Duke of Navarre

Coat of arms

Duke of Navarre (Duc de Navarre) was a noble title of the First French Empire.

It was created by Letters Patent of 9 April 1810 for Empress Joséphine following her divorce the preceding month. The title related to the château de Navarre in Normandy and not the former Kingdom of Navarre.

She died in 1814 and was succeeded by her grandsons Auguste (died 1835) and Maximilian. On Maximilian's death in 1852, during the Second Empire, his eldest son Nicholas was prevented from succeeding. Through his mother, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia, he was a member of a foreign royal family and thus unable to take the required oath to establish succession to the majorat. The title therefore lapsed.

References

• http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/napoleon.htm
• http://www.chivalricorders.org/royalty/gotha/beahntit.htm