House of Bourbon House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, ; ; Spanish: Borbón) is a European royal house of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg currently have monarchs of the House of Bourbon. The royal Bourbons originated in 1272, when the youngest son of King Louis IX married the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon. The house continued for three centuries as a cadet branch, serving as
House of Bourbon a "commoner" (referring back to the Medieval origins of the Bourbon Dynasty's name and referring to Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian Dynasty). Members of the House of Bourbon-Condé and its cadet branches, which never ascended to the throne, used the surname "de Bourbon" until their extinction in 1830. The daughters of Gaston, Duke of Orleans, were the first members of the House of Bourbon since the accession of Henry IV to take their surname from the appanage of their father (d'Orleans). Gaston died without a male heir; his titles reverted to the crown. It was given to his nephew,