Charles-Philippe, Duke of Anjou
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Prince Charles-Philippe Marie Louis d'Orléans, Petit-fils de France, Duke of Anjou, was born in Paris, France on March 3, 1973. He is the eldest of two sons of Prince Michel Joseph Benoît Marie d'Orléans, fils de France, comte d'Evreux, and his wife the former Béatrice Pasquier de Franclieu. His paternal grandfather was the late Henri, Count of Paris who was the Orléanist pretender to the French throne as Henry VI. As such, Charles-Philippe would have the status of petit-fils de France with the style of Royal Highness.
On December 8, 2004, he received the title duc d'Anjou (Duke of Anjou in English) from his uncle Henri, Count of Paris and Duke of France, head of the House of Orléans and a claimant to the French throne as Henry VII. There is some controversy in this title since it has traditionally been conferred upon heirs of the elder French line of the House of Bourbon (the Orléans line being the junior the main House of Bourbon proper). Under this tradition, the current Duke of Anjou is HRH Prince Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, whose family has resided in Spain since the time of the French Revolution. Prior to the conferral of this title upon Charles-Philippe, Juan Carlos I of Spain, was asked to express his agreement with this action on the part of his cousin, the Count of Paris. This, the King of Spain readily did[citation needed]: However Legitimist supporters of the House of Bourbon reply that such assent is meaningless in that Juan Carlos has never recognized any "foreign" branch of royalty, other that of his own family, on Spanish soil.
In 2004, Prince Charles-Philippe was elected Grand Master of a branch of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, an Order of Chivalry that dates back to the 11th century Crusades. The Prince's leadership confers legitimacy as an Order under the protection of the House of Orléans in the tradition firmly established since the 13th century when The Order of St. Lazarus came under the protection of King Philippe le Bel. This Royal Protection continued over the ensuing centuries right up to the reign of the House of Orléans, the last of the French kings. The prince's controversial ascension as "Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus" is disputed by those Knights who have remained loyal to his cousin Don Francisco de Borbon y de Escasany, Duke of Sevilla and Melchite Catholic Patriarch Gregory III, protector of the Order.
Charles-Philippe recently founded the St Lazare Foundation financed by the World Society, an international think tank whose mission, inspired by the Count of Paris, is to rationalise the problem of the planet's future needs for water.
- "The future belongs to those who invest in it. The future is water. The members of the World Society are among ‘the happy few’ who will become key players in the future of our planet." (World Society website).
He will marry Dona Diana Alvares Pereira de Melo, Duchess of Cadaval (Portugal) in her own right, in June of 2008.
[edit] See also
Members of the French Royal Families
[edit] External links
- http://www.ducdanjou.com Website of the duc d'Anjou
- Henri, comte de Paris, duc de France's official website: Institut de la Maison Royale de France
- http://www.saintlazarefoundation.org/
- http://www.saintlazare.org Website of the Ordre of Saint Lazarus
- http://www.st-lazarus.net/pariso/toronto2004/facts_events_frame.htm Account of the creation of the Orleans Branch of the Order of St. Lazarus (2004)
- http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2007/09/10/french-royals-engage/
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Charles-Philippe, Duke of Anjou
Born: 3 March 1973 |
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| Preceded by Michel d'Orléans |
Line of succession to the French throne (Orléanist) | Succeeded by François d'Orléans |
