In a post-1809 European peace, how long would it take for the concert of European monarchies to recognize the Bonaparte Dynasty as a legitimate regal-noble family?
Bonaparte Legitimacy: How Long?
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I'm not sure if Napoleon himself or any of his siblings/in-laws would be seen as legitimate (I can't see any non-allied/puppet dynasties intermarrying with the Murats for instance) but given Napoleon II was half-Habsburg he certainly would have been and by the time of Napoleon III there were plans to have the Prince Imperial marry a Spanish Bourbon Infanta. So possibly by the NEXT generation?
Children of next generation most likely will be accepted as legitimate rulers.
Actually, there may be possible estimate - how the House of Bernadotte of Sweden was viewed by it's peers? Charles XIV was hardly more royalty by birth then Napoleon. Admittedly he was not an usurper, but...
Actually, there may be possible estimate - how the House of Bernadotte of Sweden was viewed by it's peers? Charles XIV was hardly more royalty by birth then Napoleon. Admittedly he was not an usurper, but...
Arguable about Bernadote.His predecessor definitely was one,who seized the throne from his nephew.
Certainly not in the terms of ancestry. In the term of power and prestige though? A victorious Napoleon would probably grant quite a boost to the idea of marrying a Bonaparte.Draeger said:
I'd say Bernadotte didn't have that much trouble fitting in. He had no real problem with other European rulers once he became King of Sweden. There could have been a few issue because of his "new royal" status, but not that many.Bakenellan said:
In terms of marriage, Bernadotte was already married before ascended the throne. His only son, Oscar I, eventually married Josephine of Leuchtenberg, one of Eugene de Beauharnais' daughters, but there were others potential brides considered before: Wilhelmina of Denmark, Marie of Hesse-Kassel and Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. It proves the dynasty was already on the way of acceptance by the rest of Europe. Which they eventually did with Oscar's children (Charles XV married Louise of the Netherlands).
A lot of monarchs come to power by deposing relatives. That may affect their personal legitimacy but rarely their heirs'.
Bernadotte was chosen by Riksdag, who could chose otherwise, and not openly forced himself on the throne.
Still he was a napoleonic marshal and not a noble by birth which I think is relevant to this case. If he was accepted, not only legally but also informally by other monarchs of Europe so could be Napoleon and his heirs for sure.
While it won't quell the claims of the French and Spanish Bourbons against Napoleon's usurpation, I think the Bonapartes' legitimacy would be much more solid if Napoleon's generation live long enough to die and pass their crowns to their heirs; that's kind of the whole point of a dynasty, after all, and by that point the House of Bonaparte might not be seen as an existential threat to monarchy itself.
And Bonaparte was chosen as emperor by the people of France in a referendum which he won fairly,although he did altered the vote to make himself look like he won by an absolute majority when in truth he only won the referendum by a slight majority.
The difference is that Riksdag was (as far as I know) recognized as legitimate law-maker by Sweden neighbors of the time while people of France... not so much
.That's said, Bernadotte might be viewed as usurper or at least not quite a legitimate ruler by contemporary royalty. But as Yorel demonstrated above it did not prevent eventual and complete acceptance of his house in two generations time.
Plus, in Bernadotte's case, he was actually adopted by the king; in a legal sense, there wasn't really grounds for an objection to his inheritance of the crown, since he was the legal son of the previous king, and had been elected by the legitimate legal assembly. I bet his 'death to monarchs' tattoo got him some funny looks, though.
By some of the older families, probably never, keep in mind that the Habsburgs did allow a marriage with Marie Louise, but it was a last resort in hoping that their empire could be saved. The Bonapartes continued to be considered as usurpers by the more traditionalist courts in Europe, meaning the Bourbons and Hapsburgs, the Miguelist-branch of the Braganças, the House of Wettin, the Wittelsbachs and the House of Savoy (until 1848). One thing that seems to have been to their advantage was that they were open to marrying with Protestant royal houses. However, I imagine that at least in the 19th century, most royal houses and old nobility would continue to look down on the Bonapartes as different.
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I consider Emperor Jean-Christophe the legitimate Head of State of France (and Kaiser Georg Friedrich the legitimate Head of State of Germany...), so that's a start.