How Inbred Were The Spanish Bourbon?

HOW INBRED WAS THE HOUSE OF BOURBON? THE SPANISH AND ITALIAN BOURBONS Bourbon. It ain't just a whiskey from Kentucky. In the 17th and 18th centuries, this cadet branch of the French royal family came to rule France, Spain, Parma, Naples, and Sicily. Along the way, they did plenty of cousin-kissing and sister-swapping. On a scale from 1 to Habsburg, they're about an 8. They suffered more than their share of inbreeding-related infant mortality and mental illness, but not quite enough to have mandibular prognathism named after them. Though the Spanish line did coin the term Bourbon nose. Over two episodes, we'll climb down the tangled branches of the Bourbon family tree, and meet the individuals who made history in Europe's once-dominant dynasty. Today, we'll meet the Spanish and Italian Bourbons. When centuries of inbreeding killed off the Spanish Habsburgs, the Bourbons said, But by some miracle, this branch of the family managed to hold on to not one but two thrones, upon which they still perch today. THE SPANISH BOURBONS The House of Bourbon began with the 1272 marriage of Louis IX of France's youngest son, Robert, to Beatrice, heiress of Bourbon. Three centuries later, in 1589, the last of their royal cousins, Henri III, was assassinated, making way for Bourbon, Henri IV, to take the French throne. The expansion to Spain began right after, with the marriage of Henri's daughter, Elizabeth, to King Felipe IV of Spain. He was 10 and she 13. Queen Elizabeth was beautiful, intelligent, and popular. Though she wasn't particularly closely related to her groom, he was a Habsburg and was inbred enough for both of them. Of the couple's 10 children, only two survived infancy. Queen Elizabeth died at 41. Her only son, Balthasar Charles, died of smallpox at 16. Only a daughter, Maria Teresa, was left. She was wed to her first cousin, Louis XIV of France. But the 44-year-old Spanish king still needed a male heir, so he married his 14-year-old niece, Mariana of Austria, and the inbreeding went from bad to diabolical. Three of their children died in infancy. The devastated parents, who knew nothing of genetics, assumed it was God's punishment for their sins. Finally, they had a son, who was, if not healthy, at least alive. King Carlos II is one of the most famously tragic results of inbreeding in history. He suffered physical, mental, and emotional disabilities, including epileptic seizures, hydrocephalus, and, of course, a Habsburg jaw. He was also infertile. His first wife, Marie Louise d'Orléans, a Bourbon relative, was fed toxic fertility potions until she died of organ failure at 26. Second wife, Marie-Anne of Nuremberg, wasn't his cousin, but she still couldn't produce a miracle. Carlos finally succumbed to his maladies in 1700 at the age of 38, and Spain fell into a succession crisis. According to primogeniture, the throne should have passed through Carlos' only sister, Maria Teresa, to her eldest son, Louis le Grand-enfant of France. As he and his eldest son were perfectly happy at staying in France, Louis XIV instead nominated his second grandson, Philippe, Duke of Anjou. But the Habsburgs didn't want to give up Spain. They argued it should go to Archduke Charles, second son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. The War of Spanish Succession lasted for 13 years and cost the lives of 1 million people. In the end, France won, and King Philippe V established the Bourbon dynasty in Spain. The Treaty of Utrecht declared that the Spanish and French crowns could never be united. Philippe modeled his rule after his grandfather. He removed power from the church and consolidated his own absolute authority over the Spanish Empire. He married his second cousin, Maria Luisa of Savoy. Though she was young, she proved a skilled and hard-working regent while her husband was off fighting for his throne. She had four children but died of tuberculosis at 25. Next, the king wed Italian Elizabeth Farnese, who gave birth to seven children. After 24 years on the throne, Philippe V abdicated in favor of his 17-year-old son, Louis. Many thought Philippe was angling to become king of France should his young cousin, Louis XV, die childless. But in reality, he was suffering depression and no longer wished to carry the burden of rule. Louis I became king of Spain in January 1724, but in August, he died of smallpox. His father reclaimed the weight of kingship and continued on the throne for another 22 years, despite his declining mental health. He died after a reign of 45 years, the longest in Spanish history. The throne went to his next son, Fernando VI. He ruled for a fairly uneventful 13 years. He deeply loved his wife, Barbara of Portugal, who was famed for her lavish parties. After a stillborn son, the couple never had more children. Barbara died from asthma at 46, and Fernando was heartbroken. He wandered unshaven and unwashed in his nightgown around the royal park. He was confined to an out-of-the-way castle until he died at 45, and was buried next to Barbara. He was succeeded by his half-brother, Carlos III. He married Polish princess Maria Amalia of Saxony. They had a happy, mistress-free domestic life. Because the king was bringing it all home to the queen, she gave birth to 13 children, thus securing the dynasty's future. Carlos was successful in reforming the government, strengthening the army and navy, and expanding Enlightenment ideas. He expelled Jesuits and outlawed Freemasonry. He was thus able to increase royal control over the church and the empire. He owned 20,000 enslaved people in the American colonies. Queen Maria Amalia was intelligent and sophisticated. She looked down on the Spanish court as ignorant and superstitious. She planned numerous cultural reforms, but died suddenly at 35. Louis XV's daughter, Marie Adelaide of France, was considered for Carlos's second bride, but when she saw his portrait, she decided she didn't want to be queen of Spain after all. Carlos died single at 72, and passed the throne to his son, Carlos IV. He married his first cousin, Maria Luisa of Parma. She had 14 children, only 7 of whom survived. Carlos believed deeply in the sanctity of monarchy, but political decision-making was beyond him. He left governing up to his queen and her lover, Manuel Godoy, before he was promoted to prime minister. Manuel had been a palace guard from a rural area of Spain famous for its pork products. Thus, the queen's favorite was given the nickname El Choricero, the Sausage Man. King Carlos was grateful to Manuel for shouldering both his burdens of husbandry, so that he could spend his days hunting. The king had no doubts about the paternity of his 14 children, but many noticed how much the royal offspring resembled Manuel. Either way, they were all still Bourbons. One thing King Carlos did have an opinion on was that he didn't like his heir, Fernando, and the feeling was mutual. The prince conspired with Napoleon to force his father to abdicate, but he only enjoyed his ill-gotten throne for a year before Napoleon arrested him and placed his own brother, Joseph, on the throne. It took five years and a war to get the Bonapartes out and the Bourbons back in. King Fernando VII married four times. First to his cousin Maria Antonia of Naples in Sicily, who died of tuberculosis at 21. Next to his niece, Maria Isabel of Portugal, when she struggled to deliver a breech baby, Fernando ordered the doctor to cut his wife open and retrieve his heir. At the time, caesareans were only performed if the mother had already died. When the doctor started slicing the queen open, she screamed in agony and bled to death at 21. The baby, a daughter, was stillborn. Ferdinand moved on to 16-year-old Maria Josefa Amalia of Saxony. She had been raised by nuns and was terrified when her husband entered their bedroom naked. She died of fever at 25. Lucky wife number four, Maria Cristina of the two Sicilies, was another of his nieces. She was 23 and had already given birth to a secret love child, so she was a safe bet. She did deliver Fernando's long-awaited children, but they were both daughters. He changed the law to allow three-year-old Isabel II to succeed him. A united Spain had never had a queen regnant. The nation was divided between supporters of the young queen and those of her uncle, Carlos. Thus ensued the Carlist War, which Isabel's side eventually won, but we'll come back to the Carlists later. Isabel was married to her double first cousin, Francisco de Assis, Duke of Cadiz. Despite all the genes they had in common, they did not get along. The queen became notorious for her many lovers. Francisco was rumored to be gay and was likely blackmailing his wife to keep his mouth shut about the paternity of their five children. The queen eventually did give a damn about her bad reputation. In 1868, she was forced to abdicate in favor of her 13-year-old son, Alfonso XII. He was studying in Austria when he became king, but he didn't have to rush back as a military coup ended the monarchy and Spain was declared a republic. This lasted for four years before Alfonso was asked to return to the throne. The teenage king married his first cousin, Princess Maria de las Mercedes, but she died of typhoid fever. Next, he married his double third cousin, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria. The newlyweds escaped an assassination attempt during their honeymoon. They had two daughters. Christina was pregnant when Alfonso died of tuberculosis at 27. Their son, Alfonso XIII, was declared king the moment the doctors saw what was between his tiny legs. During his mother's regency, Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines in the Spanish-American War. While visiting the United Kingdom, teenage Alfonso fell in love with one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters, Princess Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg. His mother warned him that her family carried the deadly blood disorder hemophilia, but the young king was in love. While the bride and groom were riding through Madrid, an anarchist threw a bomb at their carriage. They escaped injury, but the bride's white wedding dress was splattered with the blood of 24 murdered guards and spectators. Their first child bled excessively during his circumcision, and it was clear that the heir to the throne had hemophilia. The king blamed his wife and was perpetually unfaithful. His decision to remain neutral during World War I was popular, but Spain went to war to keep its last colony, Morocco. Alfonso was callous towards the loss of Spanish soldiers, and the country turned against him. In 1931, the Bourbon monarchy was abolished, and the royal family fled to Italy. General Francisco Franco took over the country. The dictator didn't have any sons of his own, but he knew the Spanish would get behind the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Two of Alfonso's sons had died young from driving under the influence of hemophilia. Third son, Juan, Count of Barcelona, was an option, but Franco didn't like him. Instead, he favored Juan's son, Juan Carlos, and made him his protege. Franco died in 1975, and Juan Carlos was given power. Rather than continue the fascist regime, he dismantled it, transitioned Spain into a democratic constitutional monarchy, and restored the Bourbon dynasty. He was married to Princess Sophia of Greece and had three children. Juan Carlos was a popular leader and foiled an attempted coup in 1981, but in the 2010s, royals were involved in several financial scandals. In 2014, Juan Carlos announced his abdication in favor of his more popular son, Felipe VI. The decision was praised, but as more bribery and secret mistresses were revealed, the ex-king's reputation was torn to shreds. In 2020, Juan Carlos fled prosecution and moved to Abu Dhabi. Felipe VI is the current king of Spain. He attended high school in Canada and earned a master's degree at Georgetown University. The Olympic athlete prince drew a great deal of media attention. He married a non-royal, non-relative journalist, Letizia Ortiz-Rocasolano, and they have two children, Leonor and Sophia. Leonor, born in 2005, is expected to someday be the second queen regnant in Spanish history. She is currently serving in the military. Exploring Scotland and Germany and Austria with incredible fellow history lovers has been such an amazing experience that I can't wait to do it again. I'm thrilled to announce that my next historic tour will be Spain. From May 12th to 20th, 2026, join me for a magnificent nine-day journey through Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, and Granada. We'll avoid the over-touristed areas and instead focus on Spain's heartland and its incredible royal history. We'll marvel at the Bourbon Royal Palace, the largest in Europe, walk in the footsteps of Felipe II at El Escorial, learn how three cultures melded and clashed in Toledo and Cordoba, and visit the Alhambra and the bones of Isabel and Fernando in Granada. In between expert guided tours, we'll indulge in local cuisine, wander atmospheric streets, and soak up the culture. The trip includes welcome and farewell dinners, stays at four-star boutique hotels, daily breakfast, in-country transportation, entrance fees, and the invaluable insights of a local guide. Plus, I'll be there to share historic stories and fun facts. If you'd like to join me on this historic adventure, then click the link in the description for more information and to be notified when the trip goes live for bookings on September 9th at 12pm Eastern Time. I can't wait to see you in Spain. Now let's go back and retrace the offshoots who came to rule Parma, Luxembourg, Naples, and Sicily, plus the line which still claims that they are the rightful kings of France. The House of Bourbon-Parma Felipe V of Spain's fifth son, Felipe, was married to Louis XV's ambitious eldest daughter, Elizabeth of France. During the War of Austrian Succession, she schemed to get her husband, one of the northern Italian duchies, Maria Teresa, was forced to surrender to keep the Holy Roman Empire. The couple arrived in Parma in style, and Elizabeth did most of the ruling. She made the court language French, and her Spanish husband just had to deal with it. Elizabeth tried to get the Netherlands for her own son, but she died before the deal went through, so Ferdinand I had to settle for Parma. He married Archduchess Maria Amalia, Marie Antoinette's big sister. The duke filled his days with religion and raising children, while the duchess took Parma in hand. She pushed both French and Spanish ministers out, and even refused advice from her mother, the Holy Roman Empress. She asserted Parma's independence, and fostered art and culture. But in 1796, Napoleon invaded. The duke and duchess were placed under house arrest, and Ferdinand died the next year, possibly from poisoning. Maria Amalia fled back to the empire. France annexed Parma, but they did give Ferdinand's son, Louis I, the consolation prize of Etruria, a new French puppet kingdom in the realm of Tuscany. As a child, Louis had hit his head on a marble table, and he suffered epilepsy and cognitive delays. At 22, he went to Spain to select a bride. He chose the least unattractive of his cousins, Enfante Maria Luisa. They had a happy marriage and two children. The family arrived in their new capital, Florence, in 1801. But Louis' health worsened, and he died two years later, at 29. His four-year-old son became Louis II, with his mother as regent. They ruled for four years. Then Napoleon did a reorg, dissolved the kingdom of Etruria, imprisoned Queen Maria, and sent young Louis to live with his deposed grandfather, Carlos IV of Spain. Nine years later, Napoleon was defeated. In the flash sale on his former territories, Maria Luisa became Duchess of Lucca, but ruling had put a bad taste in her heir's mouth. Louis preferred to travel. He stayed with his bride, Maria Teresa of Savoy, long enough to produce an heir, then hit the road again. When he inherited Lucca, he sold it for more travel funds. While so many royals are desperate for crowns, Louis couldn't seem to escape them. In 1847, Parma reverted back to him as the next Bourbon in the male line. He reluctantly returned to the annoyance of governing, but he soon abdicated in favor of his son and spent the rest of his life on the French Riviera. Charles III could only keep control of Parma by declaring martial law with the support of Austrian soldiers. While riding in his carriage, he was attacked and stabbed in the stomach. He died an excruciating day later, at 31. His six-year-old son, Roberto I, became Duke of Parma. He was deposed at 11 during the Italian Wars of Independence, which resulted in the unification of Italy in 1861. Despite no longer having a throne, Roberto lived a life of luxury, traveling between his castles in Austria, Italy, and France. He married his half-first cousin once removed, Maria Pia of Bourbon to Sicilies, who gave birth to 12 children, many of whom had intellectual disabilities and died young. When Maria died in childbirth, Roberto married his cousin once removed, Maria Antonia of Portugal, who had another 12 children. Four of Roberto's 24 children took turns as the titular Duke of Parma. Enrico and Giuseppe held the roles until the ages of 66 and 74, respectively. Both were mentally disabled. Their younger brother, Elias, was their regent. He got a turn as duke for nine years. Upon his death, the title went to his only son, Roberto Hugo, who never married and died in 1974, passing the title back to his uncle, Xavier. He served in the Belgian army in World War I and World War II, during which he was captured and imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp. In 1952, his cousin, Alfonso Carlos, died childless. His great-grandfather, Carlos Count of Montizón, was the one who started the civil war to take the throne from his niece, Isabel II. The Carlists who supported his claim considered his male line the only rightful kings of Spain. So after Alfonso Carlos, the Carlist claim to the Spanish throne passed to Xavier, who was called Francisco Javier I. He died in 1977, and the claim to both thrones passed to Carlos Hugo. He galvanized the Carlist movement into a political party, which played an important role during the Franco regime in Spain. He was controversial, and his 1964 engagement to Princess Irene, daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, caused a crisis. The Dutch parliament did not want to appear to support Carlos' claim to the anyway, but she had to renounce her place in the Dutch line of succession, and her parents were not able to attend her wedding. The couple had four children before divorcing in 1981. Carlos died in 2010, passing his claim on to his son, Carlos. He married Dutch journalist Anne-Marie van Wezel, and they have three children. Xavier's younger brother, Felix, married his first cousin, Charlotte. She was one of six daughters, and had become Grand Duchess of Luxembourg in her own right. She saw her micronation through World War II, then handed the throne to her son, Jean, in 1964. He married his cousin, Princess Josephine Charlotte of Belgium, and developed Luxembourg into a financial center and the wealthiest nation per capita in Europe. He abdicated in 2000 for his son, Henri. He married Cuban Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista. In October 2025, Henri will abdicate in favor of his son, Guillaume, who will be the next Grand Duke of Luxembourg. THE HOUSE OF BOURBON TO SICILY Back in 1735, before Carlos III got his butt on the Spanish throne, he inherited the Duchy of Parma from his Italian mother's childless uncle. The 18-year-old prince marched the Spanish army into Italy to stake his claim. No one stood against him. So, he helped himself to the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily as well. He ruled there for 19 years. But when the time came for him to rule Spain, he left the Italian kingdoms to his second son, Ferdinand. He was engaged to three of Empress Maria Teresa's daughters, but one by one, they died of smallpox. Fourth daughter, Maria Carolina, survived, but she was horrified that she would have to marry Ferdinand. They hated each other, but still managed 18 children, though they may not have all been his. Ferdinand was poorly educated and spent his days hunting while Maria Carolina ruled. In 1806, Napoleon invaded Naples, and the royals escaped to Sicily, which they still controlled. After Waterloo, Fernando was restored to the throne of Naples. In 1816, Naples and Sicily were combined into the single kingdom of two Sicilies. Ferdinand passed his throne to his son, Francis I. He married his double first cousin, Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria, who died of tuberculosis at 24. Next, he wed another double first cousin, Maria Isabel of Spain, with whom he had 12 children. When he inherited the throne at 48, he was terrified of assassination. He left governing to his ministers and barricaded himself in a palace with his mistress, surrounded by guards. He died after five years. Ferdinand II became king at 20. He set out to bring the greatest happiness to the greatest number of his subjects. This worked out well for seven years. But when his people demanded that he actually install a constitution, Ferdinand was insulted and imprisoned dissidents and turned Sicily into a police state. Many fled his oppressive regime. In 1856, he survived an assassination attempt, but the stab wound became infected, and he died three years later. Francis II married Empress Sissi's little sister, Maria Sophia of Bavaria, but they didn't get along and had only one child, who died. His two-year reign saw repeated invasions by revolutionaries and Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia. In 1861, Francis was forced to abdicate. The two Sicilies became part of a unified Italy under Victor Emmanuel. Francis and Maria spent their remaining years traveling Europe. He died in 1894, and his claim went to his half-brother, Alfonso. He was an artist and had 12 children with his cousin, Princess Maria Antoinetta of Bourbon-sur-Cicely. His son Ferdinand Pius became head of the house in 1934. He joined the Spanish army during World War I. He had five daughters, but only one son, who died at 13. So his nephew Alfonso became head of the house in 1960. His mother, Maria, was the eldest child of King Alfonso XII, and would have been Queen of Spain, had her younger brother not been a boy. His sister, Maria, married Juan, Count of Barcelona, and was the mother of King Juan Carlos. Alfonso married his cousin, Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, and they lived in Spain as a member of the extended royal family. His son, Carlos, was 11 days younger than Juan Carlos, and they grew up together. He married Anne of Orleans and had five children. He died in 2015, aged 77. His son, Pedro, Duke of Calabria, is the current head of the house of Bourbon-sur-Cicely. He manages the family's large land holdings in Spain. He married a commoner, Sofia Landeluce y Meljalejo, and they have seven children, including his heir, Prince Jaime. In 2021, he married Lady Charlotte, daughter of the Scottish Earl of Lindsay, in an extravagant royal wedding in the Cathedral Montreal in Palermo, Sicily. The second were born claimant to the French throne. Back in 1830, when Louis-Philippe I finagled the French throne away from his 10-year-old cousin, Henri, not everyone was happy about it, particularly Henri. He continued to claim that he was the rightful king, and a group called the Legitimists supported him. When he died childless, his claim passed, according to the rules of agnatic primogeniture, to his cousin, Carlos, Count of Montezón. You will remember him as the who also claimed to be the rightful king of Spain. Both claims were passed down the family until Alfonso Carlos died without an heir. The Spanish Carlos went with Xavier, Duke of Parma, as their next pretender, while the French Legitimists supported Alfonso XIII of Spain. His eldest son, Alfonso, died young from hemophilia. His second son, Jaime, was deaf. Spain had a problem with and he was forced to renounce his claim to the throne, but Jaime was still considered the rightful heir to the French throne by Legitimists. He used the courtesy title Duke of Anjou. He died in 1975, age 66. His son, Alfonso, Duke of Anjou, was a serious contender to be king of Spain. He even married Francisco Franco's granddaughter, Carmen Martínez Borriú, in the hopes of securing the throne. Franco ultimately went with his cousin, Juan Carlos, but he gave Alfonso the Spanish title Duke of Cádiz. When Franco died and his family lost political power, Alfonso left his wife and took their two sons with him. He was president of the Spanish Skiing Federation and Spanish Olympic Committee. In 1989, the Duke was skiing in Colorado when he accidentally collided into a Finnish line banner and was decapitated. His son, Luis Alfonso, married María Margarita Vargas, daughter of a Venezuelan millionaire. None of the Spanish royals attended as they do not approve of his continued claim on the French throne. The couple have a daughter and three sons and live in New York City. Luis Alfonso is outspoken in European politics and has supported the Yellow Vests. Like his cousin, Jean, he has also asserted his willingness to serve as king of France, in the unlikely event that he is called upon to restore the Bourbon dynasty. If you enjoyed this video, please like, subscribe, comment your thoughts, and check out my other history videos. 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