Duke of Orleans

“ When the Duke of Orleans died suddenly at Versailles (December 2, 1723) , Louis XV. regretted him sincerely. It was a woman who reigned under cover of the new prime minister, the Duke of Bourbon. She was one of those ambitious creatures to whom the moral sense is lacking, but who possess wit, grace, and charm; one of those enchantresses who, by dint of intrigues, end by falling into their own snares and cruelly expiate their short-lived triumphs. The Marquise de Prie, the all-powerful mistress of the Duke, was twenty-five years old. ”

“ A few days after, the young duke of Orleans, Charles, did homage for the duchy of Orleans, and all his other possessions, to his uncle Charles king of France: then, taking leave of the queen and dauphin, and the princes of the blood who were in Paris, he departed with his men at arms for Blois, whence he had come. The duchess-dowager of Orleans remained in Paris. ”

“ A regency needs a strong head, but where is it to come from? The Duke of Orleans is a schemer without principle, weak, easily led, ambitious, and unscrupulous. The Prince of Conde is equally ambitious, even more grasping, and much more talented. There is no one else, save men like Chavigny, the father of our friend here, de Noyers, and some others of good family, honest and capable business men, but who would speedily become mere ciphers; and Cardinal Mazarin, who has just been appointed to the council. ”

“ Still greater is the relief when any thing of a gentler and happier kind comes along with the breeze that dispels the mists and darkness, like a sun-gleam through a storm; and the little accident which had occurred, and the escape from danger, did a great deal to rouse the Duke of Orleans from a sort of apathetic heaviness which had hung upon him for the last two or three days. ”

“ It was so manifestly for the interest of the dissolute and unprincipled Duke of Orleans that the princes which stood between him and the throne should be removed, that all these cases of poisoning were attributed to him. Indeed, one of the motives which might have influenced his daughter, the Duchess de Berri, to poison her husband, whom she loathed, may have been the hope of seeing her father upon the throne. When the funeral procession passed near the Palais Royal, the residence of the duke, the tumult was so great that it was feared that the palace might be sacked. ”

“ At length the bold resolve was adopted for the Duke of Orleans to go in person to the Hôtel de Ville, accompanied by an escort of Deputies. A throng of Orleanists surrounded the Palais Royal and cheered the duke as he came out. As the procession advanced, insulting [Pg 280] shouts began to assail their ears. The duke was on horseback. The Place de Grève was thronged with Republicans. Angry outcries greeted him. "He is a Bourbon," some shouted; "away with him! ”

“ This was the same young Duke of Orleans who had married and already lost Isabella of Valois, the widow of Richard II., whom Henry had so perseveringly endeavoured to gain for himself, but in vain. The disappointed lover was now become the conqueror and master of his successful rival, and though he did not let any feeling connected with the subject appear, it is nevertheless true that he kept Orleans during his own life captive, refusing all ransom for him, as the next heir to France after Charles the dauphin. ”

“ During Lent, the king of France had the bones of his late father, Charles duke of Orleans, removed from Blois to Paris, and interred in the chapel of the Celestins at Paris, which the dukes of Orleans had founded. Every kind of honour was paid to them during their removal, and at their re-interment,—and it was a magnificent spectacle.
About this time, the king was taken with so serious an illness it was thought he [Pg 102] must die. His nobles and courtiers were much grieved: many of them made divers vows and pilgrimages ”

“ ORLEANS, FERDINAND PHILIP LOUIS CHARLES HENRY, Duke of (1810–1842) , born at Palermo on the 3rd of September 1810, was the son of Louis Philippe, duke of Orleans, afterwards king of France, and Marie Amélie, princess of the Two Sicilies. Under the Restoration he bore the title of duke of Chartres, and studied classics in Paris at the Collège Henri IV. At the outbreak of the Revolution, which in 1830 set his father on the throne, he was colonel of a regiment of Hussars. ”

“ ORLEANS, PHILIP II., Duke of (1674–1723) , regent of France, son of Philip I., duke of Orleans, and his second wife, the princess palatine, was born on the 2nd of August 1674, and had his first experience of arms at the siege of Mons in 1691. His marriage with Mile de Blois, the legitimized daughter of Louis XIV., won him the favour of the king. He fought with distinction at Steinkerk, Neerwinden and Namur (1692–1695) . During the next few years, being without employment, he studied natural science. ”