1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Orleans, Dukes of

ORLEANS, DUKES OF. The title of duke of Orleans was first created by King Philip VI. in favour of his son Philip, who died without legitimate issue in 1375. The second duke of Orleans, created in 1392, was Louis, a younger son of Charles V., whose heir was his son, the poet Charles of Orleans. Charles’s son Louis, the succeeding duke, became king of France as Louis XII. in 1498, when the duchy of Orleans was united with the royal domain. In 1626 Louis XIII. created his brother, Jean Baptiste Gaston, duke of Orleans, and having become extinct on the death of this prince in 1660 the title was revived in the following year by Louis XIV. in favour of his brother Philip. Descendants of this duke have retained the title until the present day, one of them becoming king of France as Louis Philippe in 1830. Two distinguished families are descended from the first house of Orleans: the counts of Angouleme, who were descended from John, a son of Duke Louis I., and who furnished France with a king in the person of Francis I.; and the counts and dukes of Longueville, whose founder was John, count of Dunois, the bastard of Orleans, a natural son of the same duke. In addition to the dukes of Orleans the most important members of this family are: Anne Marie Louise, duchess of Montpensier; Francis, prince of Joinville; Louis Philippe Albert, count of Paris; and the traveller Prince Henry of Orleans. See the genealogical table to the article Bourbon.

See below for separate articles on the chief personages.