Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans was the French statesman, nobleman, became the First Prince du sang.
Background
Philippe was born in 1747 at the Château de Saint Cloud, one of the residences of the Duke of Orléans, five kilometers west of Paris. He was the son of Louis Philippe, duke of Orleans, and of Louise Henriette of Bourbon-Conti.
His older sister, born in 1745, died when she was six months old. His younger sister, Bathilde d'Orléans, was born in 1750.
Career
Philippe d'Orléans was elected to the Estates-General by three districts: by the nobility of Paris, Villers-Cotterêts, and Crépy-en-Valois. As a noble in the Second Estate, he was the head of the liberal minority under the guidance of Adrien Duport.
Due to the liberal ideology that separated Philippe d'Orléans from the rest of his royal family, he always felt uncomfortable with his name. He felt that the political connotations associated with his name did not match his democratic and Enlightenment philosophies, thus he requested that the Paris Commune allow his name to be changed, which was granted. Shortly after the September Massacres in 1792, he changed his surname to Égalité, ("equality" in English). As one of the three words in the motto of the French Revolution (Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité), he felt that this name better represented him as a symbol of the French people and what they were fighting for.
Égalité also attributed his new surname to the reputation of generosity that he had among the people of France, especially the poor.
Although a relative of King Louis XVI, Philippe d'Orléans never maintained a positive relationship with his cousin. Upon inheriting the title of Duke of Orléans, Philippe also became the Premier Prince du Sang - the most important personage of the kingdom after the king's immediate family. Therefore, he would be next in line to the throne should the main Bourbon line die out. For this reason, many supposed that Philippe's goal was to take his cousin's throne. The King's reluctance to grant Philippe a position in the army after his loss at the Battle of Ushant is said to be another reason for Philippe's discontent with the King.
One of the most astounding events occurred when Philippe took a vote in favor of King Louis XVI's execution.
On 1 April 1793, a decree was voted for within the Convention, including Égalité's vote, that condemned anyone with "strong presumptions of complicity with the enemies of Liberty. " At the time, Égalité's son, Louis Philippe, who was a general in the French army, joined General Dumouriez in a plot to visit the Austrians, who were an enemy of France. Although there was no evidence that convicted Égalité himself of treason, the simple relationship that his son had with Dumouriez, a traitor in the eyes of the Convention, was enough to get him and the members of the Bourbon family still in France arrested on 7 April 1793. He spent several months incarcerated at Fort Saint-Jean in Marseille until he was sent back to Paris. On 2 November 1793, he was imprisoned at the Conciergerie. Tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal on 6 November, he was sentenced to death.
Achievements
Politics
Philippe was a strong admirer of the British constitutional monarchy. He strongly advocated for France's adoption of a constitutional monarchy rather than the absolute monarchy that was present in France at the time.
Views
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the Jacobin faction, and like most Jacobins during the French Revolution, he strongly adhered to the principles of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and was interested in creating a more moral and democratic form of government in France. As he grew more and more interested in Rousseau's ideas, he began to promote Enlightenment ideas, such as the separation of church and state and limited monarchy. He also advocated and voted against feudalism and slavery.
Connections
On 6 June 1769, Louis Philippe married Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon at the chapel of the Palace of Versailles. She was the daughter of his cousin, the Duke of Penthièvre, Admiral of France, and one of the richest men in the country. Since it was certain that his wife would become the richest woman in France. She was a devout Catholic who supported keeping the monarchy in France, as well as following the orders of Pope Pius VI. This was the causes of one of the rifts of the couple, as their first son, the future "King of the French", followed his father's footsteps and joined the Jacobin faction.
Father:
Louis Philippe d'Orléans
Mother:
Louise Henriette of Bourbon-Conti
Spouse:
Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon
Daughter:
Louise Marie Adélaïde Eugénie d'Orléans
younger sister:
Bathilde d'Orléans
Son:
Louis Charles d'Orléans
Son:
Françoise d'Orléans Mademoiselle d'Orléans (twin sister of Adélaïde) (1777–1782)
His Serene Highness the Duke of Montpensier, His Serene Highness the Duke of Chartres, His Serene Highness the Duke of Orléans, First Prince of The Blood