The First Mexican Empire, established in 1821, with Agustín de Iturbide proclaimed as Emperor in 1822, was abolished in 1823.[1]
In 1863, the Second Mexican Empire was established after a plebiscite that confirmed the latest proclamation of the empire. Archduke Maximilian of Austria consented to accept the Imperial Crown of Mexico in October 1863[2] and officially on 10 April 1864 under the regnal name of Maximilian I of Mexico.[3] Maximilian and his wife Carlota, having no issue of their own, adopted two of Agustín de Iturbide's grandsons, Agustín de Iturbide y Green and Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán, who were granted each the (non-hereditary[4]) title Prince de Iturbide with the style of Highness by an imperial decree of 16 September 1865, and were ranked next in line after the reigning family.[4] However, Maximilian never intended to give the crown to the Iturbides[5] (like Napoléon I did with his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais) and it was all a charade directed at his brother Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, as Maximilian explained himself that "either Karl Ludwig would give him one of his sons as an heir, or else he would bequeath everything to his Iturbide adopted children" as a last resort.[5]
Upon the abolition of the Second Mexican Empire and the execution of Emperor Maximilian I in 1867, pretense to the Mexican Crown passed to and was self-assumed[citation needed] by the said adopted heirs.
The current pretender to the Mexican throne, in right of both the First and Second Empires, is Count Maximilian von Götzen-Iturbide, great-grandson of Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán.[6][7]
Currently, the heir to the throne of Mexico in the House of Habsburg is Archduke Carl Philip of Habsburg great-grandson of Maximilian I of Mexico born in Mexico, This would have the right in the second based on the inheritance of Karl Ludwig.[8]
Claimant | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death | Claim | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agustín I 1823–1824 (Constitutional Emperor of Mexico 1822–1823) |
27 September 1783, Valladolid son of José Joaquín de Iturbide and María Josefa de Arámburu |
Ana María Huarte 27 February 1805 10 children |
19 July 1824 Padilla aged 40 |
Proclaimed Constitutional Emperor of Mexico on May 19, 1822 [1][unreliable source][6] | ||
Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide y Huarte (Agustín II) 1824–1864 |
30 September 1807, Valladolid son of Agustín I and Ana María Huarte |
Unmarried | 11 December 1866 New York aged 59 |
Son of Agustín I, Voluntarily surrendered claim in favor of Maximiliano I [6] | ||
Maximiliano I (Emperor of Mexico 1864–1867) |
6 July 1832, Vienna son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria |
Charlotte of Belgium 27 July 1857 No children |
19 June 1867 Querétaro City aged 34 |
Proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on June 10, 1864 [citation needed] | ||
Agustín José de Iturbide y Green (Agustín III) 1867–1925 |
2 April 1863, Mexico City son of Ángel de Iturbide y Huarte and Alice Green Forrest |
• Lucy Eleanor Jackson 1894 No children • Mary Louise Kearney 1915 No children |
3 March 1925 Washington, D.C. aged 61 |
Grandson of Agustín I, Adopted Son of Maximiliano I [6] | ||
María Josefa de Iturbide y Mikos 1925–1949 |
29 February 1872, Mikosdpuszta daughter of Salvador de Iturbide y Marzán and Baroness Gizella Mikos |
• Baron Johann Tunkl von Aschbrunn und Hohenstadt 12 March 1908 2 daughters • Charles de Carriere 14 April 1923 No children |
November 1949 Deva aged 77 |
Great Granddaughter of Agustín I, Adopted Granddaughter of Maximiliano I [6] | ||
María Gisela Tunkl-Iturbide 1949 |
2 October 1912 Temesvár daughter of María Josefa de Iturbide y Mikos and Johann Tunkl von Aschbrunn und Hohenstadt |
• Gustav Adolf von Götzen 8 June 1940 2 children • Ottavio Stefano della Porta 15 August 1959 No children |
27 January 1981 Sydney aged 68 |
Daughter of María Josefa, María Gisela (and her sister María Ana), Voluntarily surrendered claim in favor of her son Maximilian von Götzen-Iturbide [6] | ||
Maximilian von Götzen-Iturbide (Maximiliano II) 1949–present |
2 March 1944 Beszterce son of María Gisela Tunkl-Iturbide and Gustav Adolf von Götzen |
Maria Anna de Francecshi 22 September 1990 2 children |
Son of María Gisela Tunkl-Iturbide [6][7] | |||
Carlos Felipe de Habsburgo
(Carlos I) 2011-present |
18 October 1954, Mexico City son of Felix of Austria and Anna-Eugénie of Arenberg |
Annie-Claire Lacrambe
12 May 1998 2 chilidren |
Great-great-nephew of Maximilian I |