Louis Philippe of Orleans (1747-1793)

Louis Philippe II Joseph of Orleans , duke of Chartres, then Duke of Orleans (1785 - 1792), known under the nickname of Philippe Equality after 1792, was born with the Château from Saint-Cloud the April 13rd 1747 and dies guillotine in Paris the November 6th 1793.

Wire of Louis Philippe of Orleans (1725-1785), Duke of Orleans, known as “the Large one”, and of Louise Henriette of Bourbon-Conti († 1759), it was titrated duke of Montpensier to his birth (1747 - 1752), then carried the title of duke of Chartres of died of his/her grandfather to that of its father (1752 - 1785). It then became Duc of Orleans and First prince of blood.

Marriage and descent

The father of Philippe of Orleans had initially planned to marry it with the Cunégonde princess of Saxony, girl of Auguste III of Saxony king de Pologne and sister of Dauphine of France Marie-Josèphe. But the latter insisted near Louis XV so that he is opposed to this project, considering that Chartres was of too small birth to claim to marry his/her Cunégonde sister.

The abbot of Breteuil, chancellor of the house of Orleans, was thus charged to negotiate, in substitution, a marriage with Louise Marie Adélaïde of Bourbon (known as “Miss de Penthièvre”), grand-daughter of the count de Toulouse, bastard legitimated Louis XIV and of Madam de Montespan, which brought in the house of Orleans, with still a little more of the blood of bastard of Louis XIV, the fabulous heritage of the duke of Penthièvre.

Philippe of Orleans as for him went down, by his mother, of bastard of Louis XIV and marchioness of Montespan ( Miss de Nantes ) and in addition one of the paternal great-grandmothers of Philippe of Orleans was also bastard of Louis XIV and marchioness of Montespan (the second Miss de Blois ).

The marriage took place with Versailles the April 5th 1769. The dowry, undoubtedly most important that one ever saw, was assembled to 6 million books, whose 3.865.000 books were given at once, in the form of an equipment producing an annual income of 245.000 books. The duke of Orleans committed himself on his side to place, furnish, be making serve the husbands and to ensure them per annum the surplus an income of 400.000 books.

Louise Marie Adélaïde of Bourbon gave him six children:

  1. NR… of Orleans (still-born child on October 10th 1771);
  2. Louis Philippe of Orleans (1773 - 1850), titrated duke of Valois then duke of Chartres, then Duke of Orleans, then King of the French;
  3. Louis '' Antoine '' Philippe of Orleans (1775 - 1807), titrated duke of Montpensier;
  4. Louis Marie '' Adélaïde '' Eugenie of Orleans (1777 - 1847), known as “Miss de Chartres”;
  5. NR… of Orleans (born the August 23rd 1777 - died in 1782), binocular of the preceding one, called “Miss d' Orléans”;
  6. Louis Charles of Orleans (1779 - 1808), count of Beaujolais wine, which took starting from 1792 the first names Alphonse Léodgard.

The duke of Orleans had bastard, Victor Leclerc de Buffon (1792 - 1812), also known as the knight of Saint-Paul , with his mistress in title, Marguerite Francoise Bouvier of Mothe de Cépoy, countess of Buffon. He also had a natural girl with Félicité on Genlis: Pamela Brûlart de Sillery (v. 1777 - 1831).

Montpensier and Beaujolais wines died of the continuations of their imprisonment during Terror and the Directory. Louis-Philippe had escaped there by leaving France at the same time as Dumouriez, causing the arrest of all the family per measurement of reprisals.

Through complicated intrigues, Madam de Genlis managed to be only in charge of the education of these children, on whom it tried out her teaching ideas. Successfully, undoubtedly, because they adored this woman much more than their own mother.

Under the Old Mode

An opposed military destiny

Chartres had had the promise, at the time of its marriage, that his/her father-in-law would request for him the survival of his load of Lord High Admiral de France. It prepared there by making a career of naval officer. In 1772, it embarked on the vessel the Alexandre with the rank of midshipman (candidate). After two campaigns in 1775 and 1776, it was promoted general lieutenant of the naval armies (rear-admiral). In 1778, when the hostilities started again with England, he lives himself to entrust the command of the back in the squadron ordered by the count d' Orvilliers. July 27th 1778, with broad of Ushant, the battles engaged. An operation ordered by Orvilliers brought the vessels of the duke of Chartres on the front one; the prince did not hesitate to sink over the English vessels, but following a bad communication with the flagship, an error was made which made it possible the English vessels to escape. The battle showed a semisuccess. To Paris, each one paid initially homage to the beautiful control of the duke of Chartres before the noise is propagated that the battle in fact had been missed by its fault, which nothing makes it possible to think.

The following year, it ordered the squadron of evolutions which made the turn of British Isles and returned by the Netherlands. On its return, it found his father-in-law anxious because it had been persuaded that Chartres wanted to strip it its load of Lord High Admiral. The duke of Chartres wrote in Louis XVI to undeceive it and, to ensure renonça, appeasing to the navy by soliciting the king to create for him a job of general colonel of the light troops, it what Louis XVI granted.

But in 1780, the king refused the permission to belong to him to the task force of Rochambeau which left for the America.

A reforming prince, opposing more and more declared

Par of France, Philippe of Orleans showed independence early. As all the princes of the branches juniors by the house of Bourbon, it took the party of the Parlement S in 1771 and refused to sit at the “Parliament Maupeou”.

In 1771, it was made elect large Master of the Grand the East of France, which had just been organized. Follower of the novel ideas and large admiror of the English institutions, the duke of Chartres expressed more once before the Revolution his hostility with the mode and the Court, in particular at the time of the assembly of notable (1787).

As from 1785, become duke of Orleans, it offered a center and a point of rallying to the enemies of the court. Chief of the 3rd office to the Parliament of notable the (1787), it declared that the General states had only the right to vote the taxes, and protested against the bursaux edicts: he was exiled.

Finances of Philippe of Orleans

As of the beginning of the year 1780, Philippe of Orleans knew financial problems. Its train of house was extremely expensive, and absorbed the essence of its income. The heritage of his/her father, received in 1785, which was burdened with 2 million debts, is not enough to restore the situation.

The new duke of Orleans had to obtain from the king the authorization to issue a loan of 6 million books creating 240.000 books of tontine life annuities to 4%, known as “Tontine of Orleans” (November 27th 1785). Little before the Revolution, it made sell with London most of its collection of tables. It also made proceed to important speculative purchases of corn, which enabled him to carry out appreciable profits at the time of the food shortage of 1789 all while being made pass for a philanthropist. At the end of 1789, it negociated new loans by guaranteeing the capital of the dowry of the queen of Spain of an amount of 4 million (V. Biens of the house of Orleans).

There also carried out a real estate speculation remained famous in the Palais Royal. Since his remarriage morganatic with Madam de Montesson, the duke of Orleans had ceased living the Palais Royal. He made of it concession with his son in 1776, and in any property in 1780 gave up to him. A little later in June 1781, the room of theater known as of the Palais Royal, which was side of current the Rue of Valois, burned once again. The duke of Chartres made it rebuild other side by the architect Victor Louis (it is the current room of the Comédie-Française) and benefitted from it to carry out a real immense operation around the gardens of the Palais Royal: it made build uniform buildings, comprising shopping malls at the ground floor surmounted by residential flats. The streets bordering the unit were baptized names of wire of the duke: Valois, Montpensier and Beaujolais.

This operation was highly criticized. The public, which had always been allowed freely in the gardens of the Palais Royal, criticized their contracting. One considered architecture petty. Louis XVI would have made fun of the duke of Chartres while launching to him: “ Eh, well, my cousin! It appears that you open shop? You will not be seen any more but Sunday? ”. Authenticate or not, the word ran Paris, with tens of epigrams and songs. But the business was not excellent and was long in balancing, the duke who has had to borrow 4 million to finance constructions, which proved to be difficult to sell and rent.

Under the Revolution: Philippe-equality

Delegated to the two assemblies of notable, he is elected appointed of the nobility to the General states of 1789, he decided for the novel ideas and was number of noble which gave the example to meet in the Tiers state. Bound to Honore Gabriel Riqueti, count de Mirabeau, perhaps hoping for the throne of Louis XVI, it exiled himself in England after the popular days of the October 4th and 5th 1789, but returned to France in 1790.

In 1790, it went with its sons to the army of North, but after the defection of the general Dumouriez, it accepted the order to leave it. Jeté more and more in the revolutionary party, he became member of the Club of the Jacobins, was made elect representing of the people to the Convention.

Elected official appointed with the national Convention by the department of the Seine where it took the name of Philippe Égalité : the names known as noble (with particle) having been formally abolished, it could not be called any more Orleans. Capet was unthinkable. Also requested he the Convention of him to give one of them. The president, indicating the statues of the Freedom and the Equality which flanked the perch, him enjoignit to choose, with its great displeasure. Also it from now on was called Philippe Égalité . Under the pressure of the party of the Mountain, it was let involve to vote the death of the king Louis XVI. This cowardice disgusted until Robespierre, which says of him: “It was the only one which could be allowed not to vote death. ”

Under the influence of its secretary Pierre Choderlos de Laclos and of the countess of Genlis, it supports the liberal ideas. When his/her oldest son (the future Louis-Philippe I {{er}}) passes to the enemy with the general Charles-François Dumouriez, it becomes suspect with the eyes of the Montagnards. It was thus put itself in charge, like partisan of the Girondins.

Towards the any end, it causes the anger of the Great East by presenting its resignation letter to the cabins: “As I do not know the way in which the Great East is composed, and which, moreover, I think that there should be no mystery, neither no secret assembly in a republic, especially at the beginning of his establishment, I want to more mix of anything the Grand Lodge of France nor with the assemblies freemasons”

He was stopped on April 6th, 1793, judged by the revolutionary Tribunal and guillotine on November 6th, 1793. Also he survived only ten months his cousin, whom it had contributed to make carry out.

See too

Internal bonds

Catalog of films

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