French Royal Line Leads to India

Posted on Mar 7, 2007

The eldest living descendant of France’s King Henry IV appears to be a 48-year-old lawyer in Bhopal, India. Prince Michael of Greece “discovered” Balthazar Napoleon de Bourbon’s ancestral ties while researching a book, though the supposed heir’s family had previously attempted to gain recognition.

Reuters:

BHOPAL, India—An Indian lawyer and part-time farmer says his lineage traces back to the Bourbon kings of France and that he has been flooded with calls and visitors after reports he may be first in line to the throne.

Balthazar Napoleon de Bourbon says he is a descendant of Jean de Bourbon, thought to be a nephew of the first French Bourbon king, Henry IV, who ruled France in the last few years of the 16th century.

Balthazar lives in a crowded neighbourhood of Bhopal and has become a mini-celebrity there since reports that Prince Michael of Greece—who is said to consider Balthazar as his cousin—recently traced him in a historical novel called “Le Rajah Bourbon” to Jean de Bourbon.

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