François d'Orléans, Prince de Joinville (14 August 1818 – 16 June 1900) was the third son of

Louis Philippe 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 ...

King of the French The precise style of French sovereigns varied over the years. Currently, there is no French sovereign; three distinct traditions (the Legitimist, the Orleanist, and the Bonapartist) exist, each claiming different forms of title. The three style ...

, and his wife

Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (Maria Amalia Teresa; 26 April 1782 – 24 March 1866) was List of French royal consorts, Queen of the French by marriage to Louis Philippe I, King of the French. She was the last Queen of France. Among ...

. An admiral of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, François was famous for bringing the remains of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

from

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

to France, as well as a talented artist, with 35 known watercolours. He married

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 first wife Maria Leopoldina of Habsburg), who becam ...

, daughter of Emperor Pedro I and sister of

Emperor Pedro II '' Dom'' PedroII (Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous (), was the second and last monar ...

. The dowry received by François upon the marriage became the Brazilian city of

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the Southern Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitib ...

. François and Francisca's grandson

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

went on to become the Orléanist claimant to the extinct French throne, a claim passed on to his son, grandson and now great-grandson

Jean, Count of Paris Jean Carl Pierre Marie d'Orléans (born 19 May 1965) is the current head of the House of Orléans. Jean is the senior male descendant by primogeniture in the male-line of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and thus according to the Orléanis ...

, current Orléanist claimant to the French crown.

Early life and military career

He was born François-Ferdinand-Philippe-Louis-Marie d'Orléans 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 ...

, in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

, France. Educated for the navy, he was commissioned

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1836. His first conspicuous service was at the Bombardment of San Juan de Ulúa, in November 1838, commanding the corvette , when he headed a landing party and took the Mexican general

Mariano Arista José Mariano Martín Buenaventura Ignacio Nepomuceno García de Arista Nuez (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician who also became president of Mexico. He was in command of the Mexican forces at the opening batt ...

prisoner at

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. The Prince was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the frigate ''La'' , and in 1840 was entrusted with bringing the remains of

from

to France.

Marriage to Francisca of Brazil

In 1838, François had made his first trip to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, where he had been warmly hosted by

, son of Emperor

Pedro I of Brazil ''Don (honorific), Dom'' Pedro I (12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), known in Brazil and in Portugal as "the Liberator" () or "the Soldier King" () in Portugal, was the founder and List of monarchs of Brazil, first ruler of the Empire of ...

and Archduchess Leopoldina of Austria, a

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. During his time in the Brazilian court, François met Princess Francisca, Pedro's younger daughter, his first cousin once removed, then 14 years old. In 1840, François again stopped in Brazil for two weeks on his way back from St. Helena, where he had headed the expedition entrusted with bringing the remains of

from

to France. Three years later, François headed once again to Rio de Janeiro, in order to marry Princess Francisca. They married in that city on 1 May 1843. François received as dowry an area of over 580 km² in the South of Brazil, in the state of Santa Catarina, until then called ''Colônia Dona Francisca'' after its owner, the newly-wed princess, sister to the emperor. The area, near the coast and devoid of any populational settlements, therefore became the Brazilian part of the lands of the Prince of Joinville.

Exile and sale of the lands of Joinville

In 1844 he conducted naval operations against Morocco, bombarding

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

and occupying

Mogador Essaouira ( ; ), known until the 1960s as Mogador (, or ), is a port city in the western Morocco, Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014. The foundation of the city of Essao ...

, and was rewarded with the rank of

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

. In the following year he published in the '' Revue des deux mondes'' an article on the deficiencies of the

which attracted considerable attention. In 1848, François' father, King

, was deposed as the monarchy was abolished in France and the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic ( or ), officially the French Republic (), was the second republican government of France. It existed from 1848 until its dissolution in 1852. Following the final defeat of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle ...

instaurated. Like his parents and siblings, François nominally lost all his properties and lands in France, including the French lands of the principality of Joinville, and hastily went with his wife and family to

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Having taken refuge with his family at

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

, and with the Brazilian lands of Joinville as his only remaining property, François decided to make profits off those that were last remnants of his former principality. With the assistance of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Senator Christian Mathias Schroeder, with whom the gains were split, parts of the lands were sold to German-speaking immigrants, who started arriving in the Brazilian Joinville on 9 March 1851 and built the first facilities in the area, including a small royal palace. The titularity of the principality was negotiated with Heinrich Ferdinand Wiese, German-speaking noble-man from

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

whose family was fleeing as the Danish troops invaded their territory during the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

. It was agreed that the transferred title could only be used by Heinrich Ferdinand or his descendants after the passing of François and Francisca, who officially kept the titles of Prince and Princess of Joinville until their death.

Political career and service in the American Civil War

François was excluded from continuing a career in the Second Republic's navy. So in 1851, he announced his candidacy for the French presidential election to be held in 1852, hoping to pave the way for an eventual restoration of the monarchy. His plan to become a second "Prince-President" was preempted by the 2 December 1851 coup by which the first "Prince-President", Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, effected his own ascension to the throne. In 1861, upon the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and placed the services of his son and two of his nephews at the disposal of the government.

President Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating the Confederate State ...

appointed him and his nephews to the staff of Major General

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...

. In June 1862, disagreements with the US position towards

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

caused the prince to withdraw from the Union forces, and he returned to Europe. With the overthrow of the Second Empire in 1870, François returned to France, only to be promptly expelled by the

Government of National Defense The Government of National Defense () was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclamation of the Republic in Paris on 4 September ...

. Returning incognito, he joined the army of general

Louis d'Aurelle de Paladines Louis Jean-Baptiste d'Aurelle de Paladines (; 9 January 1804 – 17 December 1877) was a French general. Life He was born at Le Malzieu-Ville, Lozère, educated at the Prytanée National Militaire and Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, S ...

, under the assumed name of "Colonel Lutherod", fought bravely in

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Gambetta, however, arrested him and sent him back to England. In the elections of 1871 to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, the prince was elected to sit for the

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.former principality. By an arrangement with

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

, however, the prince did not take his seat until the latter had been chosen president of the provisional republic.

Deafness

Starting at a young age, François became increasingly

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

, and surgery to cure his hearing loss was totally unsuccessful. His friend

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

wrote in his memoirs, "''The Prince de Joinville's deafness increases. Sometimes it saddens him, sometimes he makes light of it. One day he said to me: 'Speak louder, I am as deaf as a post". His increasing deafness prevented him from making many contributions to the

, and he resigned his parliamentary seat in 1876.

Later life and death

In 1886, a new law against pretenders to the throne being part of the French armed forces deprived François of his rank as admiral. François and Francisca lived their last decades of life together in Paris, at their home in avenue d'Antin. Francisca died in 1898, aged 73, and François outlived her by two years, dying at home on 16 June 1900, at the age of 81.

Works

The Prince de Joinville was the author of several essays and pamphlets on naval affairs and other matters of public interest, which were originally published for the most part either unsigned or pseudonymously, and subsequently republished under his own name after the fall of the Empire. They include ''Essais sur la marine française'' (1853); ''Études sur la marine'' (1859 and 1870); ''Guerre d'Amérique, campagne du Potomac'' (1862 and 1872); ''Encore un mot sur Sadowa'' (Brussels, 1868); and ''Vieux souvenirs'' (1894). François de Joinville was also a painter. He was present at the Revolution of 1830 when Charles X was replaced as king by François' father, the Orleanist

. Before and after that, in a number of portraits of French national life he depicted several great events in the life of the French monarchy. As Charles X's troops marshalled at the Place de la Concorde he depicted them firing on the crowd. He painted Charles X as the mob invaded the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...

, with François' father, future King Louis-Philippe, standing behind him. In a famous scene (depicted on right), François drew a woman atop some men handing her the Tricolor as they marched on 31 July 1830. François' royal motifs contrasted heavily with

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...

's famous depiction of the same event. François also painted his own delivery of Napoleon's body on returning from St Helena. In total, François painted 35 watercolours.

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 ...

* : Grand Cross of the Southern Cross * :

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 ...

, ''29 October 1846'' *

Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose numb ...

: Grand Cross of the

Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order ()Hausorden
Herzogliche Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha was a ...

, ''1864'' *

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 * : Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword Retrieved 2018-09-21. * : Grand Cordon of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

, ''22 March 1842''

Ancestry

Children

François and Francisca's daughter,

Françoise Françoise () is a French feminine given name (equivalent to the English Frances or Italian Francesca) and may refer to: * Anne Françoise Elizabeth Lange (1772–1816), French actress * Claudine Françoise Mignot (1624–1711), French adventuress ...

, was the mother of Prince Jean, pretender to the French throne. His own son and his grandson have been considered the legitimate claimants to the throne of France, and his great-grandson,

, is the current claimant to the French crown. François and Francisca's son,

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, entered the United States Naval Academy on 15 October 1861. He received an honorary appointment as an ensign in the United States Navy on 28 May 1863 and served on the frigate USS ''John Adams''. He was granted a leave of absence from the Navy as of 1 January 1864 and resigned from the Navy on 30 May 1864. He returned to France in June of that year.

References

External links

* Works by François, prince of Joinville – in Wikimedia Commons *
''Memoirs of the Prince de Joinville''
English translation by Lady Mary Loyd, from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francois dOrleans, Prince of Joinville 1818 births 1900 deaths French Navy admirals People from Neuilly-sur-Seine Princes of France (Orléans) Burials at the Chapelle royale de Dreux Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Children of Louis Philippe I Sons of kings