Prince Henri of Orléans (16 October 1867 – 9 August 1901) was the son of

Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres (Robert Philippe Louis Eugène Ferdinand; 9 November 1840 – 5 December 1910), was the son of Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and thus grandson of King Louis-Philippe of France. He fought for the Unio ...

, and Princess Françoise of Orléans.

Biography

Henri, the second eldest son and third child of

, was born at

Ham, London Ham is a suburban district in Richmond, south-west London. It has meadows adjoining the River Thames where the Thames Path National Trail also runs. Most of Ham is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and, chiefly, within the ward o ...

on 16 October 1867. In 1889, at the instance of his father, who paid the expenses of the tour, he undertook, in company with

Gabriel Bonvalot Pierre Gabriel Édouard Bonvalot (13 July 1853 – 10 December 1933) was a French explorer of Central Asia and Tibet. Bonvalot was born in the commune of Épagne in the Aube department in north-central France. He was the son of Pierre Bonvalo ...

and Father Constant de Deken (1852-1896), a journey through

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

. In the course of their travels they crossed the mountain range of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

and the fruits of their observations, submitted to the Geographical Society of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(and later incorporated i
''De Paris au Tonkin à travers le Tibet inconnu''
published in 1892), brought them conjointly the gold medal of that society. In 1892 the prince made a short journey of exploration in East Africa, and shortly afterwards visited

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, proceeding thence to

Tongkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...

in today Vietnam. In April 1892 he visited Luang Prabang in Laos. It brings him to writing a letter to "Politique Coloniale" in January 1893. From this point he set out for

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, and was successful in discovering the source of the Irrawaddy River, a brilliant geographical achievement which secured the medal of the Geographical Society of Paris and the Cross of the Legion of Honour. In 1897 he revisited Abyssinia, and political differences arising from this trip led to a duel with

Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Turin Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy-Aosta, Infante of Spain, Count of Turin (24 November 1870 – 10 October 1946) was a grandchild of King Victor Emmanuel II and a member of the House of Savoy. He was a cousin of Victor Emmanuel III. Early lif ...

. While on a trip to

in 1901, he died at Saigon on 9 August. Prince Henri was a somewhat violent

Anglophobe Anti-English sentiment or Anglophobia (from Latin ''Anglus'' "English" and Greek φόβος, ''phobos'', "fear") means opposition to, dislike of, fear of, hatred of, or the oppression and persecution of England and/or English people.''Oxford ...

, and his diatribes against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

contrasted rather curiously with the cordial reception which his position as a traveller obtained for him in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he was given the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society.

Duel

In 1897, in several articles for ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', Prince Henri described the Italian soldiers being held captive in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, during the first

First Italo–Ethiopian War The First Italo-Ethiopian War, lit. ''Abyssinian War'' was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-s ...

, as cowards. Prince Vittorio Emanuele thus challenged him to a duel. The sword was agreed upon as the weapon of choice, as the Italians thought that duel with pistols, favored by the French, was worthy of betrayed husbands, not of princes of royal blood. The duel with swords, which lasted 26 minutes, took place at 5:00 am on 15 August 1897, in the Bois de Marechaux at

Vaucresson Vaucresson () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the Hauts-de-Seine department from the center of Paris. Vaucresson contains abundant parkland; 22 of its 308 hectares are classed as natural zones. Today Vaucresson ...

, France. Vittorio Emanuele defeated Prince Henri after five reprises. The "Monseigneur" Henri received a serious wound to his right abdomen, and the doctors of both parties considered the injury serious enough to put him in a state of obvious inferiority, causing the end of the duel, and making the Count of Turin famous in Europe.

Biography

Duel

In popular culture

Literature

Ancestry

Notes

References

Further reading