Henri was the only son of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, born after his father's death. The Duke was the younger son of Charles X of France, by his wife, Princess Carolina of Naples and Sicily, daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies. As the grandson of Charles X, Henri was a Petit-Fils de France. He was the last legitimate descendant in the male line of Louis XV of France. He was the Legitimist pretender to the throne of France from 1844 until his death in 1883.