Another Bhopal family claims French royal lineage

A Bhopal resident's fairy tale rise to prominence as the closest descendent of France's Bourbon dynasty has been challenged by another family.

Mohammed Sulaiman, a supervisor with the Public Works Department in Bhopal, claims his great-grandfather was the real Bourbon descendent and therefore his father Mohammed Affan is the genuine heir to the French throne.

Four months ago, 48-year-old lawyer and farmer Balthazar Napoleon de Bourbon was named as the lost descendent of Bourbon kings by Prince Michael of Greece in his historical novel Le Rajah de Bourbon.

The Bourbon kings ruled France from the 16th century to the French revolution.

Sulaiman told PTI over phone from Bhopal: "My great-grandfather, after whom I have been named, was the real descendent of the Bourbons. However, since he embraced Islam at the age of 20 (around 1890) and cut off ties with his father, he doesn't find mention in the Bourbon family tree."

Sulaiman even has a shajra (family tree) prepared by his late grandfather Irfan Artist who was the personal photographer of Bhopal's last Nawab, and this showed the lineage.

"My great-great-grandfather had two wives. Balthazar may be a descendent of the second wife's children," he said.

Balthazar Bourbon, who four months after his changed status is still awaiting an invitation from his "distant cousin" Prince Michael to travel to France and Greece, told PTI: "I haven't heard about such a claim. Such claims don't bother me. I think they are all pretenders."

When told about Sulaiman's claim that the real Bourbon ancestor could have embraced Islam, Balthazar said, "I have a genealogical table. No Bourbon ever converted to any religion. However, if a Bourbon woman married a non-Christian and if the lineage stems from there, then it is a different matter."

Balthazar, who was earlier eager to take a DNA test either in France or India to prove his links to the dynasty, now seemed to be in no hurry. "The DNA test is not for show. I'll take the test if there is a discrepancy."

Asked why he hadn't travelled to Europe yet, Balthazar said, "I have been busy with engagements here. But I should be travelling soon. I will inform the press when I do."

Both Sulaiman and Balthazar's families are neighbours in Jehangirabad, an area given to the landed gentry by Bhopal's royals.

Sulaiman, whose family's fair skin and blonde hair make them stand out, is willing to take a DNA test to prove his claims.

In his book, Prince Michael pointed out that Jean de Bourbon, a nephew of the first Bourbon French king Henry IV, arrived in India at the time of Mughal emperor Akbar's reign after action-packed adventures across the world.

Jean survived assassination attempts and kidnapping by pirates to be sold in an Egyptian slave market and went on to serve in the Ethiopian army.

The Bourbons of Bhopal are believed to be descended from him.

According to Balthazar, the Bourbons first came to India in 1560 during the time of emperor Akbar.

Around 1700, they came to Bhopal via Gwalior. They were advisors to the Nawabs and were behind the move to make a woman the Nawab.

"But the Bourbons' slide from a position of power began around 1890 because they were Catholics," Balthazar said.

Incidentally, that is the period when Sulaiman's great-grandfather embraced Islam.