The pretext for beginning the Franco-Prussian War concerned rights to the throne of this country.
France
Prussia
Spain
The Netherlands
Luxembourg
Spain. The Spanish throne, vacant since 1868, had long been held by the French Bourbon dynasty. A group of Spanish army insurgents offered it to a nephew of King Wilhelm I of Prussia, setting in motion events that led to war between France and Prussia, a confrontation leaders in both nations had been seeking.