Duke of Orleans

(Louis Philippe II)

1747–1793

DUKE OF ORLEANS AT HIS EXECUTION.

Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans was the cousin of King Louis XVI of France, and a central player in the turbulent times of the French Revolution. Despite his position as a member of the royal family, he held anti-royalist sympathies for much of his life, and as a member of the National Convention, voted for the execution of King Louis XVI. Despite his political views, his Bourbon connections caused him to fall under suspicion, and he was ultimately executed by the same Convention he had helped place in power.

The Duke of Orleans’ early life and career were hardly sterling. Although he married (at the age of twenty), a rich heiress, he was a known womanizer, and his decidedly anti-royalist sympathies had him on bad terms with the court, especially the Queen, Marie Antoinette. Despite this, he and his wife Marie-Adelaide had five children, the eldest of whom would later become Louis-Philippe I, King of France.

From the start of the Revolution, d'Orleans' sympathies were quite clear. He was one of the first to abandon the Estates-General and join with the National Assembly, after the famed Tennis Court Oath. His money and position enabled him to monetarily and politically further many of the Revolution’s goals, although his connection to the crown caused some to wonder if he was simply attempting to depose his cousin and claim the throne for himself. After the King’s aborted flight to Varennes, the Duke changed his name to ‘Philippe Egalite’ (in English, ‘Philip Equality’) in order to further prove his support of the Revolution and its ideals.

Despite the name change, and his vote in support of the execution of Louis XVI, the defection of Philippe Egalite’s sons along with Charles Dumouriez caused him to be arrested, along with all the remaining members of the House of Bourbon left in France. He was tried and executed in November of 1793, a victim of the Revolution he had helped create.

Key events during the life of the Duke of Orleans:

Year	Event
1749	Born April 7th, at Chateau de St Cloud.
1752	Inherits title Duke of Orleans upon grandfather's death.
1769	June 6th, marries sixteen-year-old Louise Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon, who would be the richest woman in France at the death of her father.
1771	Exiled to country estate Villers-Cotterêts for anti-royalist sympathies.
1771	Becomes Grand Master of the Grand Orient de France, the governing body of French Freemasonry.
1772-1773	Engages in affair with wife's lady-in-waiting. Has several different affairs over the course of several years.
1773-1779	Has total of five legitimate children with Marie-Adélaïde.
1774	Cousin Louis XVI becomes king, Philippe still suspected of anti-royalist sympathies.
1778	Removed from naval service for cowardice and incompetence, given honorary post of colonel-general of hussars as compensation.
1787	Vocally supported anti-royalist, Enlightenment sympathies at Assembly of Notables, again exiled to Villers-Cotterêts.
1789	Elected by three different regions for Estates-General, one of first to break from the Estates-General and join the National Assembly.
1789-1790	Sent on mission to England by Louis XVI, at the request of Lafayette. Returned to take his seat in National Constituent Assembly.
1792	Changed name to 'Philippe Egalite' or 'Philip Equality'.
1792	Present for a short time in the summer with the Army of the North, along with his sons the Duke of Chartres and the Duke of Montpensier.
1792	Elected as deputy to the National Convention, voted the death sentence for Louis XVI.
1793	Arrested in April, after the desertion of his sons with Charles François Dumouriez.
1793	Tried and executed on November 6th.
1793	Freemasons remove him from the post of Grand Master, one month after his death.

Image Links
The Duke of Orleans going to execution.  in  Stories of the French Revolution

Contemporary	Short Biography
Robespierre	Key figure of the French Revolution. Leader of the Reign of Terror.
Abbe Sieyes	Apostate abbot with republican leanings. Leading thinker of early years of the revolution, who was exiled during the most radical phase
Charles Dumouriez	French Revolutionary General and hero of the battle of Valmy. Deserted the cause after the execution of the king and joined the royalist allies
Mirabeau	Moderate leader of the French Revolution who died before he could effect a compromise.
Lafayette	French soldier who fought in American Revolution, and early leader of French Revolution.
Maria Antoinette	Extravagant Queen of France. Beheaded during French Revolution.
Louis XVI	King during the French revolution. Beheaded by republicans who sought to overthrow the monarchy.