http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1151625,00.html

June 20, 2004

DNA may prove ?King of France? claim
Matthew Campbell, Paris



THE Dutch government is to help a retired French aircraft technician
in his quest to prove that he is a direct descendant of Louis XVI and
Marie Antoinette, the monarchs beheaded by revolutionaries in 1793.
Charles de Bourbon, 75, has spent his life insisting that he is Prince
Charles Louis Edmond de Bourbon, Count of Poitiers ? and King Charles
XII if he were on the throne. The Dutch government holds the key to
his identity.



?I am asking the Dutch to issue an order for the exhumation of my
great-grandfather so that DNA testing can prove he is Louis XVII,? he
said in an interview in a leafy Parisian suburb. ?The Dutch have
agreed. There are just a few details to resolve. I think it will be
settled very soon.?

When de Bourbon?s great-grandfather appeared in Holland 180 years ago
claiming to be Louis XVII, the lost son of the executed king and
queen, few saw any reason to doubt him. His tomb in Delft names him as
?Louis XVII, Charles Louis, Duke of Normandy, King of France and
Navarre?.

Lately, however, doubts have grown. De Bourbon tried in vain to
prevent the recent installation in the royal necropolis of a heart
said to have come from Louis XVII when he died as a child in prison
two years after his parents? execution.

The heart, said to have been kept by the doctor who performed an
autopsy, was passed around the Bourbon family ? including the Spanish
branch ? for almost two centuries before a DNA test four years ago
proved a connection with Marie Antoinette.

This satisfied scholars that the heart belonged to Louis XVII. But de
Bourbon says the test proved only that the heart had come from a
Habsburg. Marie Antoinette was a Habsburg archduchess.

Louis XVII, he claims, was smuggled out of prison by supporters intent
on preserving the monarchy. The child who died in prison is said to be
an unidentified Habsburg changeling.

A diminutive figure with grey hair and spectacles, de Bourbon could
claim substantial property from the French state if he is recognised
as an heir to Louis XVI. More important, he says, is vindication: ?We
want justice. Just the truth.?

A former technician for the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault, de
Bourbon certainly bears a resemblance to the illustrious figures he
names as his forebears. ?It?s the Bourbon nose, you see,? he said,
pointing at a photograph of him next to a picture of Louis XIV.

He does not show much interest in restoring the monarchy, however: ?At
my age, I have no interest in governing France.?

Even so, he is surrounded by faithful courtiers who are dedicated to
the idea and who run an institute that promotes his cause. One
supporter is Michelle l?Herbaudière, a former concert pianist who
allows him to use her flat in Neuilly-sur-Seine for official meetings.
She addresses him unfailingly as ?your highness?.

Even if the Dutch DNA test proves that de Bourbon?s great-grandfather
was Louis XVII, any claim to the French throne would provoke a
protracted squabble. Many other Bourbon descendants have ambitions of
recognition and there is a host of pretenders named Orléans, from the
family that seized the crown in the restoration.

Claiming to be the lost Louis was a popular pastime among 19th-century
European aristocrats, but none was as convincing as de Bourbon?s
great-grandfather, who travelled under the name of Karl Wilhelm
Naundorff.

Deported from France, Naundorff moved to Holland, where he died aged
60. The Dutch government accepted his claims and allowed his children
to bear the Bourbon name.

If the Dutch permit the exhumation it will not be the first. In 1950 a
bone and some hair were removed, but de Bourbon disputes the results
of DNA testing conducted in 1998 which indicated that there was no
link with Marie Antoinette.

It could not be proved, he argued, that the material tested was from
his great-grandfather since so much time had elapsed between the
exhumation and the test.

?I want another test done under much more rigorous conditions,? he
said, ?so I can prove that I am who I say I am.?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1151625,00.html

June 20, 2004

DNA may prove ‘King of France’ claim
Matthew Campbell, Paris



THE Dutch government is to help a retired French aircraft technician
in his quest to prove that he is a direct descendant of Louis XVI and
Marie Antoinette, the monarchs beheaded by revolutionaries in 1793.
Charles de Bourbon, 75, has spent his life insisting that he is Prince
Charles Louis Edmond de Bourbon, Count of Poitiers — and King Charles
XII if he were on the throne. The Dutch government holds the key to
his identity.



“I am asking the Dutch to issue an order for the exhumation of my
great-grandfather so that DNA testing can prove he is Louis XVII,” he
said in an interview in a leafy Parisian suburb. “The Dutch have
agreed. There are just a few details to resolve. I think it will be
settled very soon.”

When de Bourbon’s great-grandfather appeared in Holland 180 years ago
claiming to be Louis XVII, the lost son of the executed king and
queen, few saw any reason to doubt him. His tomb in Delft names him as
“Louis XVII, Charles Louis, Duke of Normandy, King of France and
Navarre”.

Lately, however, doubts have grown. De Bourbon tried in vain to
prevent the recent installation in the royal necropolis of a heart
said to have come from Louis XVII when he died as a child in prison
two years after his parents’ execution.

The heart, said to have been kept by the doctor who performed an
autopsy, was passed around the Bourbon family — including the Spanish
branch — for almost two centuries before a DNA test four years ago
proved a connection with Marie Antoinette.

This satisfied scholars that the heart belonged to Louis XVII. But de
Bourbon says the test proved only that the heart had come from a
Habsburg. Marie Antoinette was a Habsburg archduchess.

Louis XVII, he claims, was smuggled out of prison by supporters intent
on preserving the monarchy. The child who died in prison is said to be
an unidentified Habsburg changeling.

A diminutive figure with grey hair and spectacles, de Bourbon could
claim substantial property from the French state if he is recognised
as an heir to Louis XVI. More important, he says, is vindication: “We
want justice. Just the truth.”

A former technician for the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault, de
Bourbon certainly bears a resemblance to the illustrious figures he
names as his forebears. “It’s the Bourbon nose, you see,” he said,
pointing at a photograph of him next to a picture of Louis XIV.

He does not show much interest in restoring the monarchy, however: “At
my age, I have no interest in governing France.”

Even so, he is surrounded by faithful courtiers who are dedicated to
the idea and who run an institute that promotes his cause. One
supporter is Michelle l’Herbaudière, a former concert pianist who
allows him to use her flat in Neuilly-sur-Seine for official meetings.
She addresses him unfailingly as “your highness”.

Even if the Dutch DNA test proves that de Bourbon’s great-grandfather
was Louis XVII, any claim to the French throne would provoke a
protracted squabble. Many other Bourbon descendants have ambitions of
recognition and there is a host of pretenders named Orléans, from the
family that seized the crown in the restoration.

Claiming to be the lost Louis was a popular pastime among 19th-century
European aristocrats, but none was as convincing as de Bourbon’s
great-grandfather, who travelled under the name of Karl Wilhelm
Naundorff.

Deported from France, Naundorff moved to Holland, where he died aged
60. The Dutch government accepted his claims and allowed his children
to bear the Bourbon name.

If the Dutch permit the exhumation it will not be the first. In 1950 a
bone and some hair were removed, but de Bourbon disputes the results
of DNA testing conducted in 1998 which indicated that there was no
link with Marie Antoinette.

It could not be proved, he argued, that the material tested was from
his great-grandfather since so much time had elapsed between the
exhumation and the test.

“I want another test done under much more rigorous conditions,” he
said, “so I can prove that I am who I say I am.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1151625,00.html

June 20, 2004

DNA may prove ‘King of France’ claim
Matthew Campbell, Paris