page_title: Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
section_title: Education
hierarchical_section_title: Philippe II, Duke of Orléans / Education
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Réparation faite à Louis XIV par le doge de Gênes Francesco Maria Lercari Imperiale, 15 mai 1685
context_page_description: Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres. His father was Louis XIV's younger brother Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, his mother was Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate.
  In 1692, Philippe married his first cousin, Françoise Marie de Bourbon – the youngest legitimised daughter of Philippe's uncle Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Named regent of France for Louis XV until Louis attained his majority on 15 February 1723, the period of his de facto rule was known as the Regency. He died at Versailles in 1723.
  He is also referred to as le Régent.
context_section_description: A program of how best to educate a prince was drawn up exclusively for him by Guillaume Dubois, his preceptor. Dubois had entered Philippe's household in 1683 as his "under-preceptor". Philippe's education was carried out by the respected instructor Nicholas-François Parisot de Saint-Laurent until 1687.
  Each course of study taught the duc de Chartres the "principles" or "elements" of a subject. Some of the best historians, genealogists, scientists and artists in the kingdom participated in this educational experiment, which started around 1689. For example, Philippe learned physics and mathematics from Joseph Sauveur; and from Étienne Loulié he learned musical notation, elementary musical theory, plus the basics of playing the viol and the recorder.
  Chartres was reared alongside Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, later famous for his memoirs and defense of the rights of the peerage of France; Saint-Simon often accompanied the duke, and his wife was later a lady-in-waiting to Philippe's daughter, Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, duchesse de Berry.
  Next, collaborating to link physics and music, Sauveur and Loulié demonstrated vibrating strings and the Galilean pendulum, and how the mathematical principles on which these devices depend are related to music. Finally, in 1693 the prince studied composition with Marc-Antoine Charpentier. With Charpentier's help, he composed an opera, Philomèle, performed at his residence in 1694; and in 1705 the prince wrote a second opera, Penthée, to a libretto by the Marquis de La Fare. In the late 1690s Chartres studied the viol with Antoine Forqueray the elder. Meanwhile, he was studying diplomacy and riding, as preparations for a military career.
  In May 1685 the duc de Chartres, then just ten years old, made his first public appearance at Versailles; the occasion was the arrival of the Doge of Genoa, Francesco Maria Lercari Imperiale, at the French court. Chartres was put on a stage with his uncle, cousin and father. On 2 June 1686 Chartres was invested with the Order of the Holy Spirit at Versailles; on the same day his future brother-in-law, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine, also joined the order as did his cousins Louis III, prince de Condé and François Louis, Prince de Conti.
caption: The 10-year-old Duke of Chartres in red on the right; the scene depicts the Doge of Genoa at Versailles on 15 May 1685.
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