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'Philippe I, 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 Louis XIV of France. He was known as ''Monsieur'' at the French court, ''Monsieur'' becoming the traditional name of the King's eldest brother from 1660. He was born at St Germain-en-Laye.
In 1661, he was made Duke of Orléans, and married his first cousin Henrietta Anne Stuart, sister of Charles II of England, also known as 'Minette'. Both were grandchildren of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. His other dukedoms included Anjou, Valois, Chartres, Nemours and Montpensier, and he was Prince de Joinville.

Contents

Upbringing

Adult relationships

Character

Ancestry

Descendants

Portrayals in fiction

References

Upbringing

Traditionally, in the French court, a king's younger son was not given significant responsibility, and Philippe was no exception. His mother discouraged him from traditionally male pursuits such as arms and politics, and encouraged him to wear dresses, makeup, and to enjoy traditionally feminine pursuits. This was part of Queen Anne's effort to distract Philippe from challenging his older brother's rule and position in the way that Louis XIII's younger brother, the ambitious Gaston, duc d'Orléans, was challenging the king at this time.
As an adult, ''Monsieur'' continued to enjoy wearing feminine clothing and fragrances, but also proved to be a 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 and took St Omer. Louis XIV, it was said, was jealous of his brother's success, therefore ''Monsieur'' never commanded an army again.

Adult relationships

Monsieur's favorites, invariably handsome young men, dominated contemporary and historical commentary about his role at court, particularly one man who shared his princely rank and much of his life:

Philip of Lorraine-Armagnac was three years younger than Philip of Orléans. Handsome, brutal and devoid of scruples, he was the great love of "Monsieur's" life. He was also the worst enemy of Monsieur'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 as though harpooning a whale. The young prince loved him with a passion that worried ''Madame'' Henrietta and the court bishop, , but the King understood that, thanks to the attractive face and sharp mind of the good-looking cavalier, he would have his way with his brother.^[1]

Under these circumstances it is no surprise that ''Monsieur's'' first marriage was unhappy. In January 1670 his wife prevailed upon the King to imprison the chevalier, first near Lyon, then in the chateau d'If, and finally banish him 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 for ''Monsieur'' to have perpetrated such a deed, whereas some of his ''mignons'' had earned her enmity and she theirs — and were suspected.
Subsequently, ''Monsieur's'' confidante the Princess Palatine Anna Gonzaga arranged his second marriage to her husband's niece, Elisabeth Charlotte, daughter of Charles 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 importunities his entourage made at her expense, and the lack of protection he afforded her and their children against the hostile s she believed were directed at her by spiteful courtiers, especially Madame de Maintenon.
''Monsieur'' failed to stand up to Louis XIV's insistence on marrying his daughter Françoise Marie de Bourbon (Mademoiselle de Blois) to ''Monsieur's'' son and heir, Philippe d'Orléans in February 1692. But when, years later, the King rebuked him for his son's indifference toward her, ''Monsieur'' 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, though he did not live to see the King again.

Character

Monsieur 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. Orléans' loyalty was never in question; he raised the standard of fraternal fidelity in a dynasty in which the Frondes had established princely rebellion as a tradition. His unabashed effeminacy probably deprived him of the credit he deserved 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.
He died at Saint-Cloud in 1701 of an apoplectic fit brought on by his heated argument with the King. The King's ex-mistress, Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, was said to have wept bitterly at the loss of the one remaining friend from the bygone golden age of ''le Roi Soleil''.

Ancestry

'Philippe's ancestors to the third generation'

'Philippe I, Duke of Orléans'	'Father:' Louis XIII, King of France and of Navarre	'Paternal Grandfather:' Henri IV, King of France and of Navarre	'Paternal Great-Grandfather:' Antoine de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, King of Navarre
			'Paternal Great-Grandmother:' Jeanne III d'Albret, Queen of Navarre
		'Paternal Grandmother:' Marie de' Medici, Queen of France and of Navarre	'Paternal Great-Grandfather:' Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
			'Paternal Great-Grandmother:' Johanna of Austria, Archduchess of Austria Grand Duchess of Tuscany
	'Mother:' Anne of Austria, Infanta of Spain and of Portugal, Queen of France and of Navarre	'Maternal Grandfather:' Philip III/II, King of Spain and of Portugal	'Maternal Great-Grandfather:' Philip II/I, King of Spain and of Portugal
			'Maternal Great-Grandmother:' Anna of Austria, Archduchess of Austria Queen of Spain and of Portugal
		'Maternal Grandmother:' Margarita of Austria, Archduchess of Austria Queen of Spain and of Portugal	'Maternal Great-Grandfather:' Charles II, Archduke of Austria, Archduke of Inner Austria
			'Maternal Great-Grandmother:' Maria Anna of Bavaria, Archduchess of Inner Austria

Descendants

Of his first marriage on March 31 1661 to Henrietta, daughter of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, four children were born:
# Marie Louise (March 27 1662 – 12 February 1689), wife of Charles II of Spain. She died childless before her father.
# Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois (July 16 1664 – 8 December 1666)
# a daughter born July 9 1665, who died shortly thereafter.
# Anne Marie (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.
Of his second marriage to Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine, ''Monsieur'' had three children:
# Alexandre Louis, Duke of Valois. (2 June 1673 – 16 March 1676)
# Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (August 2 1674 – 2 December 1723)
#
★ who would become Regent 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.
# Elizabeth Charlotte (September 13 1676 – 23 December 1744), wife of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
#
★ their son Francis Stephan (1708 – 1765) — became Holy Roman Emperor, father to Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793), and progenitor of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, Emperors of Austria until 1918.

Portrayals in fiction

He was portrayed by Murray Lachlan Young, in Roland Joffé's 2000 film ''Vatel''. The film depicted him as an open homosexual with a court of male hangers-on. Early in the film, he displeased Vatel (played by Gerard Depardieu) as he wanted one of the kitchenhands, Colin, to become his pageboy, to which Vatel responded: "I do not get my kitchenhands from him, and I will not supply my kitchenhands to his brothel." Later on, the Prince proves to be a friend, scuppering a plot by a courtier, the marquis de Lauzun, to maim Vatel. The film's portrayal acknowledges both his homosexuality and his military skill.
He is also depicted by Christophe Maé in the French Musical "Le Roi Soleil", also as an open homosexual and friend to his brother, Louis XIV.

References

1. Madame Palatine, Princesse Européenne, , Dirk, Van der Cruysse, Fayard, , ISBN 2213022003


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