Duke of Orléans

Duke of Orléans (French: Duc d'Orléans) was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King Philip VI for his younger son Philip,[1] the title was recreated by King Charles VI for his younger brother Louis, who passed the title on to his son and then to his grandson, the latter becoming King Louis XII. The title was created and recreated six times in total, until 1661, when Louis XIV bestowed it upon his younger brother Philippe, who passed it on to his male descendants, who became known as the "Orléans branch" of the Bourbons.

Dukedom of Orléans
The arms of the House of Orléans of the ninth creation, surrounded by the Collars of the Order of Saint Michael and the Order of the Holy Spirit.
Creation date1344
PeeragePeerage of France
First holderPhilip of Valois
Last holderFerdinand Philippe of Orléans
StatusExtinct
Extinction date13 July 1842
Seat(s)Château de Blois
Château de Saint-Cloud
Palais-Royal

Based on the Palais-Royal, the Duke of Orléans Louis-Philippe II contested the authority of his cousin Louis XVI in the adjacent Louvre. His son would eventually ascend to the throne in 1830 as Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. The descendants of the family are the Orléanist pretenders to the French throne.

Île d'Orléans is named after Henri II and New Orleans after Philippe II.

The holder of the title held the style of Serene Highness.

House of Valois

The first Dukedom of Orléans was created for Philip of Valois, seventh son of Philip VI of France and younger brother of John the Good, in 1344.[2] This appanage merged the appanages of Touraine and Valois. However, the first ducal line ended with Philip, who died without legitimate children.

Duke Birth Tenure Death Marriage(s)
Issue		 Claim

Philip
Other titles
 1 July 1336
Château de Vincennes
Son of Philip VI of France
and Joan of Burgundy		 1344
–
1 September 1375		 1 September 1375
Orléans
Died by natural causes
(aged 39)		 Blanche of France
(m. 1345; wid. 1375)
Childless		 Created duke by Philip VI

House of Valois-Orléans

The second dukedom of Orléans was created in 1392 by Charles VI of France for his younger brother Louis. His role as leading figure in court, regent for his brother during his madness and wealthy landlord, as well as head of the Armagnac party, permitted his descendant to maintain a prominent role in French politics. His grandson Louis XII became king after the extinct of the direct Valois in 1498,[3] while his great-grandson Francis I succeeded the last in 1515.[4] The direct line of Valois-Orléans became extinct with the death of Louis XII in 1515, although the dukedom of Orléans was integrated among the crown's properties after his ascent to the throne in 1495.

Duke Birth Tenure Death Marriage(s)
Issue		 Claim

Louis I
Other titles
 13 March 1372
Hôtel Saint-Pol, Paris
Son of Charles V of France
and Joanna of Bourbon		 4 June 1392
–
23 November 1407		 23 November 1407
Le Marais, Paris
Murdered by Duke of
Burgundy's hitmen
(aged 35)		 Valentina Visconti
(m. 1389; wid. 1407)
8 children		 Created duke by Charles VI

Charles I
Other titles
 24 November 1394
Hôtel Saint-Pol, Paris
Son of Louis I
and Valentina Visconti		 23 November 1407
–
5 January 1465		 5 January 1465
Château d'Amboise
Died of natural causes
(aged 70)		 (1) Isabella of France
(m. 1406; d. 1409)
1 children
(2) Bonne of Armagnac
(m. 1410; d. 1430/35)
Childless
(3) Maria of Cleves
(m. 1440; wid. 1465)
3 children		 Son of Louis I
(male-blood proximity)

Louis II
Other titles
 27 June 1462
Château de Blois
Son of Charles
and Maria of Cleves		 5 January 1465
–
7 April 1498

(Merged into the Crown titles)		 1 January 1515
Hôtel des Tournelles, Paris
Died of gout
(aged 52)		 (1) Joan of France
(m. 1476; ann. 1498)
Childless
(2) Anne of Brittany
(m. 1498; d. 1514)
2 children
(3) Mary of England
(m. 1514; wid. 1515)
Childless		 Son of Charles
(male-blood proximity)

House of Valois-Angoulême

The third dukedom of Orléans was created by Francis I for his second son Henry at his birth. When Henry's elder brother and Dauphin, Francis, Duke of Brittany, died childless in 1536, Henry substituted him as Dauphin and ceded the title to his younger brother Charles, Duke of Angoulême, who died childless in 1545.

Duke Birth Tenure Death Marriage(s)
Issue		 Claim

Henry I
Other titles
 31 March 1519
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Son of Francis I of France
and Claude of France		 31 March 1519
–
10 August 1536

(Renounced the title
to become Dauphin)		 10 July 1559
Place des Vosges, Paris
Accidentally killed
in a joust
(aged 40)		 Catherine de' Medici
(m. 1533; wid. 1559)
10 children		 Created duke by Francis I

Charles II
Other titles
 22 January 1522
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Son of Francis I of France
and Claude of France		 10 August 1536
–
9 September 1545		 9 September 1545
Forest-Montiers
Died by influenza
(aged 23)		 Unmarried Brother of Henry I
(Elevated by Francis I)

The fourth dukedom was created by Henry II for his son Louis at his birth. The child duke, however, died one year later, and the title passed to his recently born brother Charles, who became King of France in 1560.[5] The title passed to Charles' brother, Henry, Duke of Angoulême, who six years later exchanged the appanages of Orléans for the Dukedom of Anjou, becoming the heir in pectore of the Crown.[6]

Duke Birth Tenure Death Marriage(s)
Issue		 Claim

Louis III
Other titles
 3 February 1549
Château of Fontainebleau
Son of Henry II
and Catherine de' Medici		 3 February 1549
–
24 October 1550		 24 October 1550
Mantes
Died by exposure
(aged 1)		 Unmarried Created duke by Henry II

Charles III
Other titles
 27 June 1550
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Son of Henry II
and Catherine de' Medici		 24 October 1550
–
5 December 1560

(Renounced the title to
become King of France)		 30 May 1574
Château de Vincennes
Died by tuberculosis
(aged 23)		 Elisabeth of Austria
(m. 1570; wid. 1574)
1 child		 Brother of Louis III
(Elevated by Henry II)

Henry II
Other titles
 19 September 1551
Château of Fontainebleau
Son of Henry II
and Catherine de' Medici		 5 December 1560
–
8 February 1566

(Exchanged the title for
the appanage of Anjou)		 2 August 1589
Château de Saint-Cloud
Assassinated by
Jacques Clément
(aged 37)		 Louise of Lorraine
(m. 1570; wid. 1574)
 Created duke by Charles IX

House of Medici

After Henry's exchange of appanages, Charles IX gave the Orléanais to his mother Catherine, former Queen of France, as reward for her role as regent, mainly about toleration politics. She was the only suo jure Duchess of Orléans, so is included among the ruling dukes.[7]

Duke Birth Tenure Death Marriage(s)
Issue		 Claim

Catherine
(suo jure)
Other titles
 13 April 1519
Palazzo Pitti, Florence
Daughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino
and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne		 8 February 1566
–
5 January 1589		 5 January 1589
Château de Blois
Died by pleurisy
(aged 69)		 Henry II of France
(m. 1533; d. 1559)
10 children		 Created duchess by Charles IX

First House of Bourbon-Orléans

The fifth dukedom was created in 1626 by Henry IV for his third son Gaston, Duke of Anjou.[8] Gaston became a libertine and scheming figure at court, plotting the assassination of Cardinal Richelieu and later joining the Fronde, a coalition of nobles who opposed the royal centralisation. Finally forgiven by his brother Louis XIII, he died without male heirs, extinguishing the first Bourbon House of Orléans.

Notes: the Monsieur d'Orléans, second son of Henry IV isn't included in the list due to his short life (4 years) and lack of official baptism or name.[9]

Duke Birth Tenure Death Marriage(s)
Issue		 Claim

Gaston
Other titles
 24 April 1608
Château of Fontainebleau
Son of Henry IV of France
and Marie de' Medici		 6 August 1626
–
2 February 1660		 2 February 1660
Château de Blois
Died by natural causes
(aged 51)		 (1) Marie of Bourbon
(m. 1626; d. 1627)
1 children
(2) Marguerite of Lorraine
(m. 1632; wid. 1660)
5 children		 Created duke by Henry IV

Second House of Bourbon-Orléans
Main article: House of Orléans

The sixth and final creation was for Philip, Duke of Anjou, who received the Orléans by his brother Louis XIV. Through his marriage with Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, he established a long dynasty that finally arose to the throne in 1830, with the deposition of Charles X and the proclamation of Louis Philippe I.[10] Louis Philippe passed his title to his son and dauphin, Ferdinand, who died in a carriage accident in 1842.[11]

Duke Birth Tenure Death Marriage(s)
Issue		 Claim

Philip I
Other titles
 21 September 1640
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Son of Louis XIII of France
and Anne of Austria		 10 May 1661
–
9 June 1701		 9 June 1701
Château de Saint-Cloud
Died by stroke
(aged 60)		 (1) Henrietta of England
(m. 1661; d. 1670)
3 children
(2) Elizabeth Charlotte
of the Palatinate
(m. 1671; wid. 1701)
3 children		 Created duke by Louis XIV

Philip II
Other titles
 2 August 1674
Château de Saint-Cloud
Son of Philip I
and Elizabeth Charlotte
of the Palatinate		 9 June 1701
–
2 December 1723		 2 December 1723
Palace of Versailles
Died by natural causes
(aged 49)		 Françoise Marie de Bourbon
(m. 1692; wid. 1723)
8 children		 Son of Philip I
(male-preference proximity)

Louis
Other titles
 4 August 1703
Palace of Versailles
Son of Philip II
and Françoise Marie de Bourbon		 2 December 1723
–
4 February 1752		 4 February 1752
St. Genevieve, Paris
Died by delirium
complications
(aged 48)		 Johanna of Baden-Baden
(m. 1724; d. 1726)
8 children		 Son of Philip II
(male-preference proximity)

Louis
Philippe I
Other titles
 12 May 1725
Palace of Versailles
Son of Louis
and Johanna of Baden-Baden		 4 February 1752
–
18 November 1785		 18 November 1785
Château de Sainte-Assise
Died by natural causes
(aged 60)		 Louise Henriette de Bourbon
(m. 1743; d. 1759)
3 children
Morganatic:
Charlotte-Jeanne Béraud
(m. 1773; wid. 1785)
Childless		 Son of Louis
(male-preference proximity)

Louis
Philippe II
Other titles
 13 April 1747
Château de Saint-Cloud
Son of Louis Philip I
and Louise Henriette de Bourbon		 18 November 1785
–
6 November 1793		 6 November 1793
Conciergerie, Paris
Executed for treason
(aged 46)		 Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon
(m. 1768; wid. 1793)
5 children		 Son of Louis Philip I
(male-preference proximity)

Louis
Philippe III
Other titles
 6 October 1773
Palais-Royal, Paris
Son of Louis Philip II
and Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon		 6 November 1793
–
9 August 1830

(Renounced the title
to become
King of the French)		 26 August 1850
Claremont, England
Died by natural causes
(aged 76)		 Maria Amalia of
Naples and Sicily
(m. 1809; wid. 1850)
10 children		 Son of Louis Philip II
(male-preference proximity)

Ferdinand
Other titles
 3 September 1810
Royal Palace, Palermo
Son of Louis Philip III
and Maria Amalia of
Naples and Sicily		 9 August 1830
–
13 July 1842		 13 July 1842
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Died in an accident
(aged 31)		 Helene of Mecklenburg
(m. 1837; wid. 1842)
2 children		 Son of Louis Philip III
(male-preference proximity)

Current use
  • Legitimists recognize Jean, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans, as Duke of Orléans, inheriting the title as the heir male of Philip I, Duke of Orléans.
  • Orleanists recognize Jacques d'Orléans, uncle of the Count of Paris, as Duke of Orléans. Per Orleanist reckoning, the title has merged with the crown. Jacques is the younger fraternal twin brother of Michel d'Orléans. According to Orleanists, the last of twins to be born is the first-born. Thus, Jacques is considered the eldest uncle of the Count of Paris, whom they consider the king.

See also

References
  1.  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.
  2. Amédée René, Les princes militaires de la maison de France, Paris, 1848, p. 49
  3. Didier Le Fur, Louis XII : un autre César, Perrin, 2001 p. 40.
  4. Auguste Bailly, François Ier : restaurateur des lettres et des arts, Livre club du librairie, 1961, p. 9.
  5. Jean Heritier, Catherine de Medici. George Allen and Unwin, 1963, p. 69.
  6. Nicolas Le Roux, «La cour dans l'espace du palais: l'exemple de Henri III», Palais et pouvoir, de Constantinople à Versailles, Presses universitaires de Vincennes, 2003, pp. 106-108.
  7. Knecht, R. J. Catherine de' Medici. London and New York: Longman, 1998, 104-108.
  8. A.L. Moote, Louis XIII, The Just p 192. University of California Press, 1991, p. 192.
  9. François de Malherbe, Lettres à Peiresc, éd. La Pléiade, p. 378.
  10. "Louis-Philippe Biography". The Biography.com Website. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  11. Unwin, Brian (2014). A Tale in Two Cities: Fanny Burney and Adèle, Comtesse de Boigne. New York: I.B. Taurus & Co. pp. 210–212. ISBN 978-1-78076-784-0.
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