Yes, another monarchy question. Please bear with me.
I dimly recall their having fought a war over whether women got to take the throne or not, and it seems to me the anti-Salic side won (it was called the Carlist War, I think). But I’m not sure. Anyway, as the situation stands today, if Juan Carlos and Sofia hadn’t produced a male heir, would one of their daughters have gotten to be queen, or what?
(Speaking of the Salic law, is it true that Queen Elizabeth is officially “Duke of Normandy” because Normandy had the Salic law but the monarchy didn’t? If that’s so, why did Queen Victoria have to give up Hanover? If I have that story right.)
Yes, the Carlist wars were fought about the Salic law. This law has been introduced in Spain (by the son of a french king who inherited the spanish throne…I suppose he liked better his own traditions), then cancelled. But Carlos, stating that the law was still valid for him since he was born before the cancellation, still claimed the throne.
I assume (but I don’t know the Spanish rules of succession) that the Salic law hasn’t been reintroduced in Spain, so I suppose a daughter could inherit the throne if the king had no son)
Concerning the “Duke of Normandy” thing, I’m not convinced it’s true because I don’t think the Salic law applied to this duchy. Actually, I believe it existed only for the throne of France. In the french provinces, usually, the “regular” law was used (the eldest son inherited, then the eldest daughter if there were no son, like in England). Also, it seemed to me the British monarchy had renounced during the XIX° century to all its titles in France (but I could be wrong).
The Spanish Constitution says: Succession to the throne will follow the regular order of primogeniture and representation, the first line always having preference over subsequent lines; within the same line, the closer grade over the more remote; in the same grade, the male over the female; and in the same sex, the elder over the younger.
I don’t think the Queen claims the title to “Duke of Normanday” - as clairobscur notes, the Brits gave up their claims to French titles during the Napoleanic wars.
The four Channel islands are the last remnants of the territory of the ancient Duchy of Normandy that are still under the control of the Crown - they’re not part of the United Kingdom, and were not surrendered along with the old claims to the French titles. (Giving up titles is one thing, actually surrendering land associated with those titles something quite different :eek: ) I believe that HM has a separate title with respect to each island. “Lord of Sark” comes to mind, but I can check and get back to you later on.
Hanover was governed by the Salic law, so Victoria was not eligible to inherit that kingdom when her uncle, William IV, died. Her uncle, Ernest of Cumberland, became King of Hanover, because he was the eldest surviving son of George III.
FWIW, I asked my Spanish teacher (which I should have done in the first place… :smack: ); he said that Spain no longer uses the Salic law and that if Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofia hadn’t produced a male heir, the Infanta Elena would be in line to become queen upon her father’s death.
(I don’t know if the Prince of Asturias has any kids… if not, I assume Doña Elena could always come up with some kind of tragic paella accident or something and put herself next in line.)
One of William the Conqueror’s sons was designated heir to the title King of England and another was designated heir to the title Duke of Normandy. The claims to French territory by the English monarchy during the middle ages were based on the claims made under the title Count of Anjou, not Duke of Normandy.
It’s true that the two titles diverged on the Conqueror’s death, but they merged again in Henry I. (Sort of like all those heavyweight boxing championships ).
The Conqueror’s eldest son, Robert, became Duke of Normandy, his second son became King William II of England, and his third son, Henry, didn’t get anything.
But Robert wanted to go off on Crusade, so he pawned the Duchy to brother William. When he eventually came back, William didn’t want to surrender the Duchy, so there was a fine battle amongst the three brothers, with Henry on Robert’s side. Then William II died in mysterious circumstances, and third son Henry became Henry I of England. He invaded Normandy, captured Robert and in a rare gesture of brotherly love, imprisoned him for the rest of his life. On Robert’s death, Henry became Duke of Normandy.
The Angevin claim to the throne was through Henry’s daughter, Matilda, who married Geoffrey of Anjou. Their son Henry inherited his father’s lands and through his mother, became King Henry II of England and also Duke of Normandy on the death of King Stephen. He then married the greatest heiress of France, Eleanor of Aquitaine. So the Plantagents claimed different parts of France through different titles: Normandy through the Conqueror’s line; Anjou and Poitou through the Angevins; and Aquitaine through Eleanor.
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