Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Wikipedia
| Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans | |
 Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans
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| Born | July 21, 1640 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France |
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| Died | June 9, 1701 (aged 60) Château de Saint-Cloud, Saint Cloud, France |
| Spouse | 1 Princess Henrietta Anne of England 2 Elizabeth Charlotte, Countess Palatine of Simmern |
| Children | 1 Marie Louise d'Orléans 2 Philippe Charles d'Orléans, duc de Valois 3 Anne Marie d'Orléans 4 Alexandre Louis d'Orléans, duc de Valois 5 Philippe Charles, Philippe II duc d'Orléans 6 Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans 5 stillborn children. |
| Parents | King Louis XIII of France Anne of Austria, Queen of France |
Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans (September 21, 1640 – June 8, 1701) was the second son of Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria, and thus the younger brother of the future Louis XIV of France.
[edit] Youth
Philippe was born at the Château de Saint-Cloud in the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye outside Paris on September 21, 1640. At birth, he was granted the title of duc d'Anjou.
After the death of his father, Louis XIII, his elder brother succeeded to the French throne as King Louis XIV. Thereafter, Philippe was known at court as le Petit Monsieur in order to distinguish him from his uncle, Gaston, duc d'Orléans, who was also entitled to the style of Monsieur as the oldest brother of the previous monarch, but who was called le Grand Monsieur.
Like his elder brother, he was educated by the most able of tutors of the time, François de La Mothe Le Vayer and the abbé de Choisy.[1] He was also educated by César de Choiseul du Plessis-Praslin, a maréchal de France.
During the Fronde, in order to find shelter in an unsafe Paris, Philippe and his older brother were often dragged between various palaces in the capital and châteaux on the outskirts of the city. It is said that Louis XIV thus grew to dislike and distrust the city, resulting in his eventual move to the Palace of Versailles.[2]
It was on the death of Gaston in 1660 that Philippe became the sole Monsieur. A year later Philippe was given his late uncle's appanage, the dukedom of Orléans. His full style henceforth was Philippe, fils de France, duc d'Orléans, and he bore the surname de France.
In order to discourage the type of tempestuous relationship that had developed between his father, Louis XIII, and his younger brother Gaston, Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin decided to protect the new king by making sure that Philippe had no part in any political or military office. During his youth, his behavior was closely monitored by his mother and her advisor.
Between the two of them, they discouraged Philippe from traditionally male pursuits such as arms and politics, and encouraged him to wear dresses, makeup, and to enjoy traditionally feminine pursuits. Cardinal Mazarin is credited with having arranged the de-flowering of Philippe at the hands of Philippe Mancini (Mazarin's own nephew, the duc de Nevers). [3].[not in citation given]
In addition, they made sure Philippe had no meaningful financial freedom from the Crown.[4] His income was to be derived solely from the appanage of Orléans associated with his dukedom.
From the accession of his brother in 1643, he was the heir presumptive for almost twenty years, until the birth of his nephew the dauphin, Louis de France, in 1661.
[edit] Adulthood
Philippe was not given significant responsibility. As an adult, Monsieur continued to enjoy wearing feminine clothing and fragrances as he had as a child. Despite this, he proved to be an exceptionally brave and competent commander in the field. He fought with distinction in the 1667 promenade militaire against Flanders during the War of Devolution (though he hastened back to his life at court immediately after victory was assured).
Monsieur resumed military command in 1672, and in 1677 won a great victory at the Battle of Cassel, which was fought against the future King William III of England near the town of Cassel in northern France, and took St Omer.
Louis XIV, it was said, was jealous of his brother's success and as result Monsieur never commanded an army again.
[edit] Adult relationships
Monsieur was labelled by contemporaries as a débauché. Since youth, his inclination toward homosexuality had not been discouraged, with the hope of reducing any threat he may have posed to his older brother. When married, he preyed on bright-eyed German princelings for all to see, including his two wives [5]
[edit] Minette
On March 31, 1661 in the chapel of the Palais Royal in Paris, he married his first cousin, Princess Henrietta Anne of England, sister of King Charles II. Both were grandchildren of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.
She was affectionatly known as Minette by her family and was the last child of her unlucky parents Henriette Marie de France, the exiled Queen of England and Charles I of England. She was known at court as Madame or Henriette d'Angleterre (Henrietta of England).
The marriage was not happy as a result of Philippe's and Henriette's indifference to each other.[6] Each went on to seek comfort from others. Philippe openly paraded his male lovers in front of his wife and the whole court. Among them were the comte de Guiche, known for his arrogance and good looks, the marquis de Châtillon and his first lover, Philippe Mancini, later the duc de Nevers.[7]
[edit] Children by first marriage
Popular at court, much to Philippe's annoyance, Henriette was known as a pretty, good-natured girl who enjoyed flirting. She soon attracted the attention of her husband's older, more virile, brother. In order to hide their attraction from the king's mother and wife, Henriette and Louis invented the story that he was constantly in Henriette's company in order to be close to one of her ladies-in-waiting, Louise de la Vallière. Only later did Henriette realize that the ruse had been so successful that Louis had indeed begun an affair with Louise.
Reluctantly and somewhat bitterly, Henriette stepped aside. Later, she seems to have taken one of her husband's earlier conquests, the comte de Guiche, as a lover.[8] This caused all sorts of arguments at the Palais Royal, where the Orléans lived. Despite this marital dissension, several children were born of the union:
- Marie Louise d'Orléans(March 27 1662 – 12 February 1689)
- She was the first wife of Charles II of Spain.
- Philippe Charles, duc de Valois, (July 16 1664 – 8 December 1666)
- A daughter born July 9, 1665 ; died after.
- Anne Marie d'Orléans (August 27 1669 – 26 August 1728)
- First wife of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, first King of Sardinia, whom she wed in 1684.
- maternal grandmother of Louis XV of France
- ancestress of the Kings of Sardinia and Kings of Italy
- through her derives the post-Stuart legitimist claim of the Jacobites to the English and Scottish thrones.
Not unusually for the era, Henriette had four miscarriages 1663, 1666, 1667, 1668.[9]
By the time of the birth of Anne Marie in 1669, the couple was notorious for their constant arguing at court and at home in the Palais Royal.[10] Philippe now had a new lover, and many were aware of the great influence this man had over Philippe.
[edit] The Chevalier de Lorraine
Monsieur's favorites, invariably younger, handsome men, would dominate contemporary and historical commentary about his role at court, particularly with one man who shared his princely rank and much of his life:
Philip of Lorraine-Armagnac was three years younger than Philip of Orléans. Insinuating, brutal and devoid of scruple, he was the great love of the life of Monsieur. He was also the worst enemy of the latter's two wives. As greedy as a vulture, this cadet of the French branch of the House of Lorraine had, by the end of the 1650s, hooked Monsieur like a harpooned whale. The young prince loved him with a passion that worried Madame Henrietta and the court bishop, Cosnac, but it was plain to the King that, thanks to the attractive face and sharp mind of the good-looking cavalier, he would have his way with his brother.[11]
Under these circumstances it is no surprise that Monsieur's first marriage was not a happy one. In January 1670 his wife prevailed upon the King to imprison the chevalier, first near Lyon, then in the chateau d'If, and finally he was banished to Rome. But by February Monsieur's protests and pleas persuaded the King to restore him to his brother's entourage.
The death of the duchess in the following June was popularly attributed to poison, although there was little evidence, and less apparent motive, for Monsieur to have perpetrated such a deed, whereas some of his mignons had earned her enmity and she theirs; and were suspected.
[edit] La Princesse Palatine
Monsieur's confidante, the Princess Palatine Anna Gonzaga, arranged his second marriage to her husband's niece, Elisabeth Charlotte, daughter of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine of the Rhine. "Liselotte" converted to Roman Catholicism before entering France in November 1671.
Whereas Monsieur's first wife had been known for beauty, charm and wit, no one accused Liselotte of those graces, and some said that this lack explained why she fared better with Monsieur (who personally took charge of her toilette for public occasions) than did his first wife. She gave him his only surviving son.
She also became known for her brusque candor, upright character, lack of vanity, and prolific foreign correspondence about the daily routine and frequent scandals of Versailles. Her letters record how willingly she gave up sharing Monsieur's bed at his request after their children's births, and how unwillingly she endured the presence of his mignons in their household, which caused the couple to quarrel.
But she frequently acknowledged that Monsieur's treatment of her was less offensive than the impertinences his entourage indulged in at her expense, and the lack of protection he afforded her and their children against the hostile intrigues she believed were directed at her by spiteful courtiers, especially Madame de Maintenon.
[edit] Children by second marriage
The couple were married by proxy, he in his native France and she at the city of Metz. It was at the road between the towns of Châlons and Bellay that the couple first met. She was nineteen and he was thirty-one. The couple had the following children:
- Alexandre Louis d'Orléans, duc de Valois. (2 June 1673 – 16 March 1676)
- Philippe II d'Orléans (August 2 1674 – 2 December 1723).
- He married Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. The illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
- He would become Régent of France during Louis XV's minority.
- Male-line ancestor of Philippe Egalité, Louis Philippe I, King of the French, and of the modern Orléanist pretenders to the crown of France.
- Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (September 13 1676 – 23 December 1744),
- Wife of Leopold, duc de Lorraine
- The couples son Francis Stephan of Lorraine (1708 – 1765) — became Holy Roman Emperor, father to Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793), and progenitor of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, Emperors of Austria until 1918.
[edit] Gallery
[edit] Later life
Monsieur failed to stand up to Louis XIV's insistence on marrying his youngest illegitimate daughter, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, to Monsieur's only son and heir, Philippe, duc de Chartres, in February 1692. In 1701, the brothers had a terrible argument about Chartres and his behaviour in and around the court.
Philippe defended his son with such vehemence that a footman felt obliged to enter the King's chamber to warn the royal brothers that their argument was being overheard by the entire court. Monsieur is the only man known to have raised his voice to the adult Louis XIV. After dinner, Philippe went home to Saint-Cloud. That night , June 8, he suffered a stroke and fell into a coma.
He died at his Château de Saint-Cloud on June 9, 1701. The King's ex-mistress, Madame de Montespan, was said to have wept bitterly at the loss of her one remaining friend from the bygone golden age of le Roi Soleil.
[edit] Character
Monsieur's loyalty was never in question; turning the page of history on the rebellions of the Frondes, he created a new standard of familial fidelity in a dynasty notorious for princely fratricide.
He was an art collector and perhaps also a shrewd investor (as Nancy Nichols Barker suggests in her book Brother to the Sun King). Monsieur enjoyed court life, gambling, chasing young men, and ceremony. Despite the fact that his debts and dalliances often cost the King, the brothers spent much time together.
He was a leading architectural patron of his day, responsible for the construction of the château de Saint-Cloud and the vast extensions to the Palais Royal. The gallery he built at the château de Saint-Cloud was said to have inspired his brother to build the Galerie des Glaces at the Palace of Versailles.[12] The gardens at the château were an inspiration to his brother's designs at Versailles.
His unabashed effeminacy probably deprived him of the credit he deserves among his countrymen and in history. Louis XIV, however, seems to have fully appreciated their relationship, as he treated Monsieur, publicly and privately, with respect and leniency.
[edit] His Family
[edit] Wealth
[edit] Appanages
It was under Philippe de France and the rule of his older brother Louis XIV, the House of Bourbon-Orléans received:
- The ducal titles of Orléans, Valois, Chartres and the lordship of Montargis. This occurred in 1661, shortly after the death of Gaston, Duke of Orléans, who had no male descendants.
- In 1672 Louis XIV added the duchy of Nemours, the countships of Dourdan and Romorantin and the marquisates of Coucy and Folembray.
- In 1692, Philippe's son and heir, Philippe II married Françoise-Marie de Bourbon,an illegitimate daughter of his brother Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. In order to convince his brother to allow his son to marry one of his illegitimate daughters, the king gave him the Palais Royal, in Paris and promised him a dowry of two million livres. This palace became the Paris residence of the Dukes of Orléans until 1792.
- The Orléans canal, built by Philippe de France, was also the family possession and the family used it to transport their timber from the Orléans forest to the capital where it was sold. The canal was nationalised during the revolution.
[edit] Inheritances
On the death of his extremely wealthy cousin, the childless heiress Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans de Montpensier (known as la Grande Mademoiselle) in 1693, Philippe inherited much of her wealth. He received the titles of:
- duc de Montpensier
- duc de Châtellerault
- duc de Saint-Fargeau
- duc de Beaupréau
- prince de Joinville
- baron de Beaujolais
- marquis de Mézières
Philippe also received an allowance for his expenses at court, which he cleverly invested to create a fortune.
[edit] Residences
During his childhood, Philippe lived at the Palais Royal, which had been bequeathed to the Crown on the death of Cardinal Richelieu. During the Fronde, Philippe's mother chose the palace as her main residence due to its relative safety.
After the Fronde was over, Philippe accompanied his older brother and mother as the court made its annual procession through the royal residences, the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the Palais du Louvre and the Palais Royal. When he was twelve, he followed his brother and mother to the Palais du Tuileries, which was part of the Louvre complex.
As an adult, Philippe resided in two of the most famous palaces in France:
- In Paris, he lived in the Palais Royal. Bequeathed to the Crown by its original owner, Cardinal Richelieu, Philippe and his wives lived there at the pleasure of his brother, the king. In 1692, the king deeded the palace to Philippe's only son when he married the king's illegitimate daughter,Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. The palace was used by the family till the French Revolution began. It was from here that Philippe Égalité, the great-great-grandson of Philippe, plotted in the 1790s the overthrow of his cousin, King Louis XVI.[13]
- In 1658, Philippe bought the Château de Saint-Cloud outside of the city. As his main country estate, Philippe lavishly entertained there. His first wife, Henriette-Anne later died there. The château was eventually sold by Philippe's descendent, Louis Philippe I, duc d'Orléans to Queen Marie Antoinette (also his descendant) for six million livres in 1785. It was destroyed by German troops during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870.
Despite these holdings, Philippe desperately wanted the comté of Blois, with its Château de Chambord, and the governorship of Languedoc, which were both refused him by his brother.[14]
In addition, Philippe and his wife had apartments at the Palace of Versailles as did all other members of the House of Bourbon.
[edit] At Versailles
Before the court was officially moved to Versailles, and before the birth of his nephew, the king's son, the Dauphin Louis de France, in 1661, the duc d'Orléans' apartments were where the Dauphin's were later located. The apartments looked over the Parterres du Midi of the south and were directly under the Grand Appartement de la reine.[15]
After the dauphin's birth, the Orléans had to move to the north wing and occupied large quarters there. These looked out onto the Parterres du Midi of the south. The family also had apartments where the modern day Galerie des batailles are. This area was used by the duke himself, his second wife, Elisabeth Charlotte, his son, Philippe II and daughter-in-law, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon.
The apartments of the family were later moved to the bottom floor of the north wing, opposite the Chapelle Royal de Versailles this time looking over the Parterres du Midi of the north. The family had been moved in order to accommodate three of Louis XV's daughters, Madame Adélaïde, Madame Victoire and Madame Élisabeth.[16] The family remained there till the French Revolution.