Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans
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Philippine Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (18 December 1714 – 21 May 1734) was the daughter of
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as ''le Régent''. ...
, and his wife, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, the youngest legitimised daughter of King
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...
and
Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...
. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon and of the
House of Orléans The 4th House of Orléans (french: Maison d'Orléans), sometimes called the House of Bourbon-Orléans (french: link=no, Maison de Bourbon-Orléans) to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of the Ro ...
, Philippine Élisabeth was a ''Princesse du Sang''. She died of smallpox at the age of 19.


Biography

Philippine Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans was born at the Palace of Versailles. She was the fifth surviving daughter of her parents and was known as ''Mademoiselle de Beaujolais'' in her youth. Brought up in a convent with her younger sister,
Louise Diane d'Orléans Louise Diane d'Orléans (27 June 1716 – 26 September 1736) was Princess of Conti from her marriage to Prince Louis François in 1732, until her death in childbirth. She was the youngest child of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and Françoise ...
, she grew up in the era of the ''
Régence The ''Régence'' (, ''Regency'') was the period in French history between 1715 and 1723 when King Louis XV was considered a minor and the country was instead governed by Philippe d'Orléans (a nephew of Louis XIV of France) as prince regen ...
''. She was named after her paternal grandparents, Philippe de France and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. She was one of eight children. Her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate was warmly attached to her granddaughter and very devoted to her; she used to visit her almost every day at the Palais-Royal in Paris. Her maternal grandmother was
Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...
, who had died in 1707, seven years before the birth of Philippine.


Betrothal

Since 1715, Philippine Élisabeth's father was ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' ruler of France as the
Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for the child King
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
of France. In 1718, the
War of the Quadruple Alliance The War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) was caused by Spanish attempts to recover territories in Italy ceded in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Largely focused on Sicily, it included minor engagements in North America and Northern Europe as we ...
broke out between France and Spain. In 1720, King
Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...
wanted to make peace and proposed a triple marriage; his three-year-old daughter, Infanta Mariana Victoria, would marry the fifteen-year-old Louis XV, and his sons, Infante Louis and Infante Charles, would marry two of the Regent's daughters. Philippine would marry ''Infante Carlos'', the younger of Philip V's sons. Her future husband was expected to become the ruler of Tuscany as his half brother
Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...
was the heir to the throne of Spain being his father's first son. The dowry, much like that of her older sister the Princess of Asturias amounted to 400,000 ecus given by the King of France, 40,000 by her father, and 50,000 in jewels by the King of Spain. There were also many gifts from the King
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
. The Regent and the Duke of Chartres travelled with her as far as Bourg-la-Reine, as they had done with Louise Élisabeth the year before. She was also escorted by her half-brother ''
Jean Philippe d'Orléans Jean Philippe, ''bâtard d'Orléans'' (28 August 1702 – 16 June 1748), called ''le chevalier d'Orléans'' or ''le Grand Prieur d'Orléans'', was an illegitimate son of Philippe d'Orléans, nephew and son-in-law of Louis XIV. Biography Born at ...
''. She arrived at
Buitrago del Lozoya Buitrago del Lozoya () is a municipality of the autonomous community of Madrid in central Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Sierra Norte. The town is one of the few in the community that have maintained its walls, which are of Moorish orig ...
, a
day's journey A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible, ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance. In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the dis ...
from Madrid; it was there that she met the royal family including King Felipe, Queen Isabel, her sister, the
Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...
and her husband to be, Infante Carlos.
Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese ( Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' r ...
later wrote to the Regent and his wife:
''" I believe, that you will not be displeased to learn of her first interview with her little husband. They embraced very affectionately and kissed one another, and it appears to me that he does not displease her. Thus, since this evening they do not like to leave one another. She says a hundred pretty things; one would not credit the things that she says, unless one heard them. She has the mind of an angel, and my son is only too happy to possess her. . . . She has charged me to tell you that she loves you with all her heart, and that she is quite content with her husband."'' And to the
duchesse d'Orléans Duchesse (Duchesse satin) was a soft, heavy, and glossy satin cloth made in France. Weave Duchesse was produced with a satin weave with fine silk threads using a higher number of threads per square inch in the warp with at least seven floati ...
she writes : ''"I find her the most beautiful and most lovable child in the world. It is the most pleasing thing imaginable to see her with her little husband : how they caress one another and how they love one another already. They have a thousand little secrets to tell one another, and they cannot part for an instant."''
The relationship with her sister, which had never been good, became more sour due to the young Philippine gaining all the attention of the Spanish court for her beauty and intelligence; something which never happened to Louise Élisabeth upon her arrival to the cold and formal Spanish court. Her engagement with Charles was later dissolved, so she was called back to France in 1728. The departure of Philippine was seen as a sad affair, unlike that of her older sister Louise Élisabeth who had never been popular at the court. The Dowager Queen and ''Mademoiselle de Beaujolais'' arrived at the frontier of France at the foot of the
Pyrenees mountains The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
at
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John t theFoot of hePass"; eu, Donibane Garazi; es, San Juan Pie de Puerto) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean footh ...
. Onward they traveled, and despite what was expected, the two girls were unable to enter the town of Bayonne because their cousin, Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (and the Prime Minister) had failed to send orders to secure lodgings for his younger cousins. Their mother was obliged to send orders to make a suite of rooms at the Château de Vincennes where they arrived in June. When her former fiancé became the Duke of Parma in 1731, the hopes of Philippine and her mother were revived into thinking that a marriage was still possible. Her mother approached the marquis de Bissy, who was the ambassador of France in Parma. Information that the Dowager Duchess of Orléans gained was that he had been ''faithful'' and that he had treasured a ring that had been given to him by Philippine. With the encouragement of the Duchess of Orléans, de Bissy went to Charles himself and asked him his thoughts on a possible re-uniting of the young couple. The new sovereign Duke said that he had wanted to marry young Philippine and he said to the Parmese minister to use any measure possible to secure his love's hand. The minister later said that he could not consent to help until he saw that there was no hostility on the side of Spain. In 1733, the
War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of thei ...
broke out and caused international relations to shift. This war later made Charles the ruler of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Despite that, Philippine did not see the day her love would become the King; while living quietly at her mother's favourite residence, the ''Château de Bagnolet'' in
Bagnolet Bagnolet () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes. On that occasion, a small part of the commune ...
, she died of smallpox at the age of nineteen. Upon her death, the French writer Matthieu Marais wrote to President Bouhier:
''" Everybody is in tears, and I also; she was a charming princess."''''Mémoires intéressants sur les premières années du règne de Louis XV'' by Matthieu Marais
She was buried at the Val-de-Grâce convent in Paris on the day after she died.


Ancestors


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orleans, Philippine Elisabeth d 1714 births 1734 deaths 18th-century French people Philippine Elisabeth People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans People of the Ancien Régime Philippine Elisabeth Philippine Elisabeth Philippine Elisabeth Deaths from smallpox People from Versailles Infectious disease deaths in France Burials at Val-de-Grâce (church)