Jaime, Duke of Madrid

Jaime de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma, called Duke of Madrid and known in France as Jacques de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou (27 June 1870 – 2 October 1931) was the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain under the name Jaime III and the Legitimist claimant to the throne of France under the name Jacques I.

Early life

Jaime was the only son of Carlos, Duke of Madrid, and of his wife Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma. He was born at Vevey in Switzerland. He received the baptismal names "Jaime Pío Juan Carlos Bienvenido Sansón Pelayo Hermenegildo Recaredo Álvaro Fernando Gonzalo Alfonso María de los Dolores Enrique Luis Roberto Francisco Ramiro José Joaquín Isidro Leandro Miguel Gabriel Rafael Pedro Benito Felipe".

Jaime was educated by the Jesuits first at the Collège de Vaugirard in Paris and then at Beaumont College in Old Windsor. He then attended the Theresian Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt.

In 1896 Jaime received a commission in the Russian Army. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Guards Regiment of the Grodno Hussars. In 1900 and 1901 he took part in the Boxer Expedition, fighting in the Battle of Beitang. In 1904 and 1905 he took part in the Russo-Japanese War fighting in the Battle of Liaoyang and the Battle of Vafangon.

Carlist claimant

On July 18, 1909 Jaime succeeded his father as Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain and Legitimist claimant to the throne of France. As Carlist claimant to Spain he was known as Jaime III (technically he was the first of this name ever to "rule" either in Leon and Castille or Spain, but he was called "III" because there have been two previous "Jaime"s at Aragon), but used the style "Duke of Madrid". As Legitimist claimant to France he was known as Jacques I, but used the style "Duke of Anjou".

Jaime retired from the Russian Army. Henceforward he lived mostly at Schloss Frohsdorf in Lanzenkirchen in Austria and at his apartment in the Avenue Hoche in Paris. He visited Spain secretly on a number of occasions. ["The Death of the Duke of Madrid", "The Times" (October 5, 1931): 14.] He also owned the "Villa dei Borbone" at Tenuta Reale near Viareggio in Italy which he had inherited from his mother. ["Contradicts Reports of Zita's Poverty. "The New York Times" (June 15, 1922): 6.]

For part of World War I Jaime lived under house-arrest at Schloss Frohsdorf in Austria.

On April 16, 1923, by a decree to his Delegate-General in Spain, the Marques de Villores, Jaime created the Order of Prohibited Legitimacy (Orden de la Legitimidad Proscrita) to honour those who suffered imprisonment in Spain or were exiled for their loyalty to the Carlist cause.

In April 1931 the constitutional king of Spain Alfonso XIII was forced to leave the country and the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. Jaime issued a manifesto calling upon all monarchists to rally to the legitimist cause. ["Legitimist Manifesto", "The Times" (April 24, 1931): .14] Several months later, on September 23, Jaime received Alfonso in audience at his apartment in Paris. ["King Alfonso and the Duke of Madrid", "The Times" (September 25, 1931): 12.] Two days later Alfonso and his wife Ena received Jaime at the Hotel Savoy d'Avon near Fontainebleau. ["The Duke of Madrid at Fontainebleau", "The Times" (September 26, 1931): 9.] Jaime conferred the collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit upon Alfonso. These meetings marked a certain rapprochement between the two claimants to the Spanish throne.

A week after his meetings with Alfonso, Jaime died in Paris. As he had never married and had no issue, he was succeeded in his claims by his uncle Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime. He was buried at the "Villa dei Borbone" at Tenuta Reale.

He was known as the Red pretender, due to his very leftist views, which brought him to the more liberal side compared with his Spanish rival Alfonso XIII, whose Isabellist tradition should have been less conservative than the Carlist one.

Notes

Bibliography

* "Don Jaime is Dead: Carlist Pretender". "The New York Times" (October 3, 1931): 11.

* "The Duke of Madrid, Soldier and Traveller". "The Times" (October 5, 1931): 19.

* Andrés Martín, Juan Ramón de. "El cisma mellista: historia de una ambición política". Madrid: Actas Editorial, 2000.

* Melgar del Rey, Francisco Melgar de. "Don Jaime, el príncipe caballero". Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1932.

* Melgar del Rey, Francisco Melgar de. "El noble final de la escisión dinástica". Madrid: Consejo Privado de S.A.R. el Conde de Barcelona, 1964.

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