Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
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Philippe I, duc d'Orléans (September 21, 1640 – June 8, 1701), known as Monsieur--as the French King's eldest brother was traditionally called--at the French court from 1660, was the son of Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria, and younger brother of Louis XIV of France.
He was born at St Germain-en-Laye. In 1661, he was made duc d'Orléans, and married his first cousin Henrietta Anne Stuart, sister of Charles II of England, also known as 'Minette'. They were both grandchildren of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.
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[edit] Upbringing
In an era when the infant mortality rate was 50 percent, it was considered wise for a royal family to have (as the saying went) an heir and a spare. Politically speaking, as long as the heir (Louis) remained healthy, the spare (Philippe) was at best unimportant. Generally the younger son was not given significant responsibility, and Philippe was no exception to this rule. He had a naturally feminine disposition, and was encouraged by his mother to wear dresses, makeup, and to enjoy traditionally feminine pursuits. She discouraged him from traditionally manly pursuits such as arms and politics. This was simple pragmatism on the part of Anne as France's Regent who, learning from the rivalry for power she and her husband endured from his younger brother, Gaston, duc d'Orléans, sought to distract Philippe from challenging his older brother's rule. Until Louis XIII's elder son was born, his younger brother Gaston, duc d'Orléans was the heir presumptive. Gaston was ambitious, intrigued with foreign powers, and often rebelled against Louis XIII and, after his death, against his widow as regent. The birth of Louis XIV had displaced Gaston as heir, but Philippe's birth transferred concerns about the threat of a younger royal brother from Gaston to him.
As an adult, Monsieur continued to enjoy wearing feminine clothing and fragrances. He 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.
[edit] Adult relationships
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 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. (Philippe de Lorraine-Armagnac était de trois ans le cadet de Philippe d'Orléans. Séduisant, brutal et dénué de scrupules, il fut le grand amour de la vie de Monsieur. Il fut aussi le pire ennemi des deux épouses de celui-ci...Rapace comme un vautour, ce cadet de la branche française de la maison de Lorraine avait mis dès la fin des années 1650 le grappin sur Monsieur comme on harponne une baleine. Le jeune prince l'aimait avec une fougue qui inquiétait Madame Henriette et Cosnac, mais qui fit comprendre au Roi que, grâce à la figure charmante et la tête bien organisée du joli chevalier, il aurait barre sur son frère. [1]
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.
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, who converted to Roman Catholicism after leaving her father's realm and 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 considered that her very want of womanly wiles explained why her life with Monsieur, who personally took charge of her toilette for public occasions, proved more agreeable than that of his first wife. She gave him his only surviving son. She also provided him a companion in life who quickly became known for her brusque candor, upright character, want 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 and in the company of her son, which caused the couple to quarrel. But she frequently acknowledged that Monsieur's treatment of her was less the bane of her existence than the importunities his neglect encouraged his entourage to take at her expense, and the want of protection he afforded her interests and those of their children against the hostile intrigues she believed were directed at her by spiteful courtiers and, especially, by Madame de Maintenon.
Monsieur failed to stand up to the Sun-King's insistence on foisting his legitimated daughter, Françoise Marie de Bourbon Mademoiselle de Blois, on 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 could be overheard through the doors 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.
[edit] Character
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, being a heavy gambler, a chaser of young men, and fond of ceremony. Despite the fact that his debts and dalliances often cost the King, the brothers spent much time together, remained close, and Orléans' loyalty was never in question. Although he changed the model and 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 affectionate leniency.
He died at Saint-Cloud in 1701 of an apoplectic fit brought on by that heated argument with the King over their children. The King's legendary and discarded 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.
[edit] 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 1st King of Sardinia, whom she wed in 1679
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- 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
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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 (great-great grandfather) of Philippe Egalité, Louis Philippe I, King of the French, and of the modern pretenders of the Orléanist line 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 ancestor to the dinasty of Habsburg-Lorraine, Holy Roman Emperors and Emperors of Austria until 1918.
[edit] 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Van der Cruysse, Dirk (1988). Madame Palatine, Princesse Européenne (in french). Fayard, 165. ISBN 2213022003.
| Preceded by: New Creation |
Duke of Anjou 1640–1661 |
Succeeded by: to royal domain |
| Preceded by: Anne, Duchess of Montpensier |
Duke of Montpensier 1695–1701 |
Succeeded by: Philippe II |
| Preceded by: New Creation |
Duke of Nemours 1672–1701 |
Succeeded by: Philippe II |
| Preceded by: Gaston |
Duke of Orléans 1661–1701 |
Succeeded by: Philippe II |
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
