Duke of Orléans

Duke of Orléans (French: Duc d'Orléans) was a title reserved for French royalty, first created in 1344 by Philip VI in favor of his son Philip of Valois.[1] Known as princes of the blood (princes du sang), the title of Duke of Orléans was given, when available, to the oldest brother of the king. Thus, they formed a collateral line of the French royal family, with an eventual right to succeed to the throne should more senior princes of the blood die out.

During the period of the ancien régime the holder of the title often assumed a political role. The Orléans branch of the House of Valois came to the throne with Louis XII (15th century). Louis Philippe II, fifth Duke of Orléans, contributed to the destruction of the ancient regime. At the head of a retrospectively named 'Orleanist' faction centred on the Palais Royal, he contested the authority of his cousin Louis XVI in the adjacent Louvre. His son would eventually ascend the throne in 1830 following the July Revolution as Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. The descendants of the family are the Orléanist pretenders to the French throne, and the title has been used by several members of the House. The holder of the title held the style of Serene Highness.

House of Valois

First creation (1344)

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Philip of Valois
1344–1375
July 1, 1336 –
September 1, 1376
Philip VI of France
Joan the Lame

Philip died without legitimate issue.[1]

Second creation (1392)

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Louis I
1392–1407
March 13, 1372 –
November 23, 1407
Charles V of France
Joanna of Bourbon
Charles I
1407–1465
November 24, 1394 –
January 5, 1465
Louis I, Duke of Orléans
Valentina Visconti
Louis II
1465–1515
June 27, 1462 –
January 1, 1515
Charles I, Duke of Orléans
Marie of Cleves

Third creation (1519)

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Henry II
1519–1536
March 31, 1519 –
July 10, 1559
Francis I of France
Claude of France

Fourth creation (1536)

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Charles II
1536–1545
January 22, 1522 –
September 9, 1545

Fifth creation (1549)

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Louis III
1549-1550
February 3, 1549 –
October 24, 1550
Henry II of France
Catherine de' Medici

Sixth creation (1550)

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Charles III Maximilian
1550–1560
June 27, 1550 –
May 30, 1574

Seventh creation (1560)

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Henry III
1560–1574
September 19, 1551 –
August 2, 1589

House of Bourbon

Eighth creation (1607)

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Nicholas Henri
1607–1611
16 April 1607 –
17 November 1611
Henry IV of France
Marie de' Medici

Ninth creation (1626)

At the death of Nicholas Henri, his younger brother Gaston was given the title of Orléans but was not officially allowed to be styled as the Duke of Orléans until his marriage with the heiress Marie de Bourbon, Duchess de Montpensier in her own right (she had been betrothed to Nicholas at the age of 3). They were the parents of Anne Marie Louise of Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier. At her death in 1693, much of her vast wealth went to her cousin, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans.

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Gaston
1626–1660
25 April 1608 –
2 February 1660
Henry IV of France
Marie de' Medici

Tenth creation (1660)

Upon the death of Gaston of Orléans, the appanage of Orléans reverted to the crown and was given to Philippe de France, the brother of Louis XIV of France. As the king's eldest brother he was known at court as Monsieur.

Philippe and his second wife, the famous court writer Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, founded the modern House of Orléans. Their surviving son Philippe d'Orléans was the regent for the child king Louis XV.

The first two dukes were addressed as Royal Highness (Altesse royale); their successors had the style Serene Highness. After 1709, the dukes of Orléans were the First Princes of the Blood – this meant that they could be addressed as Monsieur le Prince, and were in line to the throne of France after the descendants of Louis XIV.

Name Portrait Lifespan Parents
Philippe I
1660–1701
September 21, 1640 –
June 8, 1701
Louis XIII of France
Infanta Ana of Spain
Philippe II
1701–1723
August 2, 1674 –
December 2, 1723
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Louis
1723–1752
August 4, 1703 –
February 4, 1752
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Françoise-Marie de Bourbon
Louis Philippe I
1752–1785
May 12, 1725 –
November 18, 1785
Louis, Duke of Orléans
Margravine Auguste Marie Johanna of Baden-Baden
Louis Philippe II
1785–1793
April 13, 1747 –
November 6, 1793
Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Louise Henriette de Bourbon
Louis Philippe III
1793–1830
6 October 1773 –
August 26, 1850
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon
Ferdinand Philippe
1830–1842
September 3, 1810 –
July 13, 1842
Louis Philippe III, Duke of Orléans
Princess Maria Amalia Teresa of the Two Sicilies
Philippe
1850–1880
(did not use the title)
24 August 1838 –
8 September 1894
Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans
Duchess Helen of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Philippe
1880–1926
August 24, 1869 –
March 28, 1926
Philippe, Count of Paris
Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans

Other

Current

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Orleans, Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 282.
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