Prince Philippe, Count of Paris

"Louis Philippe II" redirects here. For the duke, see Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans.

Louis Philippe
Count of Paris
Orleanist pretendent to the French throne
Pretender	24 February 1848 – 8 September 1894
Predecessor	Louis Philippe I
Successor	Philippe VIII
Count of Paris
Tenure	24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894
Successor	Henri VI
Duke of Orléans
Tenure	13 July 1842 – 8 September 1894
Predecessor	Ferdinand Philippe
Successor	Philippe VIII
Duke of Montpensier
Tenure	26 August 1850 – 8 September 1894
Predecessor	Louis Philippe I
Successor	Philippe VIII
Born	(1838-08-24)24 August 1838
Died
Spouse	Princess Marie Isabelle d'Orléans
Issue	Amélie, Queen of Portugal Philippe, Duke of Orléans Hélène, Duchess of Aosta Charles, Prince of Orléans Isabelle, Duchess of Guise Jacques, Prince of Orléans Louise, Princess of the Two Sicilies Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Montpensier
Full name Louis Philippe Albert d'Orléans
House	Orléans
Father	Ferdinand Philippe d'Orléans
Mother	Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was the grandson of Louis Philippe I, King of the French. He was Count of Paris, and was a claimant to the French throne from 1848 until his death. He was styled as"King Louis Philippe II".

Early life

Prince Philippe became the Prince Royal, heir apparent to the throne, when his father, Prince Ferdinand-Philippe, Duc d'Orléans, died in a carriage accident in 1842. Although there was some effort during the days after the abdication of his grandfather in 1848 to put him on the throne under the name of Louis-Philippe II, with his mother (Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) as Regent, this came to nothing. They fled and the French Second Republic was proclaimed in its stead.

An historian, journalist and outspoken democrat, Philippe volunteered to serve as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War along with his younger brother, Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres. He was appointed as an assistant adjutant general with the rank of captain on 24 September 1861 and served under the name of Philippe d'Orléans, the Count of Paris. He served on the staff of the commander of the Army of the Potomac, Major General George McClellan, for nearly a year. He distinguished himself during the unsuccessful Peninsular Campaign. He resigned from the Union Army, along with his brother, on 15 July 1862. Philippe's history of the Civil War is considered a standard reference work on the subject.

During their stay in the United States, the princes were accompanied by their uncle, the Prince of Joinville, who painted many watercolours of their stay. On 10 November 1880 Philippe was elected as a companion of the first class (ie. a veteran officer) of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States - an organization of Union officers who had served during the American Civil War. He was assigned insignia number 2107. His eldest son, Philippe d'Orleans, was elected as a 2nd class member (ie. an eldest son of a veteran officer) in 1890 and succeeded to first class membership in the Order upon Philippe's death.

Marriage and issue

In 1864 he married his paternal first cousin, Princess Marie Isabelle d'Orléans (1848–1919), Infanta of Spain. She was daughter of Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain and Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier (1824–1890), the youngest son of Louis-Philippe of France and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. They had eight children:

• Princess Amélie d'Orléans (1865–1951); married Carlos I of Portugal in 1886.
• Prince Louis Philippe Robert d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926); married Archduchess Maria Dorothea of Austria, daughter of Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria in 1896,
• Princess Hélène of Orléans (1871–1951); married Emmanuel Philibert, 2nd Duke of Aosta in 1895.
• Prince Charles d'Orléans (1875–1875).
• Princess Isabelle d'Orléans (1878–1961); married Prince Jean D'Orléans, Duke of Guise in 1899.
• Prince Jacques d'Orléans (1880–1881).
• Princess Louise d'Orléans (1882–1958); married Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in 1907. Through her daughter, Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, she was the grandmother of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
• Prince Ferdinand d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier (1884–1924); married Marie Isabelle Gonzales de Olañeta y Ibaretta, Marchioness of Valdeterrazo in 1921.

Restoration of French monarchy

In 1873, anticipating a restoration of the monarchy by the largely monarchist National Assembly that had been elected following the fall of Napoleon III, the Count of Paris withdrew his claims to the French throne in favour of the legitimist claimant, Henri V, best known as the Comte de Chambord. It was assumed by most that the Count of Paris was Chambord's heir, and would thus be able to succeed to the throne upon the childless Chambord's death, reuniting the two claims that had divided French monarchists since 1830. However, Chambord's refusal to recognize the tricolor as the French flag sabotaged hopes of a restoration, and Chambord died in 1883 without ever specifically recognizing his Orléanist rival as his heir.

Upon the Count of Chambord's death, the Count of Paris was recognized by most monarchists as Philippe VII of France. This succession was disputed by the Carlist descendants of the Bourbon kings of Spain, who argued that being descended directly from Louis XIV their claim was greater than that of the Orléanists'; however, this argument pointedly ignored Philip V of Spain's renunciation of his and his descendants' claim to the French throne pursuant to the Treaty of Utrecht.

The Count of Paris lived in Sheen House, Sheen in Surrey, England, where his grandfather had sought refuge after his abdication. He died at Stowe House in 1894. He was succeeded as claimant to the French throne by his son Prince Philippe.

Ancestry

Family of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris

16. Louis Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans               8. Philippe Égalité, Duke of Orléans                       17. Louise Henriette de Bourbon               4. Louis Philippe I                             18. Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre               9. Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon                       19. Princess Maria Teresa Felicitas of Modena               2. Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans                                   20. Charles III of Spain               10. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies                       21. Maria Amalia of Saxony               5. Princess Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies                             22. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor               11. Maria Carolina of Austria                       23. Maria Theresa of Austria               1. Prince Philippe, Count of Paris                                         24. Duke Ludwig of Mecklenburg-Schwerin               12. Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin                       25. Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld               6. Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin                             26. Prince John August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg               13. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg                       27. Louise Reuss of Schleiz               3. Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin                                   28. Ernest Augustus II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach               14. Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach                       29. Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel               7. Princess Karoline Luise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach                             30. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt               15. Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt                       31. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken

Bibliography

• Flers, Hyacinthe, marquis de. Le comte de Paris. Paris: Perrin, 1888.

See also

• Count of Paris

Prince Philippe, Count of Paris House of Orléans Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon Born: 24 August, 1838 Died: 8 September, 1894
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Louis-Philippe I	— TITULAR — King of the French 26 August 1850 – 8 September 1894	Succeeded by Philippe VIII