Antoine, Duke of Montpensier (Antoine Marie Philippe Louis d'Orléans; 31 July 18244 February 1890), was a member of the

French royal family France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

in the

House of Orléans The 4th House of Orléans (), sometimes called the House of Bourbon-Orléans () to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of the House of France, Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimat ...

. He was the youngest son of King

Louis Philippe of France Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

and his wife Maria Amelia Teresa of the Two Sicilies. He was styled as the

Duke of Montpensier The French fief, lordship of Montpensier (named after the village of Montpensier, Puy-de-Dôme, Montpensier, département in France, département of Puy-de-Dôme), located in historical Auvergne (province), Auvergne, became a countship in the 14 ...

. He was born on 31 July 1824 at the

château de Neuilly The château de Neuilly is a former château in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Its estate covered a vast 170-hectare park called "parc de Neuilly" which comprised all of Neuilly that is today to be found between avenue du Roule and the town of Leval ...

and died 4 February 1890 at

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar may refer to: * Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Province of Cádiz, Spain * Sanlúcar de Guadiana, a village in the Province of Huelva, Spain * Sanlúcar la Mayor, a city in the Province of Seville, Spain *Sanlúcar de Albaida, forme ...

, Spain.

Marriage and issue

On 10 October 1846 at

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, he married Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain, the daughter of King

Ferdinand VII of Spain Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was Monarchy of Spain, King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (t ...

and

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (, ; 27 April 1806 – 22 August 1878) was the queen consort of Spain, Queen of Spain from 1829 to 1833 and Queen regent of the kingdom from 1833, when her daughter became queen at age two, to 1840. By virtue ...

. They had ten children: # Maria Isabel (21 September 1848 – 23 April 1919), who married her first cousin

Philippe, comte de Paris Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was disputedly List of French monarchs, King of the French from 24 to 26 February 1848 as Louis Philippe II, although he was never offici ...

(1838–94), the French claimant, and became known as ''Marie Isabelle, comtesse de Paris.'' She had issue''.'' # Maria Amelia (28 August 1851 – 9 November 1870) # Maria Cristina (29 October 1852 – 28 April 1879) # Maria de la Regla (9 October 1856 – 25 July 1861) # Stillborn child (31 March 1857 - 31 March 1857) # Fernando (29 May 1859 – 3 December 1873) # Mercedes (24 June 1860 – 26 June 1878), otherwise Princess ''Marie des Graces d'Orleans-Montpensier'', who married her first cousin

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

and is historically known as

Mercedes of Orleans Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1920 brand name of German automobile m ...

, queen of Spain, without issue. # Felipe Raimundo Maria (12 May 1862 – 13 February 1864) #

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

(23 February 1866 – 24 December 1930), became

Duke of Galliera Duke of Galliera is an Nobility of Italy, Italian noble title that has been created several times for members of different families. The name of the title refers to the ''comune'' of Galliera, which is located in the Province of Bologna in Emilia� ...

in Italy. He married his first cousin

Infanta Eulalia of Spain Infanta Eulalia, Duchess of Galliera (''María Eulalia Francisca de Asís Margarita Roberta Isabel Francisca de Paula Cristina María de la Piedad de Borbón y Borbón''; 12 February 1864 – 8 March 1958), was the youngest and last surviving chil ...

(1864–1958), daughter of Isabella II, and had two sons. # Luis Maria Felipe Antonio (30 April 1867 – 21 May 1874)

Candidate for the Spanish throne

Antoine de Montpensier lived in Spain from 1848 when he and his family had to leave France after the Revolution of 1848. During the Spanish revolution of 1868, he supported the insurgents under

Juan Prim Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until his assassination. Bio ...

against

Queen Isabel II Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

, his own sister-in-law. In 1870 he fought a duel against

Infante Enrique, Duke of Seville Infante Enrique, Duke of Seville (17 April 182312 March 1870), was an Infante of Spain and a member of the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon. He was a grandson of Charles IV of Spain and became the first Duke of Seville in 1823. He was k ...

, the brother of King Francisco, and killed him. Antoine was convicted and sentenced to one month in prison. On 16 November 1870 the Cortes voted for the next king and chose Amadeo of Savoy with 191 votes. Antoine only received 27 votes, and left Spain, only to return in 1874. His ambitions were fulfilled by his daughter Mercedes, who became Queen of Spain after her marriage to

, son of Isabella II. However, she died at the age of 18 without issue. Despite never reaching the throne, however, through cognates, he is an ancestor of all Spanish monarchs since

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

. His great granddaughter Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona, was the mother of Juan Carlos, who assumed the throne in 1975 and later abdicated in favor of his son,

Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...

in 2014.

Early collector of photography

The Duke of Montpensier was an early collector of

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

. His collection consisted of dozens of albums and hundreds of early photographs, mainly of Spanish, French and British photographers. The collection was dispersed after his death.

Honours and arms

Honours

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, ''9 November 1845'' * : **

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th century !Year of induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , 1467, , Founde ...

, ''10 October 1846'' ** Grand Cross of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

, with Collar ** Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Hermenegild ** Grand Cross of Military Merit, with Red Decoration * :''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1850), "Großherzogliche Orden
pp. 3349
/ref> ** Knight of the

House Order of Fidelity The House Order of Fidelity () is a dynastic order of the Margraviate of Baden. It was established by Charles III William, Margrave of Baden-Durlach as a reward for merit and to mark the laying of the foundation stone of his residence at Kar ...

, ''1846'' ** Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, ''1846'' * : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, ''11 December 1844'' * : Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword Retrieved 2018-09-21. *

Beylik of Tunis The Beylik of Tunis () was a de facto independent state located in present-day Tunisia, formally part of the Ottoman Empire. It was ruled by the Husainid dynasty from 1705 until the establishment of the French protectorate of Tunisia in 1881. T ...

: Husainid Family Order * : Grand Cross of St. Ferdinand and Merit

Arms

Prince Antoine did not have a personal coat of arms. He used the traditional arms of the

, consisting of:

Azure, three ''
fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...
'' Or and a label Argent

n heraldic blazon, ''Azure (heraldry)">Azure'' is blue, ''Or (heraldry)">Or'' is gold, and ''Argent (heraldry)">Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...