Editing Pretender (section)

{{Short description|Someone who claims to be rightful holder of a throne that is vacant or held by another}}
{{About|the term "pretender" as applied to monarchies|other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2024}}

[[File:James Francis Edward Stuart c. 1703 attributed to Alexis Simon Belle.jpg|thumb|[[James Francis Edward Stuart]], later known as the ''Old Pretender'', depicted {{circa|1703}}, having been recognised in 1701 by King [[Louis XIV of France]] as the rightful claimant to the English, Irish, and Scottish thrones]]
A '''pretender''' is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government.<ref>[https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/pretender#pretender_4 "pretender"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114002310/http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/pretender#pretender_4 |date=2015-11-14 }}, ''MacMillian Dictionary''. "someone who claims to be the true king, queen, or leader of a country, when another person holds this position."</ref> The term may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimate.<ref name=curley>Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting''. New York, 1973, pp. 4, 10. {{ISBN|0-396-06840-5}}.</ref><ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretender "pretender"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200847/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretender |date=2021-06-24 }}, ''Merriam-Webster'', "a claimant to a throne who is held to have no just title."<br>"pretender", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd edition, Oxford Dictionaries, 1989. "applied to a claimant who is held to have no just title."</ref>

In addition, it may also refer to that of a deposed monarch, a type of claimant referred to as [[List of heads of former ruling families|head of a house]].<ref>''Almanach de Gotha'' uses the "head of the house" terminology. It lists Karl von Habsburg as "Head of the Imperial House of Austria". It lists many others in the form "head of the royal house of [name]". (James, John. ''Almanach de Gotha'' 2016: Volume I Parts I & II) The classic [https://www.russianlegitimist.org/almanach-de-gotha 1944 edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021114354/https://www.russianlegitimist.org/almanach-de-gotha|date=2022-10-21}} uses "chef de la maison" (p. 104).</ref> In addition, it may also refer to a former monarchy.

[[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] popularized this word, using it to refer to her Roman Catholic half-brother [[James Francis Edward Stuart]], the [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] heir, in an address to Parliament in 1708: "The French fleet sailed from Dunkirk ... with the Pretender on board."<ref>"pretender", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd edition, Oxford Dictionaries, 1989. Stuart had earlier been referred to as "the pretended prince of Wales".</ref>

In 1807 the French Emperor [[Napoleon]] complained that the ''[[Almanach de Gotha]]'' continued to list German princes whom he had deposed.<ref>Napoleon wrote to his foreign minister, 20 October 1807: "Monsieur de Champagny, this year's ''Almanach de Gotha'' is badly done. I protest. There should be more of the French Nobility I have created and less of the German Princes who are no longer sovereign. Furthermore, the Imperial Family of Bonaparte should appear before all other royal dynasties, and let it be clear that we and not the Bourbons are the House of France. Summon the Minister of the Interior of Gotha at once so that I personally may order these changes."</ref> This episode established that publication as the pre-eminent authority on the titles of deposed monarchs and nobility, many of which were restored in 1815 after the end of Napoleon's reign.