Princess Marie of Orléans (1865–1909)
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Princess Marie of Orléans (Marie Amélie Françoise Hélène; 13 January 1865 – 4 December 1909) was a French princess by birth and a Danish princess by marriage to Prince Valdemar. She was politically active by the standards of her day.


Biography


Background

Marie was the eldest child of
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 his wife, Princess Françoise d'Orléans. Her father was the second son of
Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans (Ferdinand Philippe Louis Charles Henri Joseph; 3 September 1810 – 13 July 1842) was the eldest son of King Louis Philippe I of France and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. He was born in exile in his moth ...
, and
Duchess Helena of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Helene Luise Elisabeth; 24 January 1814 – 17 May 1858) was a French Crown Princess after her marriage in 1837 to the eldest son of Louis Philippe I. She is known as the mother of the future Count of P ...
. Françoise was the daughter of
François d'Orléans, prince de Joinville François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...
, and
Princess Francisca of Brazil Dona Francisca (2 August 1824 – 27 March 1898) was a princess of the Empire of Brazil (as daughter of Emperor Dom Pedro I, who also reigned as King Dom Pedro IV of Portugal, and his wife Maria Leopoldina of Habsburg), who became Princess o ...
. Born during the reign in France of her family's rival,
Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
, she grew up in England, where her family had moved in 1848. She moved to France with her family after the fall of Napoleon in 1871. She defined herself as "une
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
e".


Marriage

After obtaining
papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
consent, Marie married
Prince Valdemar of Denmark Prince Valdemar of Denmark (27 October 1858 – 14 January 1939) was a member of the Danish royal family. He was the third son and youngest child of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. He had a lifelong naval career. Early li ...
, the youngest son of King
Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...
, on 20 October 1885 in a
civil ceremony A civil, or registrar, ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United Kingdom, this person is typically called a registrar. In the United States, civil ceremonies may be performed ...
in Paris and again in a religious ceremony in the
Château d'Eu The Château d'Eu is a former royal residence in the town of Eu, in the Seine-Maritime department of France, in Normandy. The Château d'Eu stands at the centre of the town and was built in the 16th century to replace an earlier one purposely de ...
two days later. They were third cousins, once-removed. She remained a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, he a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
. They adhered to the
dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...
arrangement usually stipulated in the marriage contract in such circumstances: sons were to be raised in the faith of their father, daughters in that of their mother. The couple took up residence at
Bernstorff Palace Bernstorff Palace ( da, Bernstorff Slot) in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark, was built in the middle of the 18th century for Foreign Minister Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff. It remained in the possession of the Bernstorff family until 181 ...
outside
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, in which Valdemar had been born. Since 1883, he had lived there with his nephew and ward
Prince George of Greece Prince George of Greece and Denmark ( el, Γεώργιος; 24 June 1869 – 25 November 1957) was the second son and child of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, and is remembered chiefly for having once saved the life of his ...
, a younger son of Valdemar's elder brother
Vilhelm Vilhelm is a masculine given name, the Scandinavian form of William and Wilhelm. Notable people with the name include: * Vilhelm Ahlmann (1852-1928), Danish-Swedish architect * Vilhelm Andersen (1864–1953), Danish author, literary historian and ...
, who had become
King of the Hellenes The Kingdom of Greece was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach between 1832 and 1862 and by the House of Glücksburg from 1863 to 1924, temporarily abolished during the Second Hellenic Republic, and from 1935 to 1973, when it was once more abolishe ...
in 1863 as George I. The king had taken the boy to Denmark to enlist him in the Danish navy and consigned him to the care of his brother Valdemar, who was an admiral in the Danish fleet. Feeling abandoned by his father on this occasion, George would later describe to his fiancée,
Princess Marie Bonaparte Princess Marie Bonaparte (2 July 1882 – 21 September 1962), known as Princess George of Greece and Denmark upon her marriage, was a French author and psychoanalyst, closely linked with Sigmund Freud. Her wealth contributed to the popularity o ...
, the profound attachment he developed for his uncle from that day forward. It was into this household and relationship that Marie came to live. In 1907, when George brought his bride to Bernstorff for the first family visit, Marie d'Orléans was at pains to explain to Marie Bonaparte the intimacy which united uncle and nephew, so deep that at the end of each of George's several yearly visits to Bernstorff, he would weep, Valdemar would feel ill, and the women learned to be patient and not intrude upon their husbands' private moments. On this and subsequent visits, the Bonaparte princess found herself a great admirer of the Orléans princess, concluding that she was the only member of her husband's large family in Denmark and Greece endowed with brains, pluck, or character. During the first of these visits, Valdemar and Marie Bonaparte found themselves engaging in the kind of passionate intimacies she had looked forward to with her husband who, however, only seemed to enjoy them vicariously, sitting or lying beside his wife and uncle. On a later visit, George's wife carried on a passionate flirtation with Prince Aage, Valdemar's eldest son. In neither case does it appear that Marie objected, or felt obliged to give the matter any attention. George criticized Marie to his wife, alleging that she was having an affair with his uncle's stablemaster. He also contended that she drank too much alcohol and could not conceal the effects. But Marie Bonaparte found no fault with Marie d'Orléans; rather she admired her forbearance and independence under circumstances which caused her bewilderment and estrangement from her own husband.


Life and influence

Marie was described as impulsive, witty, and energetic, and introduced a more relaxed style to the stiff Danish court. She never fully learned to speak Danish. The marriage was friendly. She gave her children a free upbringing, and her artistic taste and Bohemian habits dominated her household. She was informal, not snobbish, believed in social equality, expressed her own opinions, and performed her ceremonial duties in an unconventional manner. In 1896, she wrote to
Herman Bang Herman Joachim Bang (20 April 1857 – 29 January 1912) was a Danish journalist and author, one of the men of the Modern Breakthrough. Biography Bang was born in Asserballe, on the small Danish island of Als, the son of a South Jutlandic vicar ...
: "I believe that a person, regardless of her position, should be herself". She liked both to ride and to drive and was known for her elegance. She was the official protector of the fire brigade and let herself be photographed in a fire brigade uniform, which was caricatured, and as a support to her spouse's career as a marine, she had an anchor tattooed on her upper arm. She once said regarding complaints about her unconventional manners: "Let them complain, I am just as happy nevertheless". She had asked the permission of the court to leave the house without a lady-in-waiting, and she had mainly spent her time with artists. She painted and photographed and was a student of
Otto Bache Otto Bache (21 August 1839 – 28 June 1927) was a Danish Realist painter. Many of his works depict key events in Danish history. Biography At age eleven he received a dispensation and was admitted into the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, ...
and
Frants Henningsen Frants Peter Diderik Henningsen (22 June 1850, Copenhagen – 20 March 1908, Copenhagen) was a Danish painter, illustrator and professor. His paintings depict unfortunate occurrences in the lives of middle-class people living in Copenhagen during ...
. She participated in the exhibitions at Charlottenborg in 1889, 1901 and 1902 and was a member of the Danish Arts Academy. She refused to obey the expectation on royal women to stay away from politics. In 1886, Valdemar declined the throne of Bulgaria with her consent. She belonged to the political left and participated in convincing the king to agree to the reforms of 1901, which led to an appointment of a Venstre government, and the ''de facto'' introduction of parliamentarism. In 1902 she rejected the idea of offering the Danish West Indies to the United States. She also saw to the interests of France: she was credited by the French press with having influenced the Franco-Russian alliance in 1894 and the peace in the French-German Colonial conflict over Morocco in 1905. She assisted her friend H.N. Andersen, the founder of the
East Asiatic Company The EAC Invest A/S, formerly known as the Santa Fe Group and East Asiatic Company ( da, italic=yes, Det Østasiatiske Kompagni or ''ØK'') is a multinational holding and investment company, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. History The East Asiat ...
, with contacts in his affairs in Thailand. She was a popular person in Denmark. Marie's husband and three sons were in India ''en route'' to
Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
when they received word that she had died at Bernstorff.


Issue

The couple had five children: *
Prince Aage of Denmark Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg, (Aage Christian Alexander Robert; 10 June 1887 – 19 February 1940) was a Danish prince and officer of the French Foreign Legion. He was born in Copenhagen the eldest child and son of Prince Valdemar of Denmark and ...
(1887–1940); created Count of Rosenborg, married Mathilda Calvi dei Conti di Bergolo in 1914 and had one son. *
Prince Axel of Denmark Prince Axel of Denmark, (Danish: ''Prins Axel Christian Georg til Danmark''; 12 August 1888 – 14 July 1964) was a member of the Danish royal family. He was the second son of Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Princess Marie of Orléans, and a grand ...
(1888–1964), married
Princess Margaretha of Sweden Princess Margaretha of Sweden (Margaretha Sofia Lovisa Ingeborg; 25 June 1899 – 4 January 1977) was a member of the Swedish Royal Family by birth and the Danish Royal Family by marriage. She was the elder sister of Crown Princess Märtha of No ...
in 1919 and had two sons. * Prince Erik of Denmark (1890–1950); created Count of Rosenborg, married Lois Frances Booth in Ottawa, Canada 1924; divorced 1937, and had a son and a daughter. * Prince Viggo of Denmark (1893–1970); created Count of Rosenborg, married Eleanor Margaret Green, and had no children. *
Princess Margaret of Denmark Princess Margaret of Denmark (Margrethe Françoise Louise Marie Helene; 17 September 1895 – 18 September 1992) was a Danish princess by birth and a princess of Bourbon-Parma as the wife of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma. She was the youngest g ...
(1895–1992), married
Prince René of Bourbon-Parma Prince René of Bourbon-Parma (17 October 1894 – 30 July 1962) was the seventh surviving son of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and his second wife, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. In 1921, he married Princess Margaret of Denmark. They had four chil ...
. Her daughter
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
was titular Queen of
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.


Legacy

Princess Marie is commemorated with a monument at
Langelinie Langelinie (English: Long Line) is a pier, promenade and park in central Copenhagen, Denmark, and home of ''The Little Mermaid'' statue. The area has for centuries been a popular destination for excursions and strolls in Copenhagen. Most cruise s ...
, near St. Alban's English Church in Copenhagen. It was installed in 1912 and features a bust created by Carl Martin-Hansen. Princess Marie's Home for Old Seamen and Seamen's Widows on
Wildersgade Wildersgade is a street in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs along the length of the neighbourhood, parallel to Christianshavn Canal, one block to the east, from the Christiansbro development in the south(west) to Wilde ...
in
Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
is named after her. Prinsesse Maries Allé in
Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...
is also named after her.


Ancestry


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Of Orleans, Princess Danish princesses Princesses of France (Orléans) House of Glücksburg (Denmark) 1865 births 1909 deaths Burials at Roskilde Cathedral