'Philippe II, Duke of Orléans', '''Philippe Charles''' (
August 2,
1674 –
December 23,
1723) called 'Duke of Chartres' (
1674–
1701), and then '
Duke of Orléans' (1701–1723) was
Regent of
France from
1715 to 1723. His regency during the minority of
Louis XV being the last regency in the
kingdom of France, he is still commonly referred to as 'le Régent' and his regency as 'la
Régence'.
Before regency
He was born in
Saint-Cloud, the son of
Philip I, Duke of Orléans and his second wife
Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (
1652–
1722). He was also the nephew of king
Louis XIV.
He had his first experience of arms at the
siege of Mons in
1691. He fought with distinction at
Steenkerque,
Neerwinden and
Namur (
1692–
1695). During the next few years, being without employment, he studied
natural science.
In
1692, he married
Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mlle de Blois (
1677–
1749), his first cousin and the legitimized daughter of Louis XIV and
Mme de Montespan. This marriage won him the favor of the king.
He was next given a command in
Italy (
1706) and in
Spain (
1707–
1708) where he gained some important successes, but he cherished lofty ambitions and was suspected of wishing to take the place of
Philip V on the throne of Spain. Louis XIV was angry at these pretensions, and for a long time held him in disfavour. In his will, however, he appointed him president of the council of regency of the young king
Louis XV (
1715).
Regency
On the death of Louis XIV (
September 1,
1715), the late king's five-year-old great-grandson was crowned king Louis XV of France. The duke of Orléans went to the parlement, had the will annulled, and himself invested with absolute power, and the then forty-one-year-old Philippe became Regent.
At first he decreased taxation and dismissed 25,000 soldiers. But the inquisitorial measures which he had begun against the financiers led to disturbances. He was, moreover, weak enough to countenance the risky operations of the banker
John Law, whose
bankruptcy led to a disastrous crisis in the public and private affairs of France. On
June 6,
1717, under the influence of Law and the
Duc de Saint-Simon, the Regent persuaded the Regency Council to purchase from
Thomas Pitt for £135,000 the largest diamond in the world at that time, a 141 carat (28.2 g) cushion brilliant, for the
crown jewels of France. The diamond was known from then on as
"le Régent".
There existed a party of malcontents who wished to transfer the regency from Orleans to Philip V, king of Spain. A conspiracy was formed, under the inspiration of
Cardinal Alberoni, first minister of Spain, and directed by the
Prince of Cellamare, Spanish ambassador in France, with the complicity of the duke and
duchess of Maine (the legitimized son of Louis XIV); but in
1718 it was discovered and defeated.
Guillaume Dubois, formerly tutor to the duke of Orleans, and now his
chief minister, caused war to be declared against Spain, with the support of the emperor, and of
England and the
Netherlands (
Quadruple Alliance). After some successes of the
French marshal, the
Duke of Berwick, in Spain, and of the imperial troops in
Sicily, Philip V made peace with the regent (
1720).
End of regency
On the majority of the king, which was declared on
February 15,
1723, the duke of Orleans formally gave up the royal power, becoming first minister to the king, and remaining in that office till his death on
December 23, 1723. He died at the
Palace of Versailles and was buried in the city of his birth, Saint-Cloud.
Other characteristics
The regent had great qualities, both brilliant and solid, which were spoilt by an excessive taste for pleasure. His dissolute manners found many imitators, and the regency was one of the most corrupt periods in French history.
Philippe was a professed
atheist who boasted to read the satirical works of
François Rabelais inside a
Bible binding during
mass, and liked to hold
orgies even on religious high holidays. He acted in plays of
Molière and
Racine, composed an
opera, and was a gifted painter and
engraver. Despite his atheism, Philippe favoured the
Jansenists against the decrees of the
Pope.
He was a great collector of art, and his collection of paintings, mostly sold in London after the Revolution, was one of the finest ever assembled.
A
liberal and imaginative man, he was however, often weak, inconsistent and vacillating. Nonetheless, as Regent, he changed the manners of the ruler and his nobles from the hypocrisy of Louis XIV to complete candor. He was against
censorship and ordered the reprinting of books banned under the reign of his uncle. Reversing his uncle's policies again, Philippe formed an alliance with
England,
Austria, and the
Netherlands, and fought a successful war against
Spain that established the conditions of a European peace.
Philippe promoted education, making the
Sorbonne tuition free and opening the
Royal Library to the public (
1720). He is however most remembered for the debauchery he brought to
Versailles and for the
John Law banking scandal.
The city of
New Orleans, in
Louisiana,
U.S., is named after him.
Ancestors
Marriage and children
★ On
18 February 1692, he married Francoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois (
1677–
1749), with whom he had 8 children:
★
★ Mademoiselle de Valois (
17 December 1693 –
17 October 1694)
★
★ Marie Louise Elisabeth (
20 August 1695 –
21 July 1719). Married
Charles, duc de Berry
★
★ Louise Adélaïde (
13 August 1698 –
10 February 1743).
★
★
Charlotte Aglaé (
20 October 1700 –
19 January 1761). Married
Francis III, Duke of Modena
★
★
Louis, Duke of Orléans (
4 August 1703 –
4 February 1752).
★
★
Louise Elisabeth (
11 December 1709 –
16 June 1742). Married
Louis, King of Spain
★
★ Philippine Elisabeth (
18 December 1714 –
21 May 1734).
★
★ Louise Diane (
27 June 1716 –
26 September 1736).
Philippe also produced several illegitmate children with various women. Three of those children were acknowledged.
By Florence Pellerin:
★
Charles de Saint-Albin (
1698-
1764)
By Marie Louise Le Bel de La Boissière:
★
Jean Philippe d'Orléans (
1702-
1748)
By Christine Charlotte Desmares:
★
Angélique de Froissy (
1702-
1785)
Biographies
★ The Regent of the Roues by Andrew C.P. Haggard - 1905 London: Hutchinson & Co. (In English)
★ The Scandalous Regent by W.H. Lewis - 1961 London: Andre Deutsch (In English)
★ Phillippe, Duke of Orleans: Regent of France by J.H. Shennan - 1979 London: Thames and Hudson (In English)
★ Le Regent 1674-1723 by Jean Meyer - 1985 Paris: Editions Ramsay (In French)
★ Le Regent by Jean-Christian Petitfils - 1986 Paris: Libraire Artheme-Fayard (In French)
★ Philippe, Duc D'Orleans: Regent of France by Christine Pevitt - 1997 London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (In English)
References
★
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