[QUOTE=Galician;611484]Macmillan, I had also wondered about the claim the French could make on her remains. Any idea if her husband's tomb survived the French Revolution?[QUOTE]

Hmm. Don't know. Did I hear someone shout "GOOGLE"!

[QUOTE=Galician;611484]I was surprised to read what you wrote about how Mary considered herself to be the de jure Queen of Engand. If so, it explains to me why Elizabeth would have considered her to be such a threat. But what would this claim have been based on?[QUOTE]

Mary's claim to the English throne was through her Grandmother, Margret Tudor, and placed her in the line of succession after the children of Henry VIII. As Elizabeth was considered illegitimate Mary's claim was valid. That is why, following the death of Mary, her son, James VI of Scotland, became the heir to the English throne, and ascended to that throne upon the death of Elizabeth I.

[QUOTE=Galician;611484]As regards Cardinal Henry Benedict, I suspect that canon law of the period might have made him ineligible for inheriting the title, due to his status as a cleric.[QUOTE]

Henry became a Cardinal at the ripe old age of 22 (in 1747). Following the death of his brother in 1788 he assumed the style of Henry IX, and displayed the Royal Arms on his coach. On his death in 1807 he is supposed to have willed a number of items to George III, including the coronation ring.

Interestingly, when Rome fell to Napoleon Henry Benedict fled to Naples where he was elected Pope-- he promptly repudiated the election, citing his status as de jure king of England (!) as one of the principal reasons.