Now in my opinion the Crusader States were invalid to begin with, Christians should view Jesus as the only King of Jerusalem and that land as belonging to The Jews. But this post is being done in the context of what old fashioned Feudal European logic was.
Godfrey de Bouillon declined the title of King in 1099 and instead went by Protector of the Holy Sepulcher under which title he founded the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher. By both the same father and mother Godfrey had an older brother and a younger brother, both of whom also took part in the first Crusade.
It was his younger brother Baldwin I who proclaimed himself the first King of Jerusalem. Which was funny because even by the "Right of Conquest" logic he didn't take part in the siege of Jerusalem, he was too busy Little Fingering his way to the thrown of Edessa.
Their older bother Eustace III of Boulogne did take part in the siege of Jerusalem. When Baldwin I died in 1118 he was offered the Throne of Jerusalem, at first he was hesitant to take it but then decided he would. But then when on the way there he heard Baldwin II had been crowned and he decided to just head back home, he died in less then a decade anyway.
He only had one child, a daughter, Matilda of Boulogne. She married Stephen of England and had five children, however only Marie I Countess of Boulogne had any children of her own. Basically long term descent from Eustace III of Boulogne comes entirely from Matilda of Boulogne's marriage to Henry I Duke of Barbant, more often then not through Henry II Duke of Barbant. His sons include the founder of the House of Hesse, but the claims to the title of Duke of Barbant all descend from Henry III Duke of Barbant, who was succeeded by three straight John of Barbants. Henry II of Barbant's first wife was a descendant of Fredrick Barbarossa, and his second wife descended from Barbarossa's sister.
The Paterlineal ancestry of the Counts of Boulogne go back to Adalulf Count of Boulogne, his brother Arnulf I of Flanders would be the progenitor of other nobles involved in the Crusades including the Counts of Flanders and the Latin Emperors of Constantinople. Their mother was Ælfthryth of Wessex daughter of Alfred The Great. Their father was Baldwin II of Flanders, son of Baldwin I of Flanders and Judith a great-granddaughter of Charlemagne. Baldwin of Flanders' ancestry isn't known.
The Grandson of Charlemagne who was Judith's father was Charles The Bald, specifically he inherited West Francia, which basically became what we now know as France, though Flanders and Barbant specifically are in Belgium. Judith was the first born child of Charles The Bald, older then any of his sons. So an argument can be made that especially once all the male line Carolingian dies out the Heirs to Flanders became the rightful heirs to France.
Eustace III also became one of the early Patrons of the Knights Templars. However another early noble supporter and maybe also member of the Knights Templars was Fulk V of Anjou. A number of Grand Masters of the order also came from Anjou. The Count of Anjou during the third Crusade was King Richard I of England, the Grand Master of the Templars at that time was Robert de Sable who was a very close ally to Richard. Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival is the origin of associating the Templars with the Holy Grail, it also associates the Grail with a royal family from Anjou which produces Parzival himself and others.
In 1290 Charles of Valois became Count of Anjou by his marriage to Margaret Countess of Anjou. He very strongly publicly opposed the execution of Jacques de Molay last Grand Master of the Knights Templars in 1314. The sudden tragedies that befell the family of Philip IV following this resulted in the descendants of Charles and Margaret ruling France for over 200 years till the rise of the Bourbon Dynasty.
The House of Valois would go on to make a number of dynastic connections to descendants of Henry II of Barbant. But the most significant of them was Philip the Bold's marriage to Margaret III of Flanders, through which their descendants would inherit the titles of Count of Flanders (and with it a potential claim to being the Latin Emperor) and Duke of Barbant, thus making them the heirs to Eustace III's claim to the Throne of Jerusalem.
The thing is, there is no need to look at weird Secret History to find a continuation of The Knights Templars. The King of Portugal in 1307-1314 never went along with their suppression and thus the Templars in Portugal became the Military Order of Christ which continues to this day. From 1417-1460 the Grand Master of the Order of Christ was Henry the Navigator, a younger son of the then King of Portugal, his mother was also a Lancaster. In January of 1430 his Sister Isabella of Portugal married Philip The Good.
Philip The Good was a paternal grandson of Philip the Bold. At this time he had already inherited the title Count of Flanders and before 1430 is over he'll become Duke of Barbant upon the death of his paternal Cousin. He celebrated this marriage by founding the Order of the Golden Fleece, and to this day the Grandmasters of that Order are the direct heirs of Philip the Good through Charles the Bold his son by Isabella. Charles the Bold's only child was a daughter Mary of Burgundy who married Maximilian Holy Roman Emperor, they were the grandparents of Emperor Charles V and Ferdinand making the Hapsburg Dynasty the Heirs of Barbant and Flanders right down to the current Karl von Hapsburg, and the King of Spain.
An offshoot of that order is the Order of Saint George which became the Imperial Order of St George. Who's Grand Master is also still Karl von Hapsburg. All of these orders are Roman Catholic orders, some more wiling to let non Catholics in then others.
Philip The Good was on the side of the English during much of the latter phase of the Hundred Years War, it was he who captured Jeanne d'Arc and the Cardinal who orchestrated her trail was a close associate of his. He would switch sides later however.
Eustace III also became one of the early Patrons of the Knights Templars. However another early noble supporter and maybe also member of the Knights Templars was Fulk V of Anjou. A number of Grand Masters of the order also came from Anjou. The Count of Anjou during the third Crusade was King Richard I of England, the Grand Master of the Templars at that time was Robert de Sable who was a very close ally to Richard. Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival is the origin of associating the Templars with the Holy Grail, it also associates the Grail with a royal family from Anjou which produces Parzival himself and others.
In 1290 Charles of Valois became Count of Anjou by his marriage to Margaret Countess of Anjou. He very strongly publicly opposed the execution of Jacques de Molay last Grand Master of the Knights Templars in 1314. The sudden tragedies that befell the family of Philip IV following this resulted in the descendants of Charles and Margaret ruling France for over 200 years till the rise of the Bourbon Dynasty.
The House of Valois would go on to make a number of dynastic connections to descendants of Henry II of Barbant. But the most significant of them was Philip the Bold's marriage to Margaret III of Flanders, through which their descendants would inherit the titles of Count of Flanders (and with it a potential claim to being the Latin Emperor) and Duke of Barbant, thus making them the heirs to Eustace III's claim to the Throne of Jerusalem.
The thing is, there is no need to look at weird Secret History to find a continuation of The Knights Templars. The King of Portugal in 1307-1314 never went along with their suppression and thus the Templars in Portugal became the Military Order of Christ which continues to this day. From 1417-1460 the Grand Master of the Order of Christ was Henry the Navigator, a younger son of the then King of Portugal, his mother was also a Lancaster. In January of 1430 his Sister Isabella of Portugal married Philip The Good.
Philip The Good was a paternal grandson of Philip the Bold. At this time he had already inherited the title Count of Flanders and before 1430 is over he'll become Duke of Barbant upon the death of his paternal Cousin. He celebrated this marriage by founding the Order of the Golden Fleece, and to this day the Grandmasters of that Order are the direct heirs of Philip the Good through Charles the Bold his son by Isabella. Charles the Bold's only child was a daughter Mary of Burgundy who married Maximilian Holy Roman Emperor, they were the grandparents of Emperor Charles V and Ferdinand making the Hapsburg Dynasty the Heirs of Barbant and Flanders right down to the current Karl von Hapsburg, and the King of Spain.
An offshoot of that order is the Order of Saint George which became the Imperial Order of St George. Who's Grand Master is also still Karl von Hapsburg. All of these orders are Roman Catholic orders, some more wiling to let non Catholics in then others.
Philip The Good was on the side of the English during much of the latter phase of the Hundred Years War, it was he who captured Jeanne d'Arc and the Cardinal who orchestrated her trail was a close associate of his. He would switch sides later however.
