# Duke of Orléans

Duke of Orléans (French: Duc d'Orléans) was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King Philip VI for his younger son Philip, the title was recreated by King Charles VI for his younger brother Louis, who passed the title on to his son and then to his grandson, the latter becoming King Louis XII. The title was created and recreated six times in total, until 1661, when Louis XIV bestowed it upon his younger brother Philippe, who passed it on to his male descendants, who became known as the "Orléans branch" of the Bourbons.
Based at the Palais-Royal, the Duke of Orléans Louis-Philippe II contested the authority of his cousin Louis XVI in the adjacent Louvre. His son would eventually ascend to the throne in 1830 as Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. The descendants of the family are the Orléanist pretenders to the French throne.
Île d'Orléans, in Canada, is named after Duke of Orléans Henri II, and the city of New Orleans in the United States is named after Duke of Orléans Philippe II.
The holder of the title held the style of Serene Highness.

## House of Valois

The first Dukedom of Orléans was created for Philip of Valois, seventh son of Philip VI of France and younger brother of John the Good, in 1344. This appanage merged the appanages of Touraine and Valois. However, the first ducal line ended with Philip, who died without legitimate children.
| Duke | Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim |
| PhilipOther titles List Duke of TouraineCount of Valois | | 1 July 1336 Château de VincennesSon of Philip VI of France and Joan of Burgundy | 1344 – 1 September 1375 | 1 September 1375 OrléansDied by natural causes (aged 39) | Blanche of France (m. 1345; wid. 1375) Childless | Created duke by Philip VI |

## House of Valois-Orléans

The second dukedom of Orléans was created in 1392 by Charles VI of France for his younger brother Louis. His role as leading figure in court, regent for his brother during his madness and wealthy landlord, as well as head of the Armagnac party, permitted his descendant to maintain a prominent role in French politics. His grandson Louis XII became king after the extinction of the direct Valois in 1498, while his great-grandson Francis I succeeded the last in 1515. The direct line of Valois-Orléans became extinct with the death of Louis XII in 1515, although the dukedom of Orléans was integrated among the crown's properties after his ascent to the throne in 1495.
| Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim |
| Louis IOther titles List Duke of TouraineDuke of ValoisCount of BloisCount of SoissonsCount of Angoulême | 13 March 1372 Hôtel Saint-Pol, ParisSon of Charles V of France and Joanna of Bourbon | 4 June 1392 – 23 November 1407 | 23 November 1407 Le Marais, ParisMurdered by Duke of Burgundy's hitmen (aged 35) | Valentina Visconti (m. 1389; wid. 1407) 8 children | Created duke by Charles VI |
| Charles IOther titles List Duke of Milan (titular)Duke of ValoisCount of BloisCount of Soissons | 24 November 1394 Hôtel Saint-Pol, ParisSon of Louis I and Valentina Visconti | 23 November 1407 – 5 January 1465 | 5 January 1465 Château d'AmboiseDied of natural causes (aged 70) | (1) Isabella of France (m. 1406; d. 1409) 1 children (2) Bonne of Armagnac (m. 1410; d. 1430/35) Childless (3) Maria of Cleves (m. 1440; wid. 1465) 3 children | Son of Louis I (male-blood proximity) |
| Louis IIOther titles List Duke of Milan (titular)Duke of ValoisCount of Blois | 27 June 1462 Château de BloisSon of Charles and Maria of Cleves | 5 January 1465 – 7 April 1498 (Merged into the Crown titles) | 1 January 1515 Hôtel des Tournelles, ParisDied of gout (aged 52) | (1) Joan of France (m. 1476; ann. 1498) Childless (2) Anne of Brittany (m. 1498; d. 1514) 2 children (3) Mary of England (m. 1514; wid. 1515) Childless | Son of Charles (male-blood proximity) |

## House of Valois-Angoulême

The third dukedom of Orléans was created by Francis I for his second son Henry at his birth. When Henry's elder brother and Dauphin, Francis, Duke of Brittany, died childless in 1536, Henry substituted him as Dauphin and ceded the title to his younger brother Charles, Duke of Angoulême, who died childless in 1545.
| Duke | Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim |
| Henry IOther titles List Count of Blois | | 31 March 1519 Saint-Germain-en-LayeSon of Francis I of France and Claude of France | 31 March 1519 – 10 August 1536 (Renounced the title to become Dauphin) | 10 July 1559 Place des Vosges, ParisAccidentally killed in a joust (aged 40) | Catherine de' Medici (m. 1533; wid. 1559) 10 children | Created duke by Francis I |
| Charles IIOther titles List Duke of AngoulêmeDuke of BourbonCount of BloisCount of Clermont | | 22 January 1522 Saint-Germain-en-LayeSon of Francis I of France and Claude of France | 10 August 1536 – 9 September 1545 | 9 September 1545 Forest-MontiersDied by influenza (aged 23) | Unmarried | Brother of Henry I (Elevated by Francis I) |
The fourth dukedom was created by Henry II for his son Louis at his birth. The child duke, however, died one year later, and the title passed to his recently born brother Charles, who became King of France in 1560. The title passed to Charles' brother, Henry, Duke of Angoulême, who six years later exchanged the appanages of Orléans for the Dukedom of Anjou, becoming the heir in pectore of the Crown.
| Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim |
| Louis IIIOther titles List Duke of Urbino (titular)Count of Blois | 3 February 1549 Château of FontainebleauSon of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici | 3 February 1549 – 24 October 1550 | 24 October 1550 MantesDied by exposure (aged 1) | Unmarried | Created duke by Henry II |
| Charles IIIOther titles List Duke of AngoulêmeCount of Blois | 27 June 1550 Saint-Germain-en-LayeSon of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici | 24 October 1550 – 5 December 1560 (Renounced the title to become King of France) | 30 May 1574 Château de VincennesDied by tuberculosis (aged 23) | Elisabeth of Austria (m. 1570; wid. 1574) 1 child | Brother of Louis III (Elevated by Henry II) |
| Henry IIOther titles List Duke of AngoulêmeCountess of Blois | 19 September 1551 Château of FontainebleauSon of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici | 5 December 1560 – 8 February 1566 (Exchanged the title for the appanage of Anjou) | 2 August 1589 Château de Saint-CloudAssassinated by Jacques Clément (aged 37) | Louise of Lorraine (m. 1570; wid. 1574) | Created duke by Charles IX |

## House of Medici

After Henry's exchange of appanages, Charles IX gave the Orléanais to his mother Catherine, former Queen of France, as reward for her role as regent, mainly about toleration politics. She was the only suo jure Duchess of Orléans, so is included among the ruling dukes.
| Duke | Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim |
| Catherine (suo jure)Other titles List Countess of Blois | | 13 April 1519 Palazzo Pitti, FlorenceDaughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne | 8 February 1566 – 5 January 1589 | 5 January 1589 Château de BloisDied by pleurisy (aged 69) | Henry II of France (m. 1533; d. 1559) 10 children | Created duchess by Charles IX |

## First House of Bourbon-Orléans

The fifth dukedom was created in 1626 by Louis XIII for his younger brother Gaston, Duke of Anjou. Gaston became a libertine and scheming figure at court, plotting the assassination of Cardinal Richelieu and later joining the Fronde, a coalition of nobles who opposed the royal centralisation. Finally forgiven by Louis XIII, he died without male heirs, extinguishing the first Bourbon House of Orléans.
Notes: the Monsieur d'Orléans, second son of Henry IV isn't included in the list due to his short life (4 years) and lack of official baptism or name.
| Duke | Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim |
| GastonOther titles List Duke of AnjouDuke of ChartresDuke of ValoisCount of Blois | | 24 April 1608 Château of FontainebleauSon of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici | 6 August 1626 – 2 February 1660 | 2 February 1660 Château de BloisDied by natural causes (aged 51) | (1) Marie of Bourbon (m. 1626; d. 1627) 1 children (2) Marguerite of Lorraine (m. 1632; wid. 1660) 5 children | Created duke by Henry IV |

## Second House of Bourbon-Orléans

The sixth and final creation was for Philip, Duke of Anjou, who received the Orléanais by his brother Louis XIV. Through his marriage with Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, he established a long dynasty that finally arose to the throne in 1830, with the deposition of Charles X and the proclamation of Louis Philippe I. Louis Philippe passed his title to his son and dauphin, Ferdinand, who died in a carriage accident in 1842.
| Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim |
| Philip IOther titles List Duke of AnjouDuke of ChartresDuke of ValoisDuke of NemoursDuke of MontpensierPrince of JoinvilleCount of Blois | 21 September 1640 Saint-Germain-en-LayeSon of Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria | 10 May 1661 – 9 June 1701 | 9 June 1701 Château de Saint-CloudDied by stroke (aged 60) | (1) Henrietta of England (m. 1661; d. 1670) 3 children (2) Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (m. 1671; wid. 1701) 3 children | Created duke by Louis XIV |
| Philip IIOther titles List Duke of ChartresDuke of ValoisDuke of NemoursDuke of MontpensierPrince of JoinvilleCount of Blois | 2 August 1674 Château de Saint-CloudSon of Philip I and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate | 9 June 1701 – 2 December 1723 | 2 December 1723 Palace of VersaillesDied by natural causes (aged 49) | Françoise Marie de Bourbon (m. 1692; wid. 1723) 8 children | Son of Philip I (male-preference proximity) |
| LouisOther titles List Duke of ChartresDuke of ValoisDuke of NemoursDuke of MontpensierPrince of JoinvilleCount of Blois | 4 August 1703 Palace of VersaillesSon of Philip II and Françoise Marie de Bourbon | 2 December 1723 – 4 February 1752 | 4 February 1752 St. Genevieve, ParisDied by delirium complications (aged 48) | Johanna of Baden-Baden (m. 1724; d. 1726) 8 children | Son of Philip II (male-preference proximity) |
| Louis Philippe IOther titles List Duke of ChartresDuke of ValoisDuke of NemoursDuke of MontpensierPrince of JoinvilleCount of Blois | 12 May 1725 Palace of VersaillesSon of Louis and Johanna of Baden-Baden | 4 February 1752 – 18 November 1785 | 18 November 1785 Château de Sainte-AssiseDied by natural causes (aged 60) | Louise Henriette de Bourbon (m. 1743; d. 1759) 3 childrenMorganatic: Charlotte-Jeanne Béraud (m. 1773; wid. 1785) Childless | Son of Louis (male-preference proximity) |
| Louis Philippe IIOther titles List Duke of ChartresDuke of ValoisDuke of NemoursDuke of MontpensierPrince of JoinvilleCount of Blois | 13 April 1747 Château de Saint-CloudSon of Louis Philip I and Louise Henriette de Bourbon | 18 November 1785 – 6 November 1793 | 6 November 1793 Conciergerie, ParisExecuted for treason (aged 46) | Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon (m. 1768; wid. 1793) 5 children | Son of Louis Philip I (male-preference proximity) |
| Louis Philippe IIIOther titles List Duke of ChartresDuke of ValoisDuke of NemoursPrince of JoinvilleCount of Blois | 6 October 1773 Palais-Royal, ParisSon of Louis Philip II and Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon | 6 November 1793 – 9 August 1830 (Renounced the title to become King of the French) | 26 August 1850 Claremont, EnglandDied by natural causes (aged 76) | Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (m. 1809; wid. 1850) 10 children | Son of Louis Philip II (male-preference proximity) |
| FerdinandOther titles List Duke of Chartres | 3 September 1810 Royal Palace, PalermoSon of Louis Philip III and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily | 9 August 1830 – 13 July 1842 | 13 July 1842 Neuilly-sur-SeineDied in an accident (aged 31) | Helene of Mecklenburg (m. 1837; wid. 1842) 2 children | Son of Louis Philip III (male-preference proximity) |

## Current use

* Legitimists recognize Jean, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans, as Duke of Orléans, inheriting the title as the heir male of Philip I, Duke of Orléans.
* Orleanists recognize Jacques d'Orléans, uncle of the Count of Paris, as Duke of Orléans. Per Orleanist-Unionist reckoning, the title merged with the crown in 1883 and was subsequently granted to Jacques upon his marriage in 1969.