Upon the death of Louis XIV the late king's nephew, Philippe II d'Orlèans, took power as regent for the child-king, Louis XV. Up until then, the Orlèans branch of the royal family had enjoyed little influence under the Sun King, despite their close proximity to the all-powerful monarch. Louis' own brother, Philippe, was never given any significant political power; his military prowess had likewise been forcibly limited on the king's orders. From early childhood, Philippe had been instilled with the dogma that his brother was the chosen one - he would be master, Philippe would not. Neither had the Sun King been particularly generous when it came to his young nephew, Philippe II, whom he would always regard with some distrust.
Philippe II's eight year tenure as Regent of France (1715-23) would prove to be the height of Orlèans-power. Once the young Louis XV celebrated his majority, the ci-devant regent was offered the post of prime minister but turned it down. Little could he have known that his successors would drift further and further away from power during the remainder of the Old Regime. But what happened to the Orlèans-family?
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| Philippe I - brother of Louis XIV who was kept completely in the king's shadow politically |
Philippe II knew that he could not retain power forever - nor did he attempt to forcibly continue his hold on power after Louis XV's majority. Still, he could attempt to place his son and heir in a position of unequalled influence. Thus, from an early age Philippe II's son, Louis d'Orléans, was groomed for power. At just 15 years of age, he was admitted to the royal council. Further posts were showered upon him including the governorship of the Dauphiné and Colonel General of the Infantry. However, for all Philippe's planning, there was one thing he did not anticipate - Louis was not particularly politically astute.
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| Philippe II - the capable Regent |
Philippe died in the same year that Louis XV reached his majority (1723). While the former regent himself declined the offer of prime minister, he might very well have expected the new king to offer it to his son instead. However, Louis XV named the Duc de Bourbon instead. Philippe might have been able to steer his cousin towards a more favourable offer for Louis. If he had such designs - which he likely did - he would never be able to act upon them. Philippe died in December 1723, leaving his 20 year old son to pave his own way in the treacherous world of Versailles politics.
The Duc de Bourbon was all too aware that Louis d'Orlèans was the obvious candidate for the post of prime minister and kept an eye on the young man. In an effort to protect his own interests, the Duc de Bourbon would often oppose Louis in political discussions. Meanwhile, Louis worked with the ministers serving as Secretaries of State for War. He would eventually occupy this post himself from 1723-30. Louis might have been able to accrue more political influence if he had not decided to go against the Cardinal Dubois.
Cardinal Dubois had been prime minister during the regency and had gained the trust of Louis XV. Therefore, it was extremely unwise to make an enemy of the Cardinal who had all but free access to the impressionable king. Still, as one of the First Prince of the Blood, there were some advantages. For instance, Louis stood proxy for the king upon the king's marriage to Marie Leszczynska in 1725.
From the 1730's, Louis' political influence grew increasingly weak. He was removed from his post of Colonel General of the Infantry in 1730; the degradation was the work of another cardinal, this time Cardinal Fleury. Despite his otherwise poor track record with men of the cloth, Louis was immensely devout. As his political life and influence dwindled, his religious fervour grew. While this earned him the respect of the equally devout Marie Leszczynska, it did little to advance his career at court.
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| The Palais-Royal in the mid-18th century - few could have known that this former gift from the king would become a centre of anti-royal propaganda |
One particular reason for why Louis XV never granted his cousin special favours can be condensed in one word: suspicion. By the early 1730's the king had only one son - and an infant at that. Louis XV was well aware that should his own line produce no more sons, the crown would be inherited by his cousins, the Orlèans. He was therefore extremely wary of allowing his cousin too much power.
Such royal ill-will was unfortunately met with an apparent unwillingness on behalf of Louis d'Orlèans to engage actively in politics. So, on one side there was a king hesitating to grant too much and on the other, a cousin not interested in grasping for power himself. The result was a sort of stalemate in which neither party pushed in either direction. As a consequence, Louis d'Orlèans remained on the sidelines politically.
For Louis, the point-of-no-return came when he all but retired to a convent after 1740. While he retained his title, any political interference were out of the question. This would have been the time for Louis' own son, Louis Philippe I, could have stepped in and regained some of his family's former influence.
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| Louis d'Orlèans - the duke whose religious fervour caused him to retire completely from court |
Louis Philippe could have become far closer to the crown by a wholly different route than politics: love. At the age of 15, he had fallen in love with Madame Henriette, daughter of Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska. Both he and his father, Louis, sought the king's permission to marry - and were refused. Once again, Louis XV's suspicion hampered the designs of the Orlèans. Louis XV was concerned that if Louis Philippe married his daughter, his new son-in-law could become a dangerous political rival. It should also be said that another ghost from his father's past played a significant part in derailing the matrimonial project. Cardinal Fleury was amongst those who advised the king against the marriage.
Rather than a royal princess, Louis Philippe married a royal cousin. Louise-Henriette de Bourbon-Conti was married to Louis Philippe in 1743. With little prospect of having any role to play at court, Louis Philippe turned to the army. Following several stints in 1742-44, he returned to France - but not to court. Rather than going back to Versailles, Louis Philippe settled in his country estate of the Château de Bagnolet; on occasion, he would travel to the Palais-Royal - the Orlèans-residence in Paris - but rarely went to court.
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| Louise Henriette - wife of Louis Philippe I |
The world of Versailles worked on the principle of "out of sight, out of mind". Anyone who were not seen by the king did not count as a political entity. Therefore, even when Louis Philippe inherited the title of Duc d'Orlèans in 1752, he had little to no influence. Furthermore, there were increasingly little physical space for the Orlèans-family at Versailles. The ever-expanding royal family meant that the apartments occupied by other branches of the Bourbon-family became ever smaller and further from the heart of the palace. Whereas Philippe d'Orlèans (brother of Louis XIV) had occupied the entire first floor of the Aile des Princes, his successor had four rooms of the first floor of the Aile du Nord by 1744; the Duc de Chartres (son of the Duc d'Orlèans) had another four immediately next to him.
Their living arrangements at court would deteriorate further as the royal family was augmented over the years. With the arrival of not just the Mesdames but the numerous children of the dauphin - and later their own wives and children - there simply was not room for the Duc d'Orlèans to have very much space.
Louis XV - and later Louis XVI - both encouraged their Orlèans cousin's taste for country life. Louis XV bestowed upon him the hôtel of Grand-Ferrare at Fontainebleau as well as that of Duplessis-Châtillon in Paris. While Louis Philippe thoroughly enjoyed his country life, he once again found his family's marriage plans thwarted by the king. Louis Philippe had had the son Louis Philippe Joseph (better known as Louis Philippe II) by Louise Henriette de Bourbon-Conti.
Louis Philippe had intended to marry off his son to the Polish Maria Kunigunde, sister to Marie Josèphe of Saxony. However, Louis XV vetoed the match with the explanation that the 29 year old bride was too old. She was seven years older than the prospective husband - ironically, Marie Leszczynska had been exactly seven years older than Louis XV himself. Yet, it was thought that she would be too old to start having children - and of course, there was the matter of placing an Orlèans prince so close to the Polish throne.
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| Louis Philippe I - the Orlèans who found himself constantly thwarted by the king in his marriage projects |
Throughout his life, Louis Philippe I made one particular protest against the king's power. On 20 February 1756, he presented the king with a petition signed by no less than 4 princes of the blood and 24 dukes. The document was the culmination of several months' conflict which centered around the very essence of power. Besides the absolute power of the king, France was governed by the Parlements and the Great Council. The former dealt with the judiciary aspect of governing while the latter was far more ambiguous. The Great Council rested entirely on the prerogative on the king; its members were chosen and dismissed by him. As such, it was an instrument used to execute the king's command.
In protest of the arbitrary power of the Council, the Parlements refused to register its decrees which effectually prevented the royal will from being carried out. They went even further by suggesting that the princes of the blood and the dukes should take their official places in the midst of the Parlement - thereby effectually challenging the king's authority. Naturally, the king forbade his high nobility to attend. While they obeyed, they drew up a petition expressing their displeasure at such a command. That was the very petition that Louis, Duc d'Orlèans delivered to Louis XV on that February day.
Louis - already worn down by months of somewhat unexpected political opposition and turmoil - was immensely angered by the document. While nothing as yet came of the petition, it did nothing good to Louis Philippe d'Orlèans' political prospects.
By the time Louis Philippe II came into the world, his family's position was somewhat odd. Despite being one of the wealthiest and highest ranking in France, they had never had so little influence. After having fulfilled his military duties, Louis Philippe returned to France where he joined the court of the new king, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. However, Louis Philippe quickly clashed with the new queen which extinguished any hope of a political renaissance. The young Duc de Chartres had grown up with a nagging sense of jealousy of his royal cousin. He was convinced that his birth entitled him to a greater share of influence and grew to despise his all-powerful cousin, Louis Auguste.
Frustrated by his utter lack of influence, Louis Philippe began a campaign against not only the reigning king but the institution of the monarchy itself. His immense dislike of Marie Antoinette kept him well away from Versailles and he actively encouraged pamphleteers to use his Palais-Royal to issue their anti-royal propaganda. It was from his premises that some of the most vile things were written of the young queen; most of the common people eagerly believed the smear campaigns which heightened his own popularity.
Louis XVI initially preferred to leave his wayward cousin to his own devices but was forced to intervene when Louis Philippe openly challenged Louis XVI's authority before the Parlement de Paris in 1787. Consequently, the king exiled him which played perfectly into the hands of the propaganda machine supported by Orlèans gold.
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| Louis Philippe II - the duke who voted for the king's death and allowed the Palais-Royal to be a hotspot of revolutionary activity |
Louis Philippe was quick to realise that his way to popularity was to ally himself completely with the new ideals of a democratic government. He took the name Philippe-Égalité and used his immense resources to provide the emerging revolutionaries with both a safe haven and funds. One of the most astounding displays of treachery to his own family came in 1793 when the then-reigning Duc d'Orlèans voted for the execution of his cousin, the king.
The news of the Orlèans vote sent shockwaves through the staunch royalists. It had been no secret that Louis Philippe had done his utmost to undermine the authority of the monarchy; still, few had seriously considered that he would actively be involved with the king's death. Louis XVI himself expressed his great sorrow that his own cousin had betrayed him. Whether Louis Philippe actually intended to turn France into a democracy or saw himself as a new king will always be up for discussion.
In the end, all Louis Philippe's intrigues could not safe him from the shifting tides of the revolution. Just little over 11 months after the trial of Louis XVI, Louis Philippe found himself mounting the same steps to the guillotine. He was guillotined on 6 November 1793; his son - the newest Duc d'Orlèans - was in exile where he had turned his back on the revolutionary cause.
Thus, the family of Orlèans experienced a sharp decline in influence at the court of Versailles. It was a story that reached its climax (during the age of Versailles) with the regency and ended on the bloodied steps of the guillotine; it was also a tale of apathy, jealousy, intrigues and above all - power.
A historical postscript
After the revolution, the House of Orlèans experienced a brief resurgence in influence. The restoration of the monarchy under Louis XVIII (the former Comte de Provence), the relations between the Orlèans and the royal family continued its icy course. The new king had neither forgotten nor forgiven that the new Duc d'Orlèans' father had caused so much damage to the monarchy, going so far as to vote for the death of the king. As a consequence, Louis XVIII refused to formally grant Louis Philippe the rank of royal highness. It was not until the former Comte d'Artois ascended the throne as Charles X that this dignity was restored to Louis Philippe. He, however would experience even greater honours when he was made King of the French in 1830. However, he would be forced to abdicate in 1848.
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