Who were the Legitimists who opposed Louis-Philippe?

In 19th-century France, the Legitimists were royalists who rejected the reign of Louis-Philippe and the July Revolution of 1830.1

They were defined by their unwavering support for the senior line of the house of Bourbon, which they considered the only rightful claimants to the French throne. Following the 1830 revolution, Legitimists refused to recognize Louis-Philippe—who belonged to the junior Bourbon-Orléans branch—as the legitimate king. Their opposition was rooted in a fundamental disagreement with the Orleanists, who favored a constitutional monarchy under the Orléans line.12

The Legitimist cause remained centered on the Count de Chambord, whom they recognized as Henry V. Because the Legitimists insisted on the divine right and the primacy of the senior Bourbon line, they remained distinct from both the Orleanists, who identified with liberal and bourgeois principles, and the Bonapartists, who sought a return to the French Empire.12