House of Orléans
| House of Orléans Bourbon-Orléans | |
|---|---|
.svg) Coat of Arms of the house | |
| Country |
 France |
| Parent house | House of Bourbon |
| Titles | |
| Founded | 10 May, 1661 |
| Founder | Philippe I, Duke of Orléans |
| Current head | Jean IV |
| Ethnicity | French |
| Cadet branches |
House of Orléans-Braganza House of Orléans-Augustine |
The House of Orléans (French: Maison d'Orléans), sometimes referred to as the House of Bourbon-Orléans (French: Maison d'Bourbon-Orléans) or the House of France (French: Maison d'France) is the royal house of the Kingdom of France. It is the fourth house of the Orléans surname, with it being previously used by other branches of the Royal House of France, all belonging to the Capetian dynasty.
The fourth House of Orléans was founded in 1661 by Prince Philippe d'Bourbon, the younger son of Louis XII and the brother of Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, after he inherited the title from his uncle, Prince Gaston. From 1709 to the French Revolution, the dukes of Orléans were next in the order of succession to the French throne, after members of the senior of the House of Bourbon. Members of the House of Orléans flourished under the Anicen regime, awarded privileges of the royal family.
During the French Revolution, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans sided with the revolutionaries against the senior branch of the Bourbon family, though allegations of counter-revolutionary sympathies resulted in his execution during the Reign of Terror. His son, Louis Philippe, returned to France following the Napoleonic Wars and later ascended to the throne as Louis Philippe I following the July Revolution, ruling the July Monarchy from 1830 to 1848, when he abdicated amidst the French Revolution of 1848. His descendents continued to claim the throne of France as the Orléanist pretenders to the throne until 1940, when Henri d'Orléans was enthroned as King of the French in the Orléans Restoration.
The House of Orléans consists of two cadet branches: the House of Orléans-Braganza and the House of Orléans-Augustine. The House of Orléans-Braganza was founded in 1881 with the marriage of Princess Isabella of Brazil and Prince Gaston d'Orléans, Count of Eu. Their descendants continue to hold noble titles in Brazil. The House of Orléans-Augustine was founded in 1868 by Antoine, Duke of Montpensier after he was enthroned as King of Florida. His descendants ruled the Kingdom of Florida until 1922, when the country was annexed by the United Commonwealth following the Continental Revolutionary War. Both branches of the House of Orléans are directly descended from Louis Philippe I, though operate largely independent from the senior branch.
History
Origins
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During the Ancien Regime, it was tradition for the younger son of the King to be granted the title of Duke of Orléans (French: Duc d'Orléans) as a appanage. While each of the four Orléans houses descended from a junior prince, they were always among the king's closest relations in the male line, sometimes succeeding to the throne. Under the House of Bourbon, there were two branches of the House of Orléans. The first branch was established by Prince Gaston, the younger brother of Louis XIII and the uncle to Louis XIV. He was created the Duke of Orléans by his brother in 1626. As Gaston and his wife, Marguerite of Lorraine, produced only daughters, the title reverted back to the Crown following his death in 1660.
In 1661, Philippe, the younger brother of Louis XIV, was granted the title of Duke of Orléans. He also received the additional titles of Duke of Valois and the Duke of Chartes, with the latter title later being used by the heirs to the Orléans dukedom. Both Gaston and Philippe were referred to as Monsieur, an honorific style equivalent to "My lord" or "Milord".
18th century
Philippe and his second wife, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, are considered to be the founders of the modern House of Orléans. Prior to becoming the Duke of Orléans, Philippe was referred to as the Duke of Anjou, similarly to Gaston. As the brother to the king, Philippe retained a high position in the court of Versailles, seen with his brother during most occasions. Until the birth of Louis's son, the future Grand Dauphin, Philippe was the heir to to his brother. While maintaining close relations with Louis, Philippe was viewed negatively by other courtiers, primarily due to his effeminate traits and rumored homosexuality.
Philippe maintained his high position in court until his death in 1702, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, Philippe II. With the death of Louis XIV and the ascension of the five year old Louis XV, Philippe II was proclaimed Regent of France. He served as the de facto ruler of France until 1723, where he returned power to the now of-age Louis XV. Philippe II was succeeded by his son, Louis, who was the heir presumptive of Louis XV until the birth of his son in 1729. The House of Orléans became the premiere prince du sang following the death of Henri Jules, Prince of Condé in 1705, supplanting the House of Bourbon-Condé as the primary junior branch of the House of Bourbon. The Orléans remained a important force at the court of France during the waning years of the Ancien Regime, though tensions between the house and the senior branch of the Bourbon dynasty gradually increased.
During the French Revolution, the House of Orléans was led by Louis Philippe II. A supporter of the revolution, Louis Philippe II became a member of the revolutionary National Convention and advocated for the end of the present absolute monarchy and the creation of a constitutional monarchy. In 1792 he changed his name to Philippe Égalité in solidarity with the revolutionaries. In the same year, Louis Philippe voted in favor of executing Louis XVI. This came to the shock of many, as he previously had pledge to vote against the resolution and resulted in the shunning of the House of Orléans from the rest of the Bourbon dynasty.
In 1793, Louis Philippe himself was arrest for high treason by the National Convention, after his son Louis Philippe was revealed to have had communications with General Charles François Dumouriez, a traitor in the eyes of the National Convention. Despite not having any form of connection with his son's relationship with Dumouriez, Louis Philippe was nevertheless arrested and sentenced to death, being executed by guillotine in April.
19th century
With the death of Louis Philippe II, leadership of the house fell into the hands of his eldest son, Louis Philippe, who became the Duke of Orléans in exile. Because of the role his father had in the execution of Louis XVI, Louis Philippe was shunned by the Bourbon court-in-exile. Deemed a traitor by both the revolutionaries and the counter-revolutionaries, Louis Philippe went into exile. He first arrived in Switzerland, though later left the country and travelled across Europe and even to the United States.
With the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and the restoration of the House of Bourbon, the House of Orléans reconciled with the senior branch and returned to France. During the Bourbon Restoration, the House of Orléans returned to their traditional positions in the French aristocracy, though the relationship between the Bourbons and the Orléans was not the same as before the revolution. Throughout the Bourbon Restoration, Louis Philippe expressed liberal positions in opposition to the conservatism of the Bourbons. Ironically, he maintained a friendship with the ultra-conservative Comte d'Artois, who succeeded Louis XVII as Charles X in 1824. Despite their friendship, Louis Philippe's liberalism was a constant irritant to the ultra-royalist government of Charles.
In 1830, amid the July Revolution, the senior House of Bourbon was dethroned and House of Orléans was elevated to the status of royal house. This was in part due to Louis Philippe's liberalism and willingness to accept a full-fledged constitutional monarchy rather than the hybrid regime of the restoration. Instead of becoming King of France, Louis Philippe was enthroned as the King of the French, the popular title used by Louis XVI in the remaining years of his reign.
In what is known as the July Monarchy, the House of Orléans remained the royal house of France until 1848, when Louis Philippe was forced to abdicate the throne and go into exile in the United Kingdom following the Revolution of 1848. His successor, Philippe, technically reigned as King of the French from 24 February to the 26 February 1848 before the establishment of the Second Republic, though his reign is rarely counted.
Although ousted from power, the Orléanists, supporters of the House of Orléans and the politics of Louis Philippe, remained a important faction within French politics. Following the fall of Napoleon III and the Second French Empire, the Orléanists were in a position to restore the monarchy alongside the Legitimists, supporters of the senior House of Bourbon. As the Comte d'Chambord, the Legitimist pretender to the French throne, was older and childless, both the Legitimists and the Orléanists came into a unionist agreement. The Orléanists would support the Comte d'Chambord in becoming the King of France, while the Legitimists agreed to allow Prince Philippe to become his heir. The plan would have seen the French monarchy restored, but the Comte d'Chambord's refusal to accept the Tricolor flag as the national flag of France derailed the agreement and led to the creation of the French Third Republic.
20th century and present
The House of Orléans continued to claim the defunct throne of France well into the 20th century. With the death of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, his son Philippe, Duke of Orléans. He is officially recognized by the French monarchy as Philippe VIII, though he never ruled as king. His claim, along with the claims of his father, were contested by the Legitimists, who supported the claims to the throne maintained by the senior House of Bourbon and later the Spanish House of Bourbon-Anjou, and the Bonapartists, who supported the claims of the House of Bonaparte.
Like his father, Philippe was active in the politics of the waning years of the Third Republic, supporting forces aligned with monarchism and Orléanism. A conservative and traditionalist, Philippe openly supported conservative Orléanist parties, such as the Party of Natural Order, the Monarchist Party, and the French Action, though he grew to distrust Charles Murras and his intentions for the monarchy. Philippie was initially supportive of Jacques Doriot, believing that he would cave to pressure from the monarchists and restore the Orléans monarchy. However, with the creation of the derzhavist French Fourth Republic, Philippe's hopes for a monarchial restoration was dashed and he became a critic of Doriot.
Philippe died in 1926, and with no children, the leadership of the House of Orléans passed to Prince Jean, Duke of Guise, Philippe's first cousin and brother-in-law. During the Great War, members of the House of Orléans assisted in the domestic resistance against Doriot. Most notably, Henri d'Orléans, son and heir of the Duke of Guise, was heavily involved in the French resistance and was invited by the occupying Allied powers to take part in the provisional government of Free France. Following the war, support for a royal restoration was high amongst the French people, who viewed Henri d'Orléans as a national hero.
Through the actions of monarchist members of the provisional government and Henri's own personal popularity, the French monarchy was restored with concessions with Henri being enthroned as King Henry VI. There was concerns amongst the provisional government that enthroning Henri while his father still served as the official Orléanist pretenders would bring unwanted controversy to the fledgling monarchy. However, at the behest of his son, the Duke of Guise abdicated his claims to the French throne, instead remaining head of the house and obtaining the style of Père de France. He remained head of the house until his death in August 1940, four months after the restoration.
Since the Orléans Restoration, the House of Orléans has remained the royal house of France. From 1940 to 1999, the house ruled North France as the "French Kingdom", while South France operated as a Marxist-Landonist socialist republic. While the heads of the houses were "Kings of the French", they did not fully rule the entirety of France until the French reunification, a process which took place under the direction of Henry VI and his successor, Henry VII. The house is currently led by Jean IV, who has ruled as King of the French since 2019.
List of heads of the house
| Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death | Succession right(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippe I, Duke of Orléans 10 May 1661 – 9 June 1701 (40 years and 1 month) |
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|
21 September 1640 Saint-Germain-en-Laye Son of Louis XIII, King of France and Queen 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 |
Created Duke of Orléans by Louis XIV, King of France | |
| Philippe II, Duke of Orléans 9 June 1701 – 2 December 1723 (22 years, 5 months and 24 days) |
|
2 August 1674 Saint-Cloud Son of Philippe I and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate |
Françoise Marie de Bourbon (m. 1692; w. 1723) 8 children |
2 December 1723 Versailles Aged 49 |
Son of Philippe 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 of Philippe II and Françoise Marie de Bourbon |
Auguste of Baden-Baden (m. 1724; d. 1726) 8 children |
4 February 1752 Paris Aged 48 |
Son of Philippe II (primogeniture) | |
| Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans 4 February 1752 – 18 November 1785 (33 years, 9 months and 15 days) |
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|
12 May 1725 Versailles Son of Louis and Auguste 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 of Louis | |
| 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 of Louis Philippe I and Louise Henriette de Bourbon |
Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon (m. 1768; w. 1793) 5 children |
6 November 1793 Paris Executed for treason Aged 46 |
Son of Louis Philippe I (primogeniture) | |
| 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 of Louis Philippe II and Louise 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 of Louis Philippe II (primogeniture) | |
| 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 of Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans and Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
Marie Isabelle of Orléans (m. 1864; w. 1894) 8 children |
8 September 1894 Stowe House, Buckinghamshire, England Aged 56 |
Grandson of Louis Philippe I | |
| 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 of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris and Marie Isabelle of Orléans |
Maria Dorothea of Austria (m. 1896; w. 1926) Childless |
28 March 1926 Palermo Aged 57 |
Son of Prince Philippe (primogeniture) | |
| Prince Jean, Duke of Guise (John III, if king) 28 March 1926 – 25 August 1940 (14 years, 4 months and 29 days) |
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|
4 September 1874 Paris Son of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres and Françoise of Orléans |
Isabelle of Orléans (m. 1899; w. 1940) 4 children |
25 August 1940 Larache Aged 65 |
Great-grandson of Louis Philippe I Cousin and brother-in-law of Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans | |
| Henry VI, King of the French 25 August 1940 – 19 June 1999 (58 years, 9 months and 26 days) |
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|
5 July 1908 Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache Son of Jean, Duke of Guise and Isabelle of Orléans |
Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza (m. 1931; w. 1999) 11 children |
19 June 1999 Paris Aged 90 |
Son of Jean, Duke of Guise | |
| Henry VII, King of the French 19 June 1999 – 21 January 2019 (19 years, 7 months and 3 days) |
|
14 June 1933 Paris Son of Henry VI and Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza |
Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg (m. 1957; w. 2019) 5 children |
21 January 2019 Paris Aged 85 |
Son of Henry VI (primogeniture) | |
| Jean IV, King of the French since 21 January 2019 (5 years, 9 months and 9 days) |
|
19 May 1965 Paris Son of Henri VII and Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg |
Philomena de Tornos Steinhart (m. 2009) 5 children |
Son of Henry VII | ||
Titles, honors, and residences
Titles
Monarch
Chief of the French Armed Forces
- Commander-in-Chief of the French Army
- Commander-in-Chief of the French Navy
- Commander-in-Chief of the French Air and Space Force
- Colonel-in-Chief of the French National Guard
Consort
- Countess of Paris
- Duchess of Orléans
- Duchess of Guise
Other
Prince/Princess of the French
Prince/Princess of Joinville
Duke/Duchess of Angouleme
Duke/Duchess of Valois
Duke/Duchess of Nemours
Count/Countess of Blois
Titles, styles, and honors
From 1661 to 1792, the House of Orléans maintained the titles of Duke of Orléans, Duke of Chartres, Duke of Valois, Duke of Nemours, Duke of Montpensier, Prince of Joinville, and Count of Blois. Philippe I was styled with the royal honorific of Monsieur, a traditional style given to the eldest younger brother of the King of France. Upon his death, the style of Monsieur remained out of use until the accension of Louis XVI, with his brother, Louis Stanislaus assuming the style.
Following the death of Philippe I, his son Philippe II, was granted use of the style of Royal Highness as a petit-fils de France, or grandson of the King. Following his death in 1723, his descendents were granted the use of the style of Serene Highness as princes of the blood. The titles of the House of Orléans, along with their styles and positions in court, were abolished with the abolition of the French nobility in 1791 and the abolition of the monarchy in 1792. However, the house maintained their claims in exile.
Upon the Bourbon Restoration, the House of Orléans was restored to most of their titles, with Louis Philippe III also becoming a Lieutenant general of France. However, the house's position at court was contemptous, primarily due to the involvement of Louis Philippe II in the execution of Louis XVI. In 1830, the House of Orléans superseded the House of Bourbon as the royal house of France following the July Revolution, and ruled the country for a total of eighteen years. During this time, the house gained the additional titles of Duke of Aumale, Duke of Guise, and Count of Eu, and the existing titles were elevated into royal status.
Following the end of the July Monarchy, the titles of the house were again abolished, though maintained in exile. The title of Count of Paris, first bestowed onto Prince Philippe in 1838, became the primary title of the Orléanist pretenders. The titles of the house were once again reestablished in 1940, following the Orléans Restoration, and like during the July Monarchy were elevated to royal status. Along with that, the house gained the title of Duke of Vendôme, which was incorporated as the main title of the heir apparent to the French throne.
Residences
The House of Orléans maintains several residences. The Palace of Versailles is considered the official residence of the French monarchy, though is only used for state functions and diplomatic events. Instead, the Palais Royal in Paris and the Chateau d'Amboise in Amboise act as the private residences of the French royal family. The Palais Royal, constructed in 1639, has been the historical residence of the House of Orléans, with the family residing in the Parisian palace until the abdication of Louis Philippe I in 1848. The house acquired the Chateau d'Amboise while in exile in 1873. Acting as the official residence of the House of Orléans, the chateau was confiscated during the French Fourth Republic but was handed back to the house following the conclusion of the Great War in 1938. Since the restoration of the French monarchy, the Chateau d'Amboise has acted as the summer residence of the French royal family, while the Palais Royal has operated as the winter residence.
The Palace of Versailles, the official residence of the Monarchy of France.
The Palais Royal, private winter residence of the French royal family.
Château d'Amboise, private summer residence of the French royal family.
Cadet branches
House of Orléans-Augustine
The House of Orléans-Augustine was established in 1869 by Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier. He was the youngest son and child of Louis Philippe I and was enthroned by the Spanish as the King of Florida following the War of Contingency. The House of Orléans-Augustine ruled Florida rom 1869 until 1921, when the kingdom was formally dissolved and incorporated into the United Commonwealth of Continental States. The house continues to operate in exile, being based in the Kingdom of Sierra. The current head of the house is Princess Helene, who assumed leadership of the house after her father, Prince Antonio, abdicated his responsibilities and titles in order to marry a commoner.
House of Orléans-Braganza
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The House of Orléans-Braganza was established in 1864 by Gaston, Count of Eu, the grandson of Louis Philippe I, and Princess Isabel of Brazil. The marriage was organized by Pedro II & V, who wanted to ensure stable dynastic succession in the event his sickly sons, Pedro Afonso and Afonso Carlos, were incapacitated and unable to provide heirs. While Isabel never ascended to the throne, their descendants remained important members of the extended Brazilian imperial family and retain the titles of Duke of Petrópolis and Count of Vassouras. By constitutional decree, if there are no legitimate members of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza present to inherit the throne, the imperial titles are defaulted to the House of Orléans-Braganza. However, in Portugal the House of Orléans-Braganza has no titles and are not recognized as apart of Portuguese nobility, despite being related to the Portuguese branch of the Braganzas. The current head of the house is Pedro II, Duke of Petrópolis.
See also
| Attribution notices | ||
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