Royal Families: House of Orléans

The House of Orléans is a noble dynasty with a rich history that dates back several centuries. The House of Orléans takes its name from the city of Orléans, located in north-central France.

History

The House of Orléans is the name used by various branches of the French royal family, all descended from the legitimate male line of the dynasty's founder, Hugo Capet. 

The last branch to bear the ducal title descended from Henry of Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (Henry IV of France), who became king (nominally) in 1589, and is sometimes known as the House of Bourbon-Orléans. 

The eldest of these branches consisted of Gaston of Orléans, the younger son of Henry IV, and the four daughters of his two marriages. 

The youngest and last House of Orléans descended from Philip of Orléans, the younger brother of Louis XIV (who, as such, was known at court simply as Monsieur). 

From 1709 until the French Revolution, the Orléans dukes were next in the order of succession to the French throne after members of the senior branch of the House of Bourbon, descended from

Louis XIV. Although Louis XIV's direct 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 still pretenders to the French throne today.

Who is who?

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans

Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (21 September 1640 – 9 June 1701), was the younger son of King Louis XIII of France and his wife, Anne of Austria. His elder brother was the "Sun King", Louis XIV.
Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston in 1660.

Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as le Régent. He was the son of Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orleans, and Madame Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orléans.

Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Louis Philippe II was born at the Château de Saint-Cloud to Louis Philippe I, Duke of Chartres, and Louise Henriette de Bourbon. He was titled Duke of Montpensier at birth. When his grandfather Louis, Duke of Orléans, died in 1752, his father became the new Duke of Orléans and Louis Philippe II became Duke of Chartres. When his father died in 1785, he became Duke of Orléans and First Prince
of the Blood. He was styled as Serene Highness.

In 1792, during the Revolution, Louis Philippe changed his name to Philippe Égalité. He was a cousin of King Louis XVI and one of the wealthiest men in France. He actively supported the Revolution of 1789, and was a strong advocate for the elimination of the present absolute monarchy in favor of a constitutional monarchy. Louis Philippe voted for the death of Louis XVI; however, he was himself guillotined in 1793 during the Reign of Terror. His son, also named Louis Philippe, became King
of the French after the July Revolution of 1830. After Louis Philippe II, the term Orléanist came to be attached to the movement in France that favored a constitutional monarchy.

Louis Philippe I

Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.

As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wars and was promoted to lieutenant general by the age of nineteen, but he broke with the Republic over its decision to execute King Louis XVI. He fled to Switzerland in 1793 after being
connected with a plot to restore France's monarchy. 

His father Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Égalité) fell under suspicion and was executed during the Reign of Terror. Louis Philippe remained in exile for 21 years until the Bourbon Restoration. He was proclaimed king in 1830 after his cousin Charles X was forced to abdicate by the July Revolution (and because of the Spanish renunciation). The reign of Louis Philippe is known as the July Monarchy and was dominated by wealthy industrialists and bankers. He followed conservative

policies, especially under the influence of French statesman François Guizot during the period 1840–1848. He also promoted friendship with Great Britain and sponsored colonial expansion, notably the French conquest of Algeria. His popularity faded as economic conditions in France deteriorated in 1847,
and he was forced to abdicate after the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1848.

Prince Philippe, Count of Paris

Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was disputedly King of the French from 24 to 26 February 1848 as Louis Philippe II, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. He was the grandson of Louis Philippe I, King of the French. 

He was the Count of Paris as Orléanist claimant to the French throne from 1848 until his death. From 1883, when his cousin Henri, Count of Chambord died, he was often referred to by Orléanists as Philippe VII.

Henri, Count of Paris (1908–1999)

Henri of Orléans, Count of Paris (Henri Robert Ferdinand Marie d'Orléans; 5 July 1908 – 19 June 1999), was the Orléanist claimant to the defunct throne of France as Henry VI from 1940 until his death in 1999. 

Henri was the direct descendant of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, son of Louis XIII. He was also a descendant of Louis XIV through a female line, from his legitimized daughter Françoise Marie de Bourbon; as well as the great-great-grandson (by four different lines of descent) of Louis Philippe I.

The son of Jean, Duke of Guise, Henri was forbidden to enter France for much of his life. Nonetheless, he remained devoted to serving France, having enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and fighting in World War II and the Algerian War. After being permitted to re-enter France in 1950, he soon became heavily engaged in French monarchist politics. Henri worked to restore the French monarchy, in a parliamentary form, and discussed the topic with Charles de Gaulle. He received notable support from French monarchists, but all attempts to restore the monarchy ultimately failed. Upon his death in 1999, his son Henri succeeded him as Head of the House of Orléans.

Jean, Count of Paris

Jean Carl Pierre Marie d'Orléans (born 19 May 1965) is the current head of the House of Orléans. Jean is the senior male descendant by primogeniture in the male-line of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and thus, according to the Orléanists, the legitimate claimant to the throne of France as Jean IV.

Of France's three monarchist movements, Orléanism, Legitimism and Bonapartism, most royalists are Orléanists.

Jean is the second son of the late Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019) and his former wife Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg (b. 1934). With the death of his father, he has been using the style
of Count of Paris since 2019.

Nowadays

While the Count of Paris does not possess any formal political power, he continues to be regarded as a figure of importance by many monarchists and admirers of French history. His role in contemporary society largely revolves around representing the House of Orléans, preserving its legacy, and engaging in symbolic acts that honor the family's historical ties to France.

Jean believes that the people of France are "monarchist at heart" and argues that they long for a non-partisan figurehead. He has spoken in support of the Yellow vests protests in France. Jean has also expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage, having participated in the La Manif pour tous protests, as well as abortion.

Source pictures: Wikipedia