Editing Regnal number (section)

==Pretenders==
It is traditional amongst French monarchists to continue to number their [[pretender]]s even though they have never reigned. Hence, a supporter of the late [[Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019)|Comte de Paris]] would have referred to him as Henri VII even though only four men named "Henri" have been [[List of French monarchs|King of France]].

Non-consecutive ordinals may indicate dynastic claims for non-regnant monarchs. For example, after [[Louis XVI of France]] was executed during the [[French Revolution]], [[legitimists]] consider him to have been succeeded by his young son, whom they called [[Louis XVII of France|Louis XVII]]. Although the child died in prison a few years later and never reigned, his uncle, who came to the French throne in the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]], took the name [[Louis XVIII of France|Louis XVIII]] in acknowledgement of his dynasty's rights. Similarly, after Emperor [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon I]]'s regime collapsed, he abdicated in favour of his four-year-old son, who was proclaimed [[Napoleon II of France|Napoleon II]]. The young emperor was deposed only weeks later by Napoleon's European rivals and was never recognized internationally; but when his first cousin Louis Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor in 1852, he declared himself [[Napoleon III of France|Napoleon III]] in recognition of his predecessor.

=== Jacobite usage ===
Following the [[Glorious Revolution]], a [[Jacobite succession|line of pretenders]] descended from the dethroned [[James II of England|James VII and II]] claimed the throne and declared themselves to be [[James Francis Edward Stuart|James VIII and III]], [[Charles Edward Stuart|Charles III]] and [[Henry Benedict Stuart|Henry IX and I]]. They numbered themselves separately for Scotland and England because they did not recognize the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]], which joined the two kingdoms into one in 1707, as valid.

James VII's last legitimate descendant died in 1807, and the claim passed to descendants of his sister [[Henrietta of England|Henrietta]], Duchess of Orléans. Although none of them has actively claimed the throne, their supporters have assigned them the regnal numbers that they "should have had"; for example, from 1919 to 1955, the claim was held by [[Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria|"Robert I & IV"]], which was numbered for England and Scotland respectively.

This custom is currently not followed by any other ethnic groups other than the French and British (Jacobites), being unique to them, monarchists from other nations do not usually use royal numbers for the pretenders they support.