Dukes of Orléans

Duke of Orléans (French: Duc d'Orléans) was one of the highest ranking titles of the French peerage and dates back to the 14th century. Known as princes of the blood (princes du sang), the title of Duke of Orleans was exclusive to princes of the nearest collateral line of the royal family; thus they constituted a junior branch of the ruling house, second in seniority only to members of the primary line.

During the period of the ancien régime the holder of the title often assumed a political role. The Orléans came to the throne with Louis XII (15th century). Louis Philippe II, fifth Duke of Orleans, contributed to the destruction of the ancien 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. It was his son who would eventually ascend the throne in 1830 following the July Revolution as Louis-Philippe I, King of France. 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

Second creation (1392)

Name	Portrait	Lifespan	Parents
Louis I 1372–1407		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
Charles II 1536–1545		January 22, 1522 – September 9, 1545	Francis I of France Claude of France
Louis III 1549		3 February – 24 October 1549	Henry II, King of France Catherine de' Medici
Charles III Maximilian 1550–1560		June 27, 1550 – May 30, 1574	Henry II, King of France Catherine de' Medici
Henry III 1560–1574		September 19, 1551 – August 2, 1589	Henry II, King of France Catherine de' Medici

House of Bourbon

Fourth creation (1607)

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

Fifth 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 till 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

Sixth creation (1660)

Upon the death of Gaston of Orléans, the appanage of Orléans reverted back 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 1842–1869 (did not use the title)		24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894	Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans Duchess Helen of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Philippe 1869–1926		August 24, 1869 - March 28, 1926	Philippe, Count of Paris Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans

Other Dukes

Members of the House of Orléans

• François Gaston Michel Marie of Orléans, Duke of Orléans (1935–1960) second son of Henri, comte de Paris (posthumous creation)
• Jacques Jean Jaroslav Marie of Orléans, Duke of Orléans (b. 1941) fourth son of Henri, comte de Paris
• James Moore Valios Bourbon Orleans, Duc d'Orleans (Junior branch beneath the Royal Family),direct decendent of King Philippe I (b.1952)

See also

• Duchess of Orléans
• Count of Orléans
• Orleanist
• Legitimist