| House of Orléans Bourbon-Orléans | |
|---|---|
| Capetianroyal family | |
.svg) Arms of the House of Orléans | |
| Parent house | Bourbon |
| Country | France Brazil[Note 1] |
| Founded | 10 May 1661; 364 years ago (1661-05-10) |
| Founder | Philippe I, Duke of Orléans |
| Current head | Jean d'Orléans, Count of Paris Heads of cadet branches: Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón, Duke of Galliera Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza Pedro of Orléans-Braganza and Petrópolis |
| Final ruler | Louis Philippe I |
| Titles | List
|
| Deposition | 24 February 1848 (1848-02-24) |
| Cadet branches | Orléans-Braganza Orléans-Galliera |
| Website | comtedeparis |
TheHouse of Orléans (French:Maison d'Orléans), sometimes called theHouse of Bourbon-Orléans (French:Maison de Bourbon-Orléans) to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of theRoyal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from thedynasty's founder,Hugh Capet. The house was founded byPhilippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger son ofLouis XIII and younger brother ofLouis XIV, the "Sun King".
From 1709 until theFrench Revolution, the Orléans dukes were next in theorder of succession to the French throne after members of the senior branch of theHouse of Bourbon, descended from Louis XIV. Although Louis XIV'sdirect descendants retained the throne, his brother Philippe's descendants flourished until the end of the French monarchy. The Orléanists held the French throne from 1830 to 1848 and are stillpretenders to the French throne today.
The House of Orléans has a cadet branch in theHouse of Orléans-Braganza, founded with the marriage betweenIsabel of Braganza, Princess Imperial of Brazil, andPrince Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu. Although never reigning, the House of Orléans-Braganza has claimed the Brazilian throne since 1921.
It became a tradition during France'sancien régime for theDuchy of Orléans to be granted as anappanage to a younger (usually the second surviving) son of the king. While each of the Orléans branches thus descended from a junior prince, they were always among the king's nearest relations in the male line, sometimes aspiring to the throne itself, and sometimes succeeding.Since they had contemporaneous living descendants, there were two Bourbon-Orléans branches atcourt during the reign of Louis XIV. The elder of these branches consisted ofPrince Gaston, Duke of Anjou, younger son of kingHenry IV, and the four daughters of his two marriages.
Prince Gaston became the Duke of Orléans in 1626, and held that title until his death in 1660. Upon the death of Gaston, theappanage of the Duchy of Orléans reverted to the Crown. His nephew, Louis XIV, then gave Gaston's appanages to his younger brotherPrince Philippe, who became Duke of Orléans. At court, Gaston was known asLe Grand Monsieur ("The Big Milord"), and Philippe was calledLe Petit Monsieur ("The Little Milord") while both princes were alive.
| House of Orléans |
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| French royal family Orléanist |
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Extended royal family
The Duke of Orléans
The Count of Évreux
Princess Béatrice The Dowager Countess of La Marche
The Countess of Schönborn-Buchheim Princess Hélène, Countess of Limburg Stirum The Dowager Duchess of Calabria The Dowager Duchess of Württemberg Princess Claude, Mrs. Gandolfi Princess Chantal, Baroness of Sambucy de Sorgue |
Philippe and his second wife, the famous court writerElizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, founded the modern House of Bourbon-Orléans. Before then, Philippe had been styled as theDuke of Anjou, like Prince Gaston. Besides receiving the appanage ofOrléans, he also received the duchies ofValois andChartres:Duke of Chartres became the courtesy title by which the heirs apparent of the Dukes of Orléans were known during their fathers' lifetimes. Until the birth of the king's son, theDauphin Louis, the Duke of Orléans was theheir presumptive to the crown. He was to maintain a high position at court till his death in 1701.
Their surviving son,Philippe II served as theregent of France for the youngLouis XV.As afils de France, Philippe'ssurname wasde France. Upon his death, his son inherited the Orléans dukedom, but as apetit-fils de France. His surnamed'Orléans (used also by his descendants) was taken from his father's main title. The first two dukes, as son andpatrilineal grandson, respectively, of a French king, were entitled to be addressed asRoyal Highness. But Philippe I was primarily known asMonsieur, thestyle reserved at the French court for the king's eldest brother.
Philippe II was succeeded as duke by his only legitimate son,Louis d'Orléans, who was entitled to the style ofSerene Highness as aprince du sang. After 1709, the heads of the Orléans branch of theHouse of Bourbon ranked as thepremier princes du sang – this meant that the dukes could be addressed asMonsieur le Prince (a style they did not, however, use). More importantly, should there be no heir to the Crown of France in the king's immediate family, then the Orléans family would ascend by right the throne.
In 1709, the5th prince de Condé died. He was thepremier prince du sang and head of theHouse of Bourbon-Condé. As a result of this death, the title ofpremier prince passed to the House of Orléans, as they were closer in blood to the throne of France.[1] But since the two senior males of that line held higher rank as, respectively,fils de France andpetit-fils de France, they did not make use of the title and had no need of its attached prerogative; a household andretinue maintained at the expense of theCrown.
The Orléans household was already large, as it held the staff of Philippe II d'Orléans and of his wife, as well as the staff of his widowed mother, thedowager Duchess. This combined household, though not fully functional until 1723, contained almost 250 members including officers, courtiers, footmen, gardeners, and even barbers.
On the death of Louis XIV in September 1715, the new king,Louis XV, was only five years old. The country was then governed by the new king's older relative Philippe II d'Orléans as theregent of France. This period in French history is known as the Regency (La Régence), and gave theHouse of Orléans the pre-eminent position and political role in France during the king'sminority. The regent ruled France from his family residence in Paris, thePalais-Royal. He installed the young Louis XV in thePalais du Louvre which was opposite the Palais-Royal.
In January 1723 Louis XV gained his majority and began to govern the country on his own. The young king moved the court back toVersailles and in December, Philippe II died and his son,Louis d'Orléans succeeded him as 3rd duke and, more importantly, as France's heir presumptive. Nonetheless, since his rank by birth (as a great-grandson of a French king) wasprince du sang, that ofpremier prince du sang constituted a higher style, of which he and his descendants henceforth made use.
Louis d'Orléans was in several ways his father's opposite, being retiring by nature and extremely devout. Although still in his twenties when widowed, he did not remarry afterhis wife's death, and is not known to have ever taken a mistress. He died in theMonastery of St. Geneviève in Paris.[2]
His son,Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, was the fourth of his line to hold that title. After having a distinguished military career, he decided to live quietly with his mistress (later, hismorganatic wife), themarquise de Montesson, at theChâteau de Sainte-Assise.
Louis Philippe I d'Orléans and his wifeLouise Henriette de Bourbon had two children: the fifth duke,Louis Philippe II d'Orléans, known to history asPhilippe Egalité, andBathilde d'Orléans. As the Duke of Chartres,Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, married one of his cousins,Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon. She was the sole heiress of theHouse of Bourbon-Penthièvre, which had accumulated vast wealth bestowed, despite theirbar sinister, on theprinces légitimés by their father, Louis XIV. The Duchess of Chartres had a dowry of six millionlivres, equivalent to £43,817,641 in 2023, and an annual allowance of over 500,000 livres, equivalent to £3,651,412 in 2023. Upon the death of her father she inherited the remainder of the Bourbon-Penthièvre revenues andchâteaux.
Louis Philippe II was given the surnameEgalité ("Equality") when French titles of nobility were abolished in 1790. His wife outlived him by almost thirty years.
Louise Marie ThérèseBathilde d'Orléans marriedLouis Henry II, Prince of Condé, the last ofhis house, and was the mother of theDuke of Enghien, who wasexecuted byNapoleon. She died in 1822, the same year as her sister-in-law theDuchess of Orléans. They were both buried in theChapelle royale de Dreux.
At the time of theFrench Revolution, Philippe-Egalité, was the only person of the royal family to actively support the revolution.
He went so far as to vote for the execution of his cousin, Louis XVI, an act which earned him popularity among the revolutionaries, and the undying hostility of many French monarchists. He remained in prison until October, the beginning of theReign of Terror. He was shortlisted for a trial on 3 October, and effectively tried andguillotined in the space of one day, on the orders ofMaximilien Robespierre.
Most of the Orléans family were forced to flee. The new Duke of Orléans had fled to Austria several months previously, triggering the arrest of his father. His brother, theDuke of Montpensier, would die in England, and his sister fled to Switzerland after being imprisoned for a while. The youngest brother,Louis-Charles, Count of Beaujolais, was thrown into a prison in the south of France (Fort-Saint-Jean inMarseille) in 1793, but later escaped to the United States. He too died in exile. Of the Orléans, only the widow of Philippe Egalité was able to remain in France unhindered until, in 1797 she, too, was banished to Spain along with the few remaining Bourbons who still lived in France.
In 1814 during theBourbon Restoration, the three remaining members of the family, the Duke of Orléans, his mother and sister, returned to Paris. The family's properties and titles were returned to them byLouis XVIII.
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In 1830, following the FrenchJuly Revolution, the House of Orléans became the ruling house when the monarch of the elderrestored Bourbon line,Charles X, was replaced by the 6th duke,Louis-Philippe III d'Orléans, son of Philippe-Egalité. Louis Philippe ruled as aconstitutional monarch, and as such was calledKing of the French, rather than "of France". His reign lasted until theRevolution of 1848, when he abdicated and fled to England.
Even after his ouster, anOrléanist faction remained active, supporting a return of the House of Orléans to power. Legitimist monarchists however continued to uphold the rights of the elder line of Bourbons, who came close to regaining the throne after the fall of theSecond Empire[citation needed]. In the early 1870s, a majority of deputies in theNational Assembly were monarchists, as was the nation's president,MacMahon. Thus, it was widely expected that the old dynasty would be invited to re-mount the throne, in the person of either the Bourbon or the Orléans claimant.
To seize this opportunity the Orléanists offered a so-calledfusion, whereby King Louis Philippe's grandson and heir,Philippe, Count of Paris, accepted the childless Legitimist pretender's right to the throne, thereby potentially uniting French royalists in support of a single candidate. But the refusal of the last male of Louis XIV's direct line, theCount of Chambord, to accept thetricolore as France's flag under a restored monarchy proved an insurmountable obstacle to his candidacy.
Although the Orléans hadreigned under the tricolor without objection, this time the Orléans princes did not abandon the cause of the head of their dynasty by seeking to offer themselves as alternative candidates; by the time Chambord died and the Orléans felt free to re-assert their claim to the throne, the political moment had passed, and France had become resolutely republican.[3] France has had neither a Bourbon nor Orléans monarch since 1848.
Louis-Philippe and his family lived in England until his death inClaremont,Surrey. Like his mother, he and his wife, Amelia (1782–1866), were buried at theChapelle royale de Dreux. In 1883, the Count of Chambord died without children. As a result, some Legitimists recognized the House of Orléans as the heirs to the throne of France.
However, a portion of the Legitimists, still resentful of the revolutionary credentials of the House of Orléans, transferred their loyalties to theCarlist heirs of the Spanish Bourbons, who represented the most senior branch of theCapetians even though they had renounced their claim to the French throne to obtain Spain in 1713.
Thus to their supporters, not only are the heads of the House of Orléans the rightful heirs to the constitutionalist title of "King of the French", but also to the Legitimist title of "King of France and Navarre".
| Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Succession right(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippe I, Duke of Orléans 10 May 1661 – 9 June 1701 (40 years and 1 month) | .jpg) | 21 September 1640 Saint-Germain-en-Laye Son ofLouis XIII, King of France andQueen Anne of Austria | (1)Henrietta of England (m. 1661;d. 1670) 3 children (2)Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (m. 1671;w. 1701) 3 children | 9 June 1701 Saint-Cloud Aged 60 | CreatedDuke of Orléans byLouis XIV, King of France | [4] |
| Philippe II, Duke of Orléans 9 June 1701 – 2 December 1723 (22 years, 5 months and 24 days) |  | 2 August 1674 Saint-Cloud Son ofPhilippe I andElizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate | Françoise Marie de Bourbon (m. 1692;w. 1723) 8 children | 2 December 1723 Versailles Aged 49 | Son ofPhilippe I (proximity of blood) | — |
| Louis, Duke of Orléans 2 December 1723 – 4 February 1752 (28 years, 2 months and 3 days) |  | 4 August 1703 Versailles Son ofPhilippe II andFrançoise Marie de Bourbon | Auguste of Baden-Baden (m. 1724;d. 1726) 8 children | 4 February 1752 Paris Aged 48 | Son ofPhilippe II (primogeniture) | — |
| Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans 4 February 1752 – 18 November 1785 (33 years, 9 months and 15 days) | _as_Duke_of_Orl%25C3%25A9ans_by_Alexander_Roslin%2c_Stockholm.png) | 12 May 1725 Versailles Son ofLouis andAuguste of Baden-Baden | (1)Louise Henriette de Bourbon (m. 1743;d. 1759) 3 children (2)Charlotte-Jeanne Béraud de La Haye de Riou (m. 1773;w. 1785) Childless | 18 November 1785 Seine-Port Aged 60 | Son ofLouis | — |
| Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans 18 November 1785 – 8 September 1792 (Renounced to nobility after 6 years, 9 months and 22 days) |  | 13 April 1747 Saint-Cloud Son ofLouis Philippe I andLouise Henriette de Bourbon | Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon (m. 1768;w. 1793) 5 children | 6 November 1793 Paris Executed for treason Aged 46 | Son ofLouis Philippe I (primogeniture) | [5] |
| Louis Philippe II continued to be the informal head of the House until his execution in 1793; after that his son Louis Philippe III claimed his titles. | ||||||
| Louis Philippe III, Duke of Orléans from 1830 to 1848 Louis Philippe I, King of the French 6 November 1793 – 26 August 1850 (56 years, 9 months and 21 days) |  | 6 October 1773 Paris Son ofLouis Philippe II andLouise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon | Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (m. 1809;w. 1850) 10 children | 26 August 1850 Claremont,Surrey, England Aged 76 | Son ofLouis Philippe II (primogeniture) | [6] |
| Prince Philippe, Count of Paris (Philip VII, if king) 26 August 1850 – 8 September 1894 (44 years and 14 days) |  | 24 August 1838 Paris Son ofFerdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans andHelene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Marie Isabelle of Orléans (m. 1864;w. 1894) 8 children | 8 September 1894 Stowe House,Buckinghamshire, England Aged 56 | Grandson ofLouis Philippe I | [7] |
| Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (Philip VIII, if king) 8 September 1894 – 28 March 1926 (31 years, 6 months and 21 days) |  | 6 February 1869 Twickenham,London Son ofPrince Philippe, Count of Paris andMarie Isabelle of Orléans | Maria Dorothea of Austria (m. 1896;w. 1926) Childless | 28 March 1926 Palermo Aged 57 | Son ofPrince Philippe (primogeniture) | — |
| Prince Jean, Duke of Guise (John III, if king) 28 March 1926 – 25 August 1940 (14 years, 4 months and 29 days) | .jpg) | 4 September 1874 Paris Son ofPrince Robert, Duke of Chartres andFrançoise of Orléans | Isabelle of Orléans (m. 1899;w. 1940) 4 children | 25 August 1940 Larache Aged 65 | Great-grandson ofLouis Philippe I Cousin and brother-in-law ofPrince Philippe, Duke of Orléans | — |
| Henri, Count of Paris (Henry VI, if king) 25 August 1940 – 19 June 1999 (58 years, 9 months and 26 days) | .jpg) | 5 July 1908 Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache Son ofJean, Duke of Guise andIsabelle of Orléans | Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza (m. 1931;w. 1999) 11 children | 19 June 1999 Cherisy Aged 90 | Son ofJean, Duke of Guise | [8] |
| Henri, Count of Paris (Henry VII, if king) 19 June 1999 – 21 January 2019 (19 years, 7 months and 3 days) |  | 14 June 1933 Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Son ofHenri, Count of Paris andIsabelle of Orléans-Braganza | (1)Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg (m. 1957;div. 1984) 5 children (2)Micaela Cousiño Quiñones de León (m. 1984) Childless | 21 January 2019 Dreux Aged 85 | Son ofHenri, Count of Paris (primogeniture) | — |
| Jean, Count of Paris (John IV, if king) since 21 January 2019 (6 years, 10 months and 5 days) |  | 19 May 1965 Paris Son ofHenri, Count of Paris andMarie-Thérèse of Württemberg | Philomena de Tornos Steinhart (m. 2009) 5 children | Son ofHenri, Count of Paris | — | |
The current head of the house isJean, Count of Paris (born 1965), who is aclaimant to the French throne asJohn IV. For theOrléanists, his pretense is due to being the heir of King Louis Philippe of the French. ForLegitimists, his pretense is due to being the heir ofHenri, Count of Chambord, and so ofCharles X of France.
Present family
On 5 July 1957,Henri, Count of Paris marriedDuchess Marie Thérèse of Württemberg (born 1934), another descendant of King Louis Philippe. He received the titleCount of Clermont. Five children were born from this union, before the marriage ended in divorce.
Jean, Count of Paris, is now the head of the house.
Throughout the years of theancien régime, the Orléans household received vast riches in terms of wealth and property. Philippe de France obtained for the House of Bourbon-Orléans, during the rule of his brother Louis XIV, the following:
Under the regent, Philippe II, d'Orléans:
Under Louis d'Orléans:
UnderLouis Philippe I d'Orléans:
Because the Dukes of Orléans were also thepremier princes du sang, the kingdom's treasury paid for their personal household of 265 staff and officers. Along with towns and buildings, the family derived income from its forests on the ducal lands at Orléans, Beaugency, Montargis, Romorantin, Dourdan, Bruadan, Villers-Cotterêts (at which they had a château), Laigne, Coucy, La Fère, Marle, and Saint-Gobin.
Philippe I and his wife had to spend most of their time at the royal court of his brother Louis XIV. For this purpose they had apartments at thePalace of Versailles, theChâteau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, thePalace of Fontainebleau and theChâteau de Marly, as did most other members of theHouse of Bourbon. Their private home, given to them by the king, was thePalais Royal, Paris. Furthermore, Philippe I had bought theChâteau de Saint-Cloud, located between Paris and Versailles, in 1658. Later he replaced it with a new baroque building, including vast gardens on the Seine River. He also had a number of smaller rural properties. Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, sold the Palais Royal and the Château de Saint-Cloud to King Louis XVI, shortly before the Revolution, however still occupying an apartment at the Palais Royal. Their private residences then became theChâteau du Raincy and the Château de Sainte-Assise atSeine-Port.
Before the court was officially moved to Versailles, and before the birth of his nephew, the king's son, theDauphinLouis de France, in 1661, the Duke of Orléans' apartments in thePalace of Versailles were where the Dauphin's now are located. The apartments looked over theParterres du Midi of the south and were directly under theGrand Appartement de la reine. After the dauphin's birth, the Orléans had to move to the north wing and occupied large quarters there. These looked out onto theParterres du Midi of the south. The family also had apartments where the modern dayGalerie des batailles are. This area was used by the Duke himself, his second wife,Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, his son,Philippe II and daughter-in-law,Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. The apartments of the family were later moved to the bottom floor of the north wing, opposite theChapelle Royal de Versailles, this time looking over theParterres du Midi of the north. The family had been moved in order to accommodate three of Louis XV's daughters,Madame Adélaïde,Madame Victoire, andMadame Sophie. The family remained there till theFrench Revolution.
Along with their government allowances and because the family were known as thePremier Princes du Sang, they often received fortunes and titles from inheritances:
ChâteauxThe family also later acquired many other châteaux around the country. Among these were the:
Upon the death of the Duke of Orléans's father-in-law in 1793 (the hugely wealthyDuke of Penthièvre), theHouse of Orléans became the richest in France, however not for a long time. During theFrench Revolution the surviving members of the House of Orléans sought refuge in exile and their properties were confiscated and mostly resold to new owners. After theBourbon Restoration of 1815 some of the properties were restituted to the Orléans branch of the Bourbons.
During theJuly Monarchy, the now reigning royal family acquired the:
After KingLouis Philippe I had died in exile inClaremont House, Surrey, in 1850, his property in theFrench Second Republic was split between his many children and grandchildren. All male members of the House of Orléans were exiled from France by law between 1886 and 1950. WhenHenri, Count of Paris (1908–1999), returned to France in 1950, he didn't find much property left, except for a few castles which produced no income. Having 11 children and divorcing his wife, he decided, in 1974, to transfer the most important family assets to a family foundation,Fondation Saint-Louis, in order to save them from future inheritance distribution and taxes.[10] The respective head of the House of Orléans is honorary chairman of the foundation. Its assets compriseChâteau d'Amboise (with a family museum), the Château deBourbon-l'Archambault and the Château deDreux (private residence), with theChapelle royale de Dreux, the necropolis of the Orléans royal family. He sold further property, resulting in legal action by his sons, and still died heavily in debt.
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On 15 October 1864 atRio de Janeiro theeldest son ofLouis Charles Philippe Raphael d'Orléans,Duke of Nemours (son of KingLouis Philippe of France) married DonaIsabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, eldest daughter and heiress ofEmperor DomPedro II of Brazil.
It was from that marriage the royal house ofOrléans-Braganza was formed. Today they are the present claimants to the throne of the formerEmpire of Brazil, which ended with theBrazilian Imposition of the republic on 15 November 1889 after a militarycoup d'état headed by MarshallDeodoro da Fonseca, who became the firstPresident of Brazil.
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In theAffair of the Spanish Marriages, Louis Philippe arranged for the marriage of his youngest son,Antoine, Duke of Montpensier, toInfanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain, younger sister ofIsabella II. It was generally thought that she would succeed her sister as queen, since the Spanish queen's prospective husband was the effeminateFrancis, Duke of Cádiz.
The British wanted a prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha for the Spanish princess, and claimed that her future children with Montpensier would not be able to succeed to the French throne, due to theTreaty of Utrecht, wherein Montpensier's ancestor the Duke of Orleans renounced his rights to succeed to the Spanish throne for himself and his descendants. Louis Philippe opposed this interpretation and claimed that the only purpose of the Treaty of Utrecht was to keep France and Spain separate.
On 10 October 1846, Montpensier married Infanta Luisa, on the same day her sister Isabella II married Cádiz. However, the marriage of Isabella II produced many children. Montpensier funded the rebels, which helped to overthrow the government of his sister-in-law. However, the Cortes electedAmadeo of Savoy instead of him.
Montpensier was later reconciled to the restored Bourbons, and his daughter marriedAlfonso XII of Spain, son of Isabella II. Montpensier's son,Infante Antonio, successfully claimed the succession to thedukedom of Galliera, from which this branch takes its name.
—Royal house — House of Orléans Cadet branch of theHouse of Bourbon Founding year:1660 | ||
| Preceded by | Ruling House of France 9 August 1830 – 24 February 1848 | Monarchy abolished |
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1 Actually reigned twice: first from 1814–1815, second from 1815–1824 2 Actually reigned from 1824–1830 3 Reigned in pretense asLouis Philippe II from 1848–1873 4 Briefly restored and then deposed in 1815 5 Actually reigned from 1852–1870 6 Pretense disputed until 1891 7 Pretense currently disputed | |||||