Duke of Orléans
{{short description|Title of French nobility}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name = Dukedom of Orléans
| image = File:Crown of a Royal Prince of the Blood of France.svgFile:Arms of the Dukes of Orléans.svg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Arms of the Dukes of Orléans
of the House of Orléans
| creation_date = 1344
| creation =
| monarch =
| peerage = Peerage of France
| baronetage =
| first_holder = Philip of Valois
| last_holder = Ferdinand Philippe of Orléans
| present_holder =
| heir_apparent =
| heir_presumptive =
| remainder_to =
| subsidiary_titles =
| status = Extinct
| extinction_date = 13 July 1842
| family_seat = Château de Blois
Château de Saint-Cloud
Palais-Royal
| former_seat =
| motto =
| footnotes =
}}
Duke of Orléans ({{langx|fr|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,{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Orleans, Dukes of|volume=20|page=282}} 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.
Based at 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, in Canada, is named after Duke of Orléans Henri II, and the city of New Orleans in the United States is named after Duke of Orléans 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.Amédée René, Les princes militaires de la maison de France, Paris, 1848, p. 49 This appanage merged the appanages of Touraine and Valois. However, the first ducal line ended with Philip, who died without legitimate children.
| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center" |
| colspan=2 | Duke
! Birth ! Tenure ! Death ! Marriage(s) ! Claim |
|---|
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Philip Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Touraine|Count of Valois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 1 July 1336 Son of Philip VI of France and Joan of Burgundy | 1344 | 1 September 1375 Died by natural causes (aged 39) | Blanche of France | 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 extinction of the direct Valois in 1498,Didier Le Fur, Louis XII : un autre César, Perrin, 2001 p. 40. while his great-grandson Francis I succeeded the last in 1515.Auguste Bailly, François Ier : restaurateur des lettres et des arts, Livre club du librairie, 1961, p. 9. 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.
| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center" |
| colspan=2 | Duke
! Birth ! Tenure ! Death ! Marriage(s) ! Claim |
|---|
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Louis I Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Touraine|Duke of Valois|Count of Blois|Count of Soissons|Count of Angoulême}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 13 March 1372 Son of Charles V of France and Joanna of Bourbon | 4 June 1392 | 23 November 1407 Murdered by Duke of Burgundy's hitmen (aged 35) | Valentina Visconti | Created duke by Charles VI |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Charles I Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Milan (titular)|Duke of Valois|Count of Blois|Count of Soissons}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 24 November 1394 Son of Louis I and Valentina Visconti | 23 November 1407 | 5 January 1465 Died of natural causes (aged 70) | {{grey|(1)}} Isabella of France | Son of Louis I |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Louis II Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Milan (titular)|Duke of Valois|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 27 June 1462 Son of Charles and Maria of Cleves | 5 January 1465 | 1 January 1515 Died of gout (aged 52) | {{grey|(1)}} Joan of France | Son of Charles |
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.
| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center" |
| colspan=2 | Duke
! Birth ! Tenure ! Death ! Marriage(s) ! Claim |
|---|
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Henry I Other titles {{collapsible list|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 31 March 1519 Son of Francis I of France and Claude of France | 31 March 1519 | 10 July 1559 Accidentally killed in a joust (aged 40) | Catherine de' Medici | Created duke by Francis I |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Charles II Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Angoulême|Duke of Bourbon|Count of Blois|Count of Clermont}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 22 January 1522 Son of Francis I of France and Claude of France | 10 August 1536 | 9 September 1545 Died by influenza (aged 23) | Unmarried |
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.Jean Heritier, Catherine de Medici. George Allen and Unwin, 1963, p. 69. 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.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.
| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center" |
| colspan=2 | Duke
! Birth ! Tenure ! Death ! Marriage(s) ! Claim |
|---|
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Louis III Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Urbino (titular)|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 3 February 1549 Son of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici | 3 February 1549 | 24 October 1550 Died by exposure (aged 1) | Unmarried | Created duke by Henry II |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Charles III Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Angoulême|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 27 June 1550 Son of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici | 24 October 1550 | 30 May 1574 Died by tuberculosis (aged 23) | Elisabeth of Austria |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Henry II Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Angoulême|Countess of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 19 September 1551 Son of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici | 5 December 1560 | 2 August 1589 Assassinated by Jacques Clément (aged 37) | Louise of Lorraine |
| 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.Knecht, R. J. Catherine de' Medici. London and New York: Longman, 1998, 104-108.
| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center" |
| colspan=2 | Duke
! Birth ! Tenure ! Death ! Marriage(s) ! Claim |
|---|
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Catherine (suo jure) Other titles {{collapsible list|Countess of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 13 April 1519 Daughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne | 8 February 1566 | 5 January 1589 Died by pleurisy (aged 69) | Henry II of France | Created duchess by Charles IX |
First House of Bourbon-Orléans
The fifth dukedom was created in 1626 by Louis XIII for his younger brother Gaston, Duke of Anjou.A.L. Moote, Louis XIII, The Just p 192. University of California Press, 1991, p. 192. 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 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.François de Malherbe, Lettres à Peiresc, éd. La Pléiade, p. 378.
| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center" |
| colspan=2 | Duke
! Birth ! Tenure ! Death ! Marriage(s) ! Claim |
|---|
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Gaston Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Anjou|Duke of Chartres|Duke of Valois|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 24 April 1608 Son of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici | 6 August 1626 | 2 February 1660 Died by natural causes (aged 51) | {{grey|(1)}} Marie of Bourbon | Created duke by Henry IV |
Second House of Bourbon-Orléans
{{main|House of Orléans}}
The sixth and final creation was for Philip, Duke of Anjou, who received the Orléanais 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.{{cite web|title=Louis-Philippe Biography|url=http://www.biography.com/people/louis-philippe-9387069|publisher=The Biography.com Website|access-date=13 May 2014}} Louis Philippe passed his title to his son and dauphin, Ferdinand, who died in a carriage accident in 1842.{{Cite book|title=A Tale in Two Cities: Fanny Burney and Adèle, Comtesse de Boigne|last=Unwin|first=Brian|publisher=I.B. Taurus & Co.|year=2014|isbn=978-1-78076-784-0|location=New York|pages=210–212}}
| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center" |
| colspan=2 | Duke
! Birth ! Tenure ! Death ! Marriage(s) ! Claim |
|---|
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Philip I Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Anjou|Duke of Chartres|Duke of Valois|Duke of Nemours|Duke of Montpensier|Prince of Joinville|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 21 September 1640 Son of Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria | 10 May 1661 | 9 June 1701 Died by stroke (aged 60) | {{grey|(1)}} Henrietta of England | Created duke by Louis XIV |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Philip II Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Chartres|Duke of Valois|Duke of Nemours|Duke of Montpensier|Prince of Joinville|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 2 August 1674 Son of Philip I and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate | 9 June 1701 | 2 December 1723 Died by natural causes (aged 49) | Françoise Marie de Bourbon | Son of Philip I |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Louis Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Chartres|Duke of Valois|Duke of Nemours|Duke of Montpensier|Prince of Joinville|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 4 August 1703 Son of Philip II and Françoise Marie de Bourbon | 2 December 1723 | 4 February 1752 Died by delirium complications (aged 48) | Johanna of Baden-Baden | Son of Philip II |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Louis Philippe I Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Chartres|Duke of Valois|Duke of Nemours|Duke of Montpensier|Prince of Joinville|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 12 May 1725 Son of Louis and Johanna of Baden-Baden | 4 February 1752 | 18 November 1785 Died by natural causes (aged 60) | Louise Henriette de Bourbon Morganatic: Charlotte-Jeanne Béraud ({{tooltip|m.|married}} 1773; {{tooltip|wid.|widowed}} 1785) {{small|Childless}} | Son of Louis |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Louis Philippe II Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Chartres|Duke of Valois|Duke of Nemours|Duke of Montpensier|Prince of Joinville|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 13 April 1747 Son of Louis Philip I and Louise Henriette de Bourbon | 18 November 1785 | 6 November 1793 Executed for treason (aged 46) | Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon | Son of Louis Philip I |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Louis Philippe III Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Chartres|Duke of Valois|Duke of Nemours|Prince of Joinville|Count of Blois}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 6 October 1773 Son of Louis Philip II and Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon | 6 November 1793 | 26 August 1850 Died by natural causes (aged 76) | Maria Amalia of | Son of Louis Philip II |
| style="font-weight:normal" | 50px Ferdinand Other titles {{collapsible list|Duke of Chartres}} ! style="font-weight:normal" | 120px | 3 September 1810 Son of Louis Philip III and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily | 9 August 1830 | 13 July 1842 Died in an accident (aged 31) | Helene of Mecklenburg | Son of Louis Philip III |
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-Unionist reckoning, the title merged with the crown in 1883 and was subsequently granted to Jacques upon his marriage in 1969.
See also
{{Dukes of Orléans}}