Henri, comte de Paris, duc de France
Encyclopedia
Henri d'Orléans is a member of the former French ruling dynasty of the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...

, and one of the current pretender
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....

s to the defunct French crown. A descendant of King Louis-Philippe
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...

 (ruled 1830–1848), he is the current head of the Orléans
House of Orleans
Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...

 line of the Bourbon dynasty. As such he is recognized as the legitimate claimant to the throne by those French royalists who adhere to the succession of Louis-Philippe ("Orléanists"), as well as by the "Unionist" faction that rejects Louis-Philippe's title but recognizes his grandson Philippe, Count of Paris (1838–1894) as the heir of the competing claimant Henry, Count of Chambord, the last in direct line of the original senior branch of the Bourbons. Henri of Orléans is a former military officer as well as an author and painter.

Early life

He was born to Henri of Orléans, Count of Paris and his wife Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, because an 1886 law banned the heirs of formerly reigning French dynasties from entering France. This law was abrogated in 1950, but Henri had already been allowed to enter France by special favour of President Vincent Auriol
Vincent Auriol
Vincent Jules Auriol was a French politician who served as the first President of the Fourth Republic from 1947 to 1954. He also served as interim President of the Provisional Government from November to December 1946, making him one of only three people who were heads of state of the French...

 in 1948.

On 25 August 1940, Henri's grandfather, Jean of Orléans, Duke of Guise died. His father was recognised by most French royalists as head of the French royal house, and Henri became their dauphin.

He studied at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
The Institut d'études politiques de Paris , simply referred to as Sciences Po , is a public research and higher education institution in Paris, France, specialised in the social sciences. It has the status of grand établissement, which allows its admissions process to be highly selective...

 (Sciences Po)
and then served in the military, notably during the Algerian War.

Marriages

On 5 July 1957, he married Duchess Marie Therese of Württemberg
Duchess Marie Therese of Württemberg
Marie Therese of Württemberg was a member of the House of Württemberg and a Duchess of Württemberg by birth and a member of the House of Orléans and Countess of Clermont and Princess of Orléans through her marriage to Prince Henri, Count of Clermont Marie Therese of Württemberg (born 12 November...

 (born 1934). He received the title Count of Clermont. Five children were born from this union.

Children

  1. Marie Isabelle Marguerite Anne Geneviève of Orléans
    Princess Marie Isabelle of Liechtenstein
    -References:...

     (born on 3 January 1959 in Boulogne-sur-Seine) married civilly in Dreux
    Dreux
    Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...

    , on 22 July 1989, and religiously in Friedrichshafen
    Friedrichshafen
    This article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...

    , on 29 July 1989, to Prince Gundakar Albert Alfred Petrus of Liechtenstein (born on 1 April 1949 in Vienna
    Vienna
    Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

    , Austria), and has issue.
  2. François Henri Louis Marie of Orléans (born on 7 February 1961 in Boulogne-sur-Seine), Count of Clermont.
  3. Blanche Elisabeth Rose Marie of Orléans (born on 10 September 1962 in Ravensburg
    Ravensburg
    Ravensburg is a town in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg.Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an important trading centre...

    , Germany).
  4. Jean Charles Pierre Marie of Orléans (born on 19 May 1965 in Boulogne-sur-Seine), Duke of Vendôme and Dauphin de Viennois
    Dauphin de Viennois
    The Counts of Albon were minor French nobles in south-eastern France, in the Rhône Alps region.Under Guigues IV, Count of Albon, who was nicknamed le Dauphin or the Dolphin from the dolphin on his coat of arms, they took a new hereditary title, Dauphin of Viennois , named for the region around...

    , married civilly in Paris on 19 March 2009 with Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart. The religious ceremony took place at the Senlis Cathedral
    Senlis Cathedral
    Senlis Cathedral is a former Roman Catholic cathedral in Senlis, Oise, France.It was formerly the seat of the Bishopric of Senlis, abolished under the Concordat of 1801, when its territory was passed to the Diocese of Beauvais.The cathedral was built between 1153 and 1191; its south tower dates...

     on 2 May 2009. The couple has one son:
    1. Gaston of Orléans (born on 19 November 2009 in Paris)
  5. Eudes Thibaut Joseph Marie of Orléans
    Prince Eudes, Duke of Angoulême
    Prince Eudes Thibaut Joseph Marie d'Orléans, Duke of Angoulême is the youngest son of Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France, Orleanist claimant to the throne of France, and of Duchess Marie Therese of Württemberg.-Biography:...

     (born on 18 March 1968 in Paris), Duke of Angoulême, married civilly in Dreux
    Dreux
    Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...

    , on 19 June 1999, and religiously in Antrain
    Antrain
    Antrain is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Antrain are called in French Antrenais....

    , on 10 July 1999, to Marie-Liesse Claude Anne Rolande de Rohan-Chabot (born on 29 June 1969 in Paris), with whom he has two children.
    1. Thérèse Isabelle Marie Éléonore of Orléans (born on 23 April 2001 in Cannes
      Cannes
      Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

      )
    2. Pierre Jean Marie of Orléans (born on 6 August 2003 in Cannes).

Divorce, Annulment, and Remarriage

The marriage was unhappy. In 1984, Henri and Marie-Thérèse received a civil divorce. On 31 October of that same year, Henri married Micaëla Anna María Cousiño y Quiñones de León (born on 30 April 1938), daughter of Luis Cousiño y Sebire and his wife Doña Antonia Maria Quiñones de Léon y Bañuelos, 4th Marchioness of San Carlos. As this marriage was not celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church, it was not recognised by a number of French royalists. Henri's father, too, was furious; he disinherited Henri, stripped him of his titles, and gave him the lesser-valued title comte de Mortain (Clermont was once held by the cadet son of Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...

, who became the ancestor of the Bourbon line, Mortain was once held by John Lackland of England, who was regarded as lacking land and appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...

). Henri refused all mail addressed to him as "Count of Mortain." Meanwhile, Marie-Thérèse, the former Countess of Clermont, was granted the title "Duchesse de Montpensier" by her father-in-law.

Tensions lessened after several years, and Henri's father reinstated him as heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

 and gave Micaela the title "Princesse de Joinville". Relations between Henri and his former wife, the Duchesse de Montpensier also improved and became cordial.

Although Henri adopted the title of Count of Paris upon the death of his father, his second wife remained Princesse de Joinville during the life of his mother who remained Countess of Paris. Upon the death of his mother, Micaëla assumed the title of Countess of Paris. In 2009, Henri, Count of Paris and his former wife, the Duchesse de Montpensier were able to obtain an annulment of their marriage from the Vatican without affecting the status and legitimacy of their children. The Count of Paris was then able to re-marry his second wife, Micaëla Countess of Paris and Duchess of France in the Roman Catholic Church.

Legal Cases

In an attempt to establish his legal rights as head of the Royal House of France, Henri launched an unsuccessful court case (1987–1989) in which he challenged his rival Louis-Alphonse, Duke of Anjou's right to use the undifferenced Royal Arms. The French courts denied that they had jurisdiction over the dispute and did not address the merits of the case.

After his father's death, a court-appointed lawyer searched through the late count's effects on behalf of his nine children, to reclaim what remained of the family's dissipated fortune. Jewels, art-work, and an exceptional medieval illustrated manuscript were found. These were auctioned off, raising approximately US$14 million. Soon after, in 2000 however, bailiffs pursued Henri for US$143,000 back rent after he fled the Villa Boileau, a 17th-century Paris house he had occupied.

Succession rights

On 19 June 1999, Henri's father died and Henri became the new head of the French royal house (according to his supporters). He took the titles Count of Paris
Count of Paris
Count of Paris was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. Eventually, the count of Paris was elected to the French throne...

 and Duke of France
Duke of France
Duke of France equivalent to the title dux Franciae, is a title of nobility that refers to the rulers of the Île de France, informally Francia...

. His wife became known as Duchess of France, in order to enable Henri's widowed mother to continue to use the title Countess of Paris. Henri's mother died on 5 July 2003, and Micaela started to use the title Countess of Paris.

He claims the title of Duke of France as heir to Hugh Capet and Hugh's ancestors before they were Kings of France.

After his father's death, Henri annulled his father's decision to disinherit his brothers Michel (Count of Évreux) and Thibaut (the late Count of La Marche) from their rights to the throne because Michel married a noble woman but not a royal one and because Thibaut married a commoner. He also bestowed titles upon his nephews by brother Jacques, Duke of Orléans, Charles-Louis of Orléans, Duke of Chartres (11 July 1972 – ), m. 21/28 Jun 1997 Ileana Manos (22 Sep 1970 – ), and Prince Foulques of Orléans, Duke of Aumale (9 Jul 1974 – ) and Count of Eu.

He also recognised his disabled eldest son François as heir, with the title Count of Clermont, with a 'regency' by his middle son, Jean, Duke of Vendôme. Prince Jean had a son in November 2009, Gaston.

Author

Henri has written a number of books:
  • À mes fils (1989)
  • Adresse au futur chef d'état (1994)
  • La France survivra-t-elle l'an 2000 (1997)
  • Le passeur de miroir (2000)
  • La France à bout de bras (2002)
  • L'histoire en héritage (2003)

Other business

Henri is also a painter and has launched his own brand of perfume. In addition, he ran in the European elections of 2004, which he lost.

Ancestors


Henri, Count of Paris and Duke of France, is an agnatic fifth-generation descendant of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. He has three further descents from Louis-Philippe through his father and one through his mother, who also descends from Louis-Philippe in the male line, for a total of five descents as a great-great-great-grandson.

Patrilineal descent

Henri is a member of the House of Bourbon-Orléans, a sub-branch of the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...

, itself a branch of the House of Capet
House of Capet
The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...

 and of the Robertians.

Henri's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Kings of France, the Dukes of Bourbon and before them, again the Kings of France. The line can be traced back more than 1,400 years and is one of the oldest in Europe.
  1. Robert or Radon, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia in 613
  2. Robert, Referendary in 629 and Duke in 631
  3. Erlebert, Noble of Therouanne
  4. Robert, Mayor of the Palace of Neustria in 653, Referendary in 658 and Count in Alsace in 673
  5. Lambert II, Count of Neustria, 678–741
  6. Robert I of Worms and Rheingau, d. 764
  7. Thuringbert of Worms and Rheingau
  8. Robert II of Worms and Rheingau
    Robert of Hesbaye
    Robert II, Rodbert or Chrodobert was a Frank, count of Worms and Rheingau and duke of Hesbaye around the year 800. His family is known as Robertians. His son was Robert III of Worms and his grandson was Robert the Strong. Robert of Hesbaye is the oldest known ancestor in the line of Robertians...

    , 770–807
  9. Robert III of Worms
    Robert III of Worms
    Robert III , also called Rutpert, was the Count of Worms and Rheingau of the illustrious Frankish family called the Robertians. He was the son of Robert of Hesbaye....

     and Rheingau, 808–834
  10. Robert IV the Strong, 820–866
  11. Robert I of France
    Robert I of France
    Robert I , King of Western Francia , was the younger son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou, and the brother of Odo, who became king of the Western Franks in 888. West Francia evolved over time into France; under Odo, the capital was fixed on Paris, a large step in that direction...

    , 866–923
  12. Hugh the Great
    Hugh the Great
    Hugh the Great or Hugues le Grand was duke of the Franks and count of Paris, son of King Robert I of France and nephew of King Odo. He was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France. His eldest son was Hugh Capet who became King of France in 987...

    , 895–956
  13. Hugh Capet, 941–996
  14. Robert II of France
    Robert II of France
    Robert II , called the Pious or the Wise , was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....

    , 972–1031
  15. Henry I of France
    Henry I of France
    Henry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...

    , 1008–1060
  16. Philip I of France
    Philip I of France
    Philip I , called the Amorous, was King of France from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Direct Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time...

    , 1053–1108
  17. Louis VI of France
    Louis VI of France
    Louis VI , called the Fat , was King of France from 1108 until his death . Chronicles called him "roi de Saint-Denis".-Reign:...

    , 1081–1137
  18. Louis VII of France
    Louis VII of France
    Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...

    , 1120–1180
  19. Philip II of France
    Philip II of France
    Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...

    , 1165–1223
  20. Louis VIII of France
    Louis VIII of France
    Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...

    , 1187–1226
  21. Louis IX of France
    Louis IX of France
    Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...

    , 1214–1270
  22. Robert, Count of Clermont
    Robert, Count of Clermont
    Robert of France was made Count of Clermont in 1268. He was son of King Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence...

    , 1256–1317
  23. Louis I, Duke of Bourbon
    Louis I, Duke of Bourbon
    Louis I de Bourbon, le Boiteux, the Lame was Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and La Marche, and the first Duke of Bourbon.-Life:...

    , c. 1280–1342
  24. James I, Count of La Marche
    James I, Count of La Marche
    James of Bourbon-La Marche was the son of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon and Mary of Avesnes. He was Count of Ponthieu from 1351 to 1360, and Count of La Marche from 1356 to his death.-Hundred Years War:...

    , 1315–1362
  25. John I, Count of La Marche
    John I, Count of La Marche
    John of Bourbon-La Marche , was the second son of James I, Count of La Marche and Jeanne of Châtillon.-Life:...

    , 1344–1393
  26. Louis, Count of Vendôme
    Louis, Count of Vendôme
    Louis of Bourbon-La Marche , younger son of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine de Vendôme, was Count of Vendôme from 1393 and Count of Castres from 1425 until his death....

    , c. 1376–1446
  27. Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme
    Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme
    Jean de Bourbon was a French nobleman, son of Louis, Count of Vendôme. He was a courtier of King Charles VII of France and fought the English in Normandy and Guyenne. He attached himself to King Louis XI, but was not in his royal favor...

    , 1428–1478
  28. François, Count of Vendôme
    François, Count of Vendôme
    François de Bourbon was a French nobleman. He was the Count of Vendôme.He was the son of Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme, and Isabelle de Beauveau. At his father's death when he was 7, he became Count of Vendôme...

    , 1470–1495
  29. Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537
  30. Antoine of Navarre
    Antoine of Navarre
    Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme was head of the House of Bourbon from 1537 to 1562, and jure uxoris King of Navarre from 1555 to 1562.-Family:...

    , 1518–1562
  31. Henry IV of France
    Henry IV of France
    Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

    , 1553–1610
  32. Louis XIII of France
    Louis XIII of France
    Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...

    , 1601–1643
  33. Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
    Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
    Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...

    , 1640–1701
  34. Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
    Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
    Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...

    , 1674–1723
  35. Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, 1703–1752
  36. Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
    Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
    Louis Philippe d'Orléans known as le Gros , was a French nobleman, a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the dynasty then ruling France. The First Prince of the Blood after 1752, he was the most senior male at the French court after the immediate royal family. He was the father of...

    , 1725–1785
  37. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
    Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
    Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror...

    , 1747–1793
  38. Louis Philippe of France, 1773–1850
  39. Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, 1810–1842
  40. Robert, duc de Chartres, 1840–1910
  41. Jean d'Orléans, duc de Guise
    Jean d'Orléans, duc de Guise
    Jean Pierre Clément Marie d'Orléans, Duke of Guise , was the son of Robert, Duke of Chartres , grandson of Ferdinand-Philippe and great-grandson of Louis Philippe I, King of the French...

    , 1874–1940
  42. Henri, Count of Paris, 1908–1999
  43. Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France 1933-

External links


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