House of Nguyễn Phúc

The House of Nguyễn Phúc (Nguyen Gia Mieu) had historically been founded in the 14th century in Gia Mieu village, Thanh Hoa Province, before they came to rule southern Vietnam from 1558 to 1777, then became the ruling dynasty of the entire Vietnam. Traditionally, the family traces themselves to Nguyễn Bặc (?–979), the first duke of Dai Viet. Princes and male descendants of Gia Long are called Hoàng Thân, while male lineal descendants of previous Nguyen lords are named Tôn Thất. Grandsons of the emperor were Hoàng tôn. Daughters of the emperor were called Hoàng nữ, and always earned the title công chúa (princess).

Their succession practically is according to the law of primogeniture, but sometimes conflicted. The first succession conflict arose in 1816 when Gia Long was designing for an heir. His first prince Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh died in 1802. As a result, two rival factions emerged, one support Nguyễn Phúc Mỹ Đường, the eldest son of Prince Cảnh, as the crown prince, while other support Prince Đảm (later Minh Mang).[5] The second conflict was the 1847 succession when two young princes Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Bảo and Hồng Nhậm were dragged by the ill-failing emperor Thieu Tri as a potential heir. At first, Thieu Tri apparently chose Prince Hồng Bảo because he was older, but after hearing advice from two regents Trương Đăng Quế and Nguyễn Tri Phương, he revised the heir at last minute and choose Hồng Nhậm as the crown prince.[6]

The abdication of Bảo Đại took place on 25 August 1945 and marked the end of the 143-year reign of the Nguyễn dynasty over Vietnam ending the Vietnamese monarchy.[7][8] Bảo Đại abdicated in response to the August Revolution a ceremony handing power over to the newly established Democratic Republic of Vietnam which was established during the end of World War II as Vietnam had been occupied by French and later Japanese imperialists.[9][10][11]

After the Việt Minh sent a telegram to the Imperial City of Huế demanding the abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại, he announced that he would abdicate and officially abdicated on 25 August.[12] After a representative of the Việt Minh convinced Bảo Đại to hold a public abdication ceremony he did so on 30 August 1945. The passing of the ceremonial seal and sword had been seen as symbolically "passing the Mandate of Heaven over to the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam".[4] Following his abdication Emperor Bảo Đại became "citizen Vĩnh Thụy" (公民永瑞, công dân Vĩnh Thụy) and would become an advisor to the new Democratic Republic of Vietnam government in Hanoi.[13][4]

The coat of arms of the State of Vietnam.

In order to combat the influence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Việt Minh the French were forced to grant more autonomy to the Vietnamese and French President Vincent Auriol arranged for the former Emperor Bảo Đại to return to Vietnam and lead a new autonomous Vietnamese state in what the French called the "Bảo Đại solution" (Giải pháp Bảo Đại). On 24 April 1949 Bảo Đại would return from France back to Vietnam.[10] Nearly two months later, on 14 June 1949 Bảo Đại issued an ordinance giving him the position of "Chief of State of the State of Vietnam" (Quốc trưởng Quốc gia Việt Nam), in his memoirs he claimed that he did this to receive better recognition on an international level.[10] Furthermore, in his memoirs he emphasised that his proper title was "Emperor, Chief of State" (Hoàng đế, Quốc trưởng).[10] The position was supposed to only be temporary until Vietnam would have an elected constitutional parliament.[10]

In 1950 Bảo Đại was given the "Domain of the Crown" which included ethnic minority lands within Vietnam that were directly placed under his rule where he remained to be the "Emperor".[14][15] It was officially established on 15 April 1950 and dissolved on 11 March 1955.[16]

During his time as Chief of State he was often absent from most events in Vietnam and would frequently spend his time in Europe or in his domain, specifically in the resort towns of Đà Lạt, Nha Trang, and Buôn Ma Thuột, rather than attending to his responsibilities as the head of the government.[17]

Bảo Đại was ousted as the Chief of State of the State of Vietnam during a rigged election in 1955.[18][19]

The personal coat of arms of the Bảo Đại Emperor which appeared on the cover of his autobiographical memoires Le dragon d'Annam, Bao Daï (1980).

In 1957, during his visit to the Alsace region, Bảo Đại met Christiane Bloch-Carcenac with whom he had an affair for several years. The relationship with Bloch-Carcenac resulted in the birth of his last child, Patrick-Edward Bloch-Carcenac, who still lives in Alsace in France.[20][21]

In 1972, Bảo Đại issued a public statement from exile, appealing to the Vietnamese people for national reconciliation, stating, "The time has come to put an end to the fratricidal war and to recover at last peace and accord". At times, Bảo Đại maintained residence in southern France, and in particular, in Monaco, where he sailed often on his private yacht, one of the largest in Monte Carlo harbour. He still reportedly held great influence among local political figures in the Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên provinces of Huế. The Communist government of North Vietnam sent representatives to France hoping that Bảo Đại would become a member of a coalition government which might reunite Vietnam, in the hope of attracting his supporters in the regions wherein he still held influence.

As a result of these meetings, Bảo Đại publicly spoke out against the presence of American troops in South Vietnam, and he criticised President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu's regime in South Vietnam. He called for all political factions to create a free, neutral, peace-loving government which would resolve the tense situation that had taken form in the country.

In 1982, Bảo Đại, his wife Monique, and other members of the former imperial family of Vietnam visited the United States. His agenda was to oversee and bless Buddhist and Caodaiist religious ceremonies, in the Californian and Texan Vietnamese-American communities.

Throughout Bảo Đại's life in both Vietnam and in France, he remained unpopular among the Vietnamese populace as he was considered a political puppet for the French colonialist regime, for lacking any form of political power, and for his cooperation with the French and for his pro-French ideals. The former emperor clarified, however, that his reign was always a constant battle and a balance between preserving the monarchy and the integrity of the nation versus fealty to the French authorities. Ultimately, power devolved away from his person and into ideological camps and in the face of Diem's underestimated influences on factions within the empire.[22] Bảo Đại died in a military hospital in Paris, France, on 30 July 1997. He was interred in the Cimetière de Passy. Following Bảo Đại's death Bảo Long inherited the position of head of the House of Nguyễn Phúc. He remained out of politics and lived quietly in Paris.[23]

Bảo Long allegedly sold the sword that was handed over in the 1945 abdication ceremony.[10] Although the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League (headed by rival claimant Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Chánh) wish to restore the Nguyễn dynasty to the throne under a constitutional monarchy, as in Cambodia and Thailand, Bảo Long did not support their political aspirations.[24]

On 28 July 2007, following the death of Bảo Long, the new head of the House of Nguyễn Phúc became Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Thăng.[25]

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  Coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty depicting a dragon.
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  Variant coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty.

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  Đại Việt quốc Nguyễn Chúa vĩnh trấn chi bảo (大越國阮𪐴永鎮之寶, "Seal of the eternal government of the Nguyễn Lords of the Kingdom of Great(er) Viêt") written in seal script.[31][32]
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  Đại Nam thụ thiên vĩnh mệnh truyền quốc tỷ (大南受天永命傳國璽, "The Great South has the eternal Mandate of Heaven, jade seal for the transmission of the legacy of the Empire") written in seal script.[31][33]