Monarchism in France
Monarchism continues to exist in France. The historian Julian T. Jackson wrote in 2001 that "Indeed in the Vendée there are still families today who will not receive descendants of people who bought "biens nationaux" during the Revolution." Falling into one of the three main monarchist streams, some of the active groups in France today are:The French dynastic disputes refer to a set of disputes in the history of France regarding the person who should inherit the crown.
Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma
Residing in Paris and sustained by his remaining portion of the family wealth, Xavier reached his mid-30s before making marriage plans; his fiancée being Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset, who was nine years his junior and the daughter of the Count de Lignières. She belonged to a non-royal branch of the French Bourbons. The Bourbon-Bussets have been the subject of a centuries-old controversy: historically regarded as non-dynastic when the line was founded, it has never been established that the Bourbon ancestor from whom they undisputedly descend, Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège (1436-1482), was ever lawfully married. The proposed marriage of Prince Xavier and Madeleine might deprive their children of Bourbon-Parma ducal succession rights, depending upon the decision of the head of the house. Since the death of Duke Robert, Prince Élie, Xavier's eldest half-brother, headed the family. He declared the would-be marriage morganatic. Despite this obstacle, Xavier wed Madeleine in 1927 and some newspapers titled her "princesse".
As the Bourbon-Bussets enjoyed significant wealth, the marriage changed the financial status of Xavier. The couple settled in Bostz castle, where Xavier managed the rural estate of his in-laws. Their eldest, Hugues, was born in 1928 and was followed by five more children, the last one was born in 1940. Following the 1932 death of his father-in-law, Xavier became head of the family's enterprise, including the Château de Lignières. Little is known of his public activity at that time, except that he was engaged in various non-political, Catholic initiatives. In 1934 the premature death of Sixte deprived Xavier of his closest comrade.