Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Early life

Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans was the son of Louis Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Chartres, and Louise Henriette de Bourbon. Through his father, Philippe was a member of the House of Orléans, a cadet branch of the French royal family. His mother came from a more distant cadet branch, the House of Bourbon-Condé.

He was born at the Château de Saint Cloud, one of the residences of the Duke of Orléans, a few miles west of Paris. He had an older sister, born in 1745, who died when she was six months old. His parents had another daughter, Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde d'Orléans.

Succession

Philippe's first title was that of the Duchy of Montpensier. After his grandfather's death in 1752, Philippe inherited the title of Duke of Chartres from his father. After his father's death in 1785, Philippe became the Duke of Orléans, head of the House of Orléans, one of the wealthiest noble families in France.

Marriage

On June 6, 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, an 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 upon the death of her father, Louis Philippe was able to play a political role in court equal to that of his great-grandfather Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who had been the Regent of France during the minority of King Louis XV. Louise Marie Adélaïde brought to the already wealthy House of Orléans a considerable dowry of six million livres, an annual income of 240,000 livres (later increased to 400,000 livres), as well as lands, titles, residences and furniture.

Unlike her husband, the Duchess of Orléans did not support the revolution. She was a devout Catholic who supported keeping the monarchy in France, as well as following the orders of Pope Pious VI. This would create issues in the long run, as their first son, the future king of France, would follow his father's footsteps and join the Jacobin faction.

Children

Together, the Duke and Duchess of Orléans had five children:

Scandals

During the first few months of their marriage, the couple appeared devoted to each other, but the Duke went back to the life of "libertinage" he had led before his marriage. The Duke was a well-known womanizer and, like his ancestors Louis XIV of France and Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, had several illegitimate children.

During the summer of 1772, the Duke began his secret liaison with one of his wife's ladies-in-waiting, Stéphanie Félicité Ducrest de St-Albin, comtesse de Genlis, the niece of Madame de Montesson, the morganatic wife of Philippe's father. Passionate at first, the liaison cooled within a few months and, by the spring of 1773, was reported to be "dead". After the romantic affair was over, Madame de Genlis remained in the service of Marie-Adélaïde at the Palais-Royal, a trusted friend to both Marie-Adélaïde and the Duke. They both appreciated her intelligence and, in July 1779, she became the governess of the couple's twin daughters (born in 1777).

It was alleged that Lady Edward FitzGerald, born Stephanie Caroline Anne Syms, also known as Pamela, was a natural daughter of the Duke and the Countess of Genlis. He recognized a son he had with Marguerite Françoise Bouvier de la Mothe de Cépoy, comtesse de Buffon, Victor Leclerc de Buffon (September 6, 1792 – April 20, 1812), known as the chevalier de Saint-Paul and chevalier d'Orléans.

Military service

In 18th century France, it was very common for royal princes to receive high positions in the military. From a young age, Philippe d'Orléans displayed his interest in the navy, from which he received three years of training. Due to his great relationship with navy officials, the French army entrusted with the command of a French fleet squadron called the "Holy Spirit" in a battle against Great Britain at Ouessant during the American Revolutionary War in 1778.After not obeying the comte d'Orvilliers's orders to close in on the rear British squadron, the British escaped, leading him to lose this battle. However, this gave a false impression of victory. The next day, the people of Paris greeted him with open arms, calling him a "hero of war." When the news got out that the victory was false, Philippe could never recover. He withdrew from the navy and asked the army if they could give him a position, but it was denied.

Liberal ideology

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.

In addition to being a Jacobin, Philippe was also the Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Orient de France Lodge, better known as the Freemasons, from 1771 to 1793, even though he did not attend a meeting until 1777. He later distanced himself from Freemasonry in a letter dated January 1793, and the Grand Orient vacated his position on December 13, 1793.

Philippe was also 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.

Palais-Royal

As Duke of Orléans, one of the many things he inherited from his father was the Palais-Royal, which quickly became known as the Palais-Egalité because he opened up its doors to all people of France, regardless of their estate (class). He employed Swiss guards to only refuse entry to "drunkards, women in excessively indecent dress, and those in tatters." He built shops and cafés wherein people could interact, and soon enough it became a hub for social life in Paris. Due to the fact that Parisian police had no authority to enter into the Duke of Orléans's private property, it became a hub for illegal activity, such as the trade of stolen goods, suspicious deals, and the spread of revolutionary ideas. In fact, it was a common place for Jacobins to meet and discuss their plans and ideas. Many members of the National Assembly claimed that the Palais-Royal was the "birthplace of the Revolution." Philippe's goal was to create a place where people could meet, which he argued was a crucial part of democracy and a "physical need for civil life."

Leadership in the Estates-General

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. Although he was a member of the Second Estate, he felt a strong connection to the Third Estate, as they comprised the majority of the members in the Estates-General, yet were the most underrepresented. When the Third Estate decided to take the Tennis Court Oath and break away from the Estates-General to form the National Assembly, Philippe was one of the very first to join them and was a very important figure in the unification of the nobility and the Third Estate. In fact, he led his minority group of 47 nobles to secede from their estate and join the National Assembly.

October Days and Exile

One of D'Orléans's main accusations was the initiation of the October Days of 1789, which people believed was done in order to overthrow the King and gain popularity amongst the people. He was accused of funding the riots, as well as calling the rioters his "friends", who were chanting: "Long live our father, long live King D'Orléans!" The High Court of Chatelet also accused him of acting as an accomplice to Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, in an attempt to murder Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, during this period.

Marquis de Lafayette, who was a strong power in France at the time and a supposed "friend" of d'Orléans, suggested him to leave to the British Isles with the promise that he could potentially become the head of state of Brabant. However, the truth is that Lafayette viewed d'Orléans as a threat to his control of the French Revolution, therefore he just wanted to get him out of the country.

At first, it was difficult to convince d'Orléans to leave France during these troubling times, but after strong pressure and enticement from Lafayette, he ended up leaving. Throughout his weeks in exile, he wrote several memoirs talking about his strong desire to return to France. When he did return, he never regained the same power and influence he enjoyed in the years before he left. Those who did not support him, as well as people overseas, labeled him as a coward for fleeing to England as a result of his accusations, calling it a period of "exile." However, he was able to keep his position in the National Assembly until it disbanded on September 30, 1791.

Citoyen Égalité

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. On or around September 11, 1791, he changed his surname to Egalité, which means "equality" in French. As one of the three words in the slogan 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. He was well known for distributing food and money to the poor, as well as providing shelter for he crowds during the winter of 1788-1789.

Relationship with King Louis XVI

Although a relative of King Louis XVI, Philippe d'Orleans never maintained a positive relationship with his cousin. After inheriting the title of Duke of Orléans, Philippe also became the 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. Philippe and the King's wife, Marie Antoinette, also detested each other. Marie Antoinette hated him for what she viewed as treachery, hypocrisy and selfishness, and he, in turn, scorned her for her frivolous and spendthrift lifestyle. 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. He had agreed among close friends that he would vote against his execution, but surrounded by the Jacobin faction in the National Convention, he turned on his word, to the surprise of many. A majority (75 votes) was necessary to indict the King, and an overwhelming amount of 394 votes were collected in favor of his death. The King was especially shocked by the news, stating:

"It really pains me to see that Monsieur Orleans, my kinsman, voted for my death."

Death

On April 1, 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 General Dumouriez, who was already had a negative image in the eyes of the Convention, was enough to get him arrested on April 7, 1793. He spent several months in a jail in Marseille until he was sent back to Paris and sentenced to death.

Philippe Égalité was executed by guillotine on November 6, 1793.

Popular culture

Philippe d'Orléans has been portrayed in several films, such as the 1938 film, Marie Antoinette, in which he was portrayed by Joseph Schildkraut, and the 2001 film The Lady and the Duke by Jean-Claude Dreyfus.