Born in the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1845, Prince Pierre was expelled from France with his family when the Revolution overthrowing his grandfather, King Louis Philippe I, broke out in 1848. Prince Pierre had a happy childhood as a refugee in England with most of the other members of the House of Orléans, despite the uncertainty of life in exile. The education of Prince Pierre, his sister and cousins was overseen by his father in England and organized at first by a tutor. In 1859 Prince Pierre and his cousin, Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Alençon, left for Scotland to study at the prestigious Royal High School in Edinburgh.