Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
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| Louis Philippe II Joseph, duc d'Orléans | |
 Louis-Philippe-Joseph, by Antoine-François Callet
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| Born | April 13, 1747 Château de Saint Cloud, Saint-Cloud |
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| Died | November 6, 1793 (aged 46) Paris, France |
| Spouse | Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre |
| Children | Louis-Philippe of France Antoine Philippe, Duke of Montpensier |
| Parents | Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans Louise Henriette de Bourbon-Conti |
Louis Philippe II Joseph, Duke of Orléans (April 13, 1747 – November 6, 1793), called Philippe Égalité, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the dynasty then ruling France. He actively supported the French Revolution, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror.
His son Louis-Philippe became King of the French in the July Revolution of 1830; following his career, the term Orléanist came to be attached to the movement in France that favoured constitutional monarchy.
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[edit] Early life
Philippe Égalité was son of Louis Philip I, Duke of Orléans and of Louise Henriette de Bourbon-Conti, and was born at Château de Saint Cloud, in Saint-Cloud.
Having borne the title of Duke of Montpensier until his grandfather's death in 1752, he became Duke of Chartres and in 1769 married Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre (1753–1821), daughter and heiress of his cousin, the Duke of Penthiêvre, a grand admiral of France and the richest man in the country at the time.
Since it was certain that his wife would become the richest woman in France upon the death of her father, Philippe was determined to play a political role at court equal to that of his great-grandfather Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who had been the Regent of France during the minority of King Louis XV. Besides being power-hungry, the two men were to resemble each other in character and debauchery[1].
As Duke of Chartres he opposed the plans of René de Maupeou in 1771, when Maupeou successfully upheld royal interests in a confrontation with the Parlement de Paris, and was promptly exiled to his country estate of Villers-Côtterets (Aisne). When Louis XVI came to the throne in 1774, Louis Philippe was still a suspect in the eyes of the court; Marie Antoinette hated him for what she viewed as treachery, hypocrisy and selfishness, and he, in turn, scorned her.
[edit] Military service
In 1778, he served in the squadron of the Count of Orvilliers and was present in the naval battle of Ushant on July 27, 1778. He then was removed from the navy due in part to the queen's hatred of him, but also due to his own incompetence and cowardice. As compensation, he was given the honorary post of colonel-general of hussars.
[edit] Marriage and issue
He married Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre at the Palace of Versailles, on June 6, 1769. Their children included:
- Louis-Philippe III, Duke of Orléans (1773-1850), who was King of the French between 1830 abd 1848
- Antoine Philippe, Duke of Montpensier (1775-1807), who died in exile
- Princess Adélaïde of Orléans (1777-1847)
- A twin daughter (1777-1782), sister of Adélaïde
- Louis-Charles, Count of Beaujolais (1779-1808), who died in exile
Louise Marie Adélaïde brought to the already wealthy House of Orléans a considerable dowry of six million livres[2], an annual income of 240,000 livres (later inceased to 400,000 livres), as well as lands, titles, residences and furniture.
[edit] The Countess of Genlis
During the first few months of their marriage the couple appeared devoted to each other, but the marriage did not remain happy. The duke soon took as his mistress, Stéphanie, Countess of Genlis, one of his wife's ladies-in-waiting and the niece of his father's morganatic wife, Madame de Montesson. Despite the duchess' opposition, the countess was made the governess of the couple's children. Due to the countess' machinations, the duchess soon was alienated from her own children, prompting her to suffer from depression.
Louise Marie Adélaïde was forced into contact with her children's governess on a daily basis, since the countess was housed by her lover in the couple's Paris home, the Palais Royal. The duchess also inadvertently met another of her husband's mistresses, the Scottish courtesan, Grace Elliott, because her husband insisted on housing her too at the Palais Royal.
[edit] Liberalism
After his disgrace, Louis Philippe retreated to a life of luxury. He often visited the Kingdom of Great Britain, and became an intimate of the Prince of Wales, afterwards King George IV). In France, he made anglomanie fashionable, with an admiration for anything British popular, from liberalism to jockeys). He was also the Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Orient de France.[3] He also made himself very popular in Paris by his large gifts to the poor during times of famine. To appear egalitarian, he opened up the gardens of the Palais Royal to the public and allowed shops in the palace's arcades.
Before the Assembly of Notables in 1787, he had succeeded his father as Duke of Orléans, and showed his liberal ideas in a bold manner, leading to suspicions that he was plotting to become constitutional king of France. In November, he again showed his liberalism during the lit de justice, which Étienne de Brienne had made the king hold. For this transgression, he was again exiled to Villers-Côtterets.
The approaching convocation of the Estates-General made his friends very active on his behalf; he circulated in every bailliage the pamphlets which the Abbot Sieyès had drawn up at his request. He was elected in three districts, by the noblesse of Paris, Villers-Côtterets and Crépy-en-Valois. In the Second Estate he headed the liberal minority under the guidance of Adrien Duport, and led the minority of forty-seven noblemen who seceded from their own estate (June 1789) and joined the Third Estate.
[edit] Political Campaign
One of the greatest impacts Égalité left on the revolution was that of the way he spread his political ideologies. As a man of great wealth, he used his money to spread his liberal ideas across the nation. As mentioned above, Egalite spread pamphlets supporting himself, as well as his liberal views. His administration invented a form of political advertisement that people today may take for granted. He also surrounded himself with people to assist in the writing and spreading of the pamphlets, as well as hiring representatives to sit in for him at assemblies across France.
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He hired people, such as the marquis Ducrest, whose family took over control of Égalité's political advisory service. Once Égalité gave control to the people around him, his movement lost some of his original intentions. Initially started to spread the word of anti-Bourbon liberalism, the movement began to see people looking to gain personal profit and political power, which was something of little interest to the rich, quiet man. The movement, though somewhat altered by differing motives, still retained some of Égalité's original beliefs. This became apparent when the Instructions and Deliberations were released by his administration. Though not written by Égalité himself, the writings held values that were very close to his heart; the closest being that of the freedom to travel when and where he pleased.
Égalité's political impact forever changed the way republican societies view government. Almost all politicians in countries with a democratic republic treat the time leading up to an election as Égalité did. In today’s politics, most campaigns require a great deal of financial backing, as well as propaganda and advertising. Though his political activities may seem trivial to people today, Égalité had a great influence on today’s politics.
[edit] Revolution
The part he played during the summer of 1789 is one of the most debated points in the history of the French Revolution. The royal court accused him of being at the bottom of every popular movement, and saw the "gold of Orléans" as the cause of the Reveillon riot and the storming of the Bastille (mirroring the subsequent belief held by the Jacobins that everything opposing them relied on the "gold of Pitt the Younger"). His hatred of Marie Antoinette, his previous disgrace at court, and his liberalism (alongside his friendship with Duport and Choderlos de Laclos), all seem to point towards his involvement.
Grace Elliott, who was one of Louis Philippe's lovers at the time, attested to the fact that during the riot of July 12[4], the duke was on a fishing excursion, and that he was rudely treated by the king the next day when the duke went to offer his cousin his services. Supposedly, the duke was so disgusted by the accusation that he was seeking the crown, that he wanted to go to the United States. His favorite lover, the Countess of Buffon, however, would not go with him, so he decided to remain in Paris. He was later accused of having caused the march of a hungry mob on Versailles on October 5 by hoarding grain and blaming the lack of bread in Paris on the king and queen. Eyewitnesses claim to have seen him circulating among the rowdy crowd earlier in the day and of having directed the attack upon the queen's bedchamber later that evening in an attempt to have his nemesis, Marie Antoinette, murdered by the frenzied peasants.
The marquis de la Fayette, apparently jealous of Louis Philippe's popularity, persuaded the king to send the duke to Britain on a mission, and he accordingly remained in England from October 1789 to July 1790. On July 7, he took his seat in the National Assembly, which two day later reformed as the National Constituent Assembly. On October 2, both he and Honoré Mirabeau were declared by the Assembly entirely free of any complicity in the events of October.
[edit] Citoyen Égalité
He subsequently tried to keep himself distant from the political world, but he was still suspect to the court and subject to pressures from his partisans to replace Louis XVI. His lack of political aspirations could be proven by noting that he did not attempt to obtain any leading position after the King's flight to Varennes (in June 1791). In fact, Louis Philippe attempted to reconcile with the court in January 1792, but was rejected - and refused to aid the King any further.
In the summer of 1792, he was present for a short time with the Army of the North, together with his two sons, the future King and the Duke of Montpensier, but had returned to Paris before the insurrection of August 10.
During the Republic, he underwent personal risk in saving fugitives - in particular, he saved the life of Louis René Quentin de Richebourg de Champcenetz, the governor of the Tuileries Palace, who was his personal enemy, at the request of Mrs. Elliott. After accepting the title of citoyen Égalité, conferred on him by the Commune, he was elected twentieth and last deputy for Paris to the National Convention, where he again had no notable contribution other than voting in the king's trial - he gave his vote for the execution of Louis.
This compliance to republican rules did not save him from suspicion, which was especially aroused by the friendship of his eldest son, the Duke of Chartres, with Charles François Dumouriez. When the news of the desertion of Chartres and Dumouriez became known in Paris, all the Bourbons left in France, including Égalité, were ordered to be arrested on April 5. He remained in prison at Fort Saint-Jean until October, and the beginning of the Reign of Terror.
As a member of the House of Bourbon, Louis Philippe was shortlisted for a trial on October 3, and effectively tried and guillotined in the space of one day (accounts of his execution mention his exceptional courage).
[edit] Ancestors
[edit] References
- ^ 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
- ^ Marie Antoinette:Antonia Fraser
- ^ "Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of Orleans, better known in history by his revolutionary name of Egalite, meaning Equality, was the fifth Grand Master of the Masonic Order in France." ORLEANS, DUKE OF, Letter O, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES, by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
- ^ Marie Antoinette:Antonia Fraser
[edit] Sources
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] See also
[edit] Titles
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Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Born: April 13 1747 Died: November 6 1793 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Louis Philippe I d'Orléans |
duc de Chartres 1752–1785 |
Succeeded by Louis Philippe III d'Orléans |
| Preceded by Louis Philippe I d'Orléans |
duc d'Anjou 1785–1793 |
Succeeded by Louis Philippe III d'Orléans |
| Preceded by Louis Philippe I d'Orléans |
duc de Montpensier 1747–1752 |
Succeeded by Louis Philippe III d'Orléans |
| Preceded by Louis Philippe I d'Orléans |
duc de Nemours 1785–1793 |
Succeeded by Louis Philippe III d'Orléans |
| Preceded by Louis Philippe I d'Orléans |
duc d'Orléans 1785–1793 |
Succeeded by Louis Philippe III d'Orléans |
| Preceded by Louis Philippe I d'Orléans |
prince de Joinville 1785–1793 |
Succeeded by Louis Philippe III d'Orléans |
| Royal titles | ||
| Preceded by Louis Philippe I d'Orléans |
Monsieur le Prince 1785–1793 |
Succeeded by Louis Philippe III d'Orléans |
