User:Wabba The I/Claims to the Brunanter throne

In the history of Brunant, there have been several claims to the Brunanter throne. Those claims have been represented by pretenders who were closely related to the real monarchs of Brunant.

Petrism
In 1744, Pieter I came to power and ascended the Brunanter throne. His de facto reign ended in 1784 when James Carrington invaded Brunant and defeated the Royalist volunteers of Pieter I's army at the Battle of Donderstad. On 22 August 1784, two days after his capture by Carrington, he was forced to abdicate in favor of his nephew Adrian, who was the only surviving son of his sister, Princess Catherine, and her husband, Max Sobieski. Adrian II was de jure King of Brunant from 1784 until his deposition by Carrington in favor of his son Ambroos in 1800.

Pieter I and Brigitta
A number of royalists (Petrists) viewed Pieter's abdication as illegitimate and Adrian II as too much of a puppet of President Carrington, only recognizing the end of his reign upon his death on 22 September 1787. The "true king", as they called Pieter, however, lived in Sicily for the rest of his life.

After Pieter's death, many Petrists recognized Adrian II as the rightful King of Brunant because of the fact that he was the closest male relative to the (then dead) king. Adrian had been de jure king for over three years since Pieter's deposition in 1784.

A small group of supporters, however, believed Pieter's only surviving daughter Brigitta should be queen. Some Petrists recognized her as rightful Queen of Brunant upon Pieter's death in 1787. They had two main arguments: the Willemite decree of 1578 which allows females to inherit the throne in the case of no male brothers, but also the fact that Brigitta was Pieter's closest relative.

Brigitta was not married and lived most of her life in modern-day Italy. She was the last living male-line descendant of Karl Van Draak and member of the Brunanter branch of the "original" Van Draak family. After her death on 12 July 1800, the Petrist claim to the Brunanter throne went to three possible representatives:
 * King Adrian II of Brunant, son of Princess Catherine of Brunant and first cousin of Princess Brigitta, who was the rightful king according to the Willemite decree
 * Queen Hélène II of Cettatie, granddaughter of Prince Karl of Brunant and second cousin of Princess Brigitta, who was the last living male-line Van Draak family member and descendant of Karl Van Draak
 * Count Daniel of Leiningen-Dagsburg, grandson of Princess Louisa Alexandra of Brunant and first cousin of Princess Brigitta, who was named as Brigitta's successor in her 1795 will

Adrian II
Adrian II was the rightful Brunanter monarch from Pieter's deposition (22 August 1784) until his own deposition (29 April 1800) in favor of his son Ambroos. Most Petrists did not recognize his reign in this period, but some of them supported him after Pieter's death on 22 September 1787 as he was the closest male relative to the (then dead) king.

A larger proportion of the Petrists only recognized him as King of Brunant after Princess Brigitta's death on 12 July 1800. Their main argument was the Willemite decree of 1578 which allows females to inherit the throne in the case of no male brother. After Brigitta, the throne would have passed to her (then dead) aunt, Princess Catherine and from her it would pass to her son Adrian. Adrian II, however, was deposed in April 1800 and spent the remaining years of his life in Libertas, without reclaiming his right to the throne. He died on 14 June 1807. After his death, his Petrist claim went to his son Ambroos, who was de jure king since 1800.

Daniel of Leiningen-Dagsburg
Count Daniel of Leiningen-Dagsburg was the only son of Count Peter of Leiningen-Dagsburg, who died in 1768, and a grandson of Princess Louisa Alexandra of Brunant, who was a sister of Pieter I and an aunt of Princess Brigitta. In 1788, Daniel married Crown Princess Sofia of Juliana, who would become Queen of Juliana in 1816.

In her 1795 will, Princess Brigitta, claimant to the throne of Brunant, named Daniel as her successor. After all, Brigitta wanted to avoid that the Petrist claim would go to her first cousin Adrian II or the Cetatian royal family. Brigitta made one condition, being that the Brunanter and Julianan thrones should never be joined together and controlled by the same person. A few Petrists recognized Brigitta's will and went to Juliana, but Daniel dit not accept their offer to invade Brunant and become a king. However, he supported Queen Hélène II of Cettatie in her claim to the Brunanter throne.

According to Brigitta's will, the throne should have passed to Daniel's second-born son; his first-born son Daniel would have inherited the throne of Juliana. At Brigitta's death in 1800, Daniel became the rightful King of Brunant in the eyes of a few Petrists. He only had one son and at his death on 2 August 1825, there were almost none Petrists who still recognized the Julianan claim to the Brunanter throne.

Hélène of Cettatie
Hélène of Cettatie was a daughter of King Jean I of Cettatie and Serafina de Murais. She was a granddaughter of Prince Karl of Brunant and a second cousin of Princess Brigitta. Her father died in 1779 and she became Queen of Cettatie. After Brigitta's death, the Cetatian queen had the most supporters in her claim to the throne of Brunant. Hélène was also the only one who made an actual claim to the throne. Many Petrists recognized Hélène's claim as she was the only other surviving male-line descendant of Karl Van Draak.

After her death on 9 October 1808, many Petrists left the Cetatian claim to the Brunanter throne as they wanted a Van Draak family member on their throne. Hélène's son, King Martin I, also made a claim until his death in 1821. He was the last Cetatian monarch to claim the throne of Brunant.