriage Duchess of Modena) (January 10, 1824 – September 15, 1840), his daughter.
Francis I (Duke Francis V of Modena) (September 15, 1840 – November 20, 1875), her son.
Mary IV and III1 (Maria Theresia, Princess of Modena and later Queen consort of Bavaria) (November 20, 1875 – February 3, 1919), his niece.
Rupert (or Robert I and IV, Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria) (February 3, 1919 – August 2, 1955), her son.
Albert (Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria) (August 2, 1955 – July 8, 1996), his son.
Francis II (Franz, Duke of Bavaria) (July 8, 1996 – present), his son.
1Mary III/II and Mary IV/III were numbered in such a way because some Jacobites regard Elizabeth I of England as illegitimate, and therefore consider Mary Queen of Scots to have been the rightful Queen of England from the death of Mary I.


Future descent

The heir presumptive of Franz, Duke of Bavaria, is his younger brother

Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria. Then his daughter
Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein, and then her eldest son
Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, born 24 May 1995 in London. The first heir in the Jacobite line born in the British Isles since James III and VIII, The Old Pretender in 1688.

**-http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Jacobitism&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1

I hope that helps you Pete.  I am always interested in dynastic relationships, so the question helped me understand the situation as well.  Thanks for using AllExperts.  Happy Holidays to you.

Sincerely,

Joseph Logue