The House of Bourbon-Montpensier or ''Maison de Bourbon-Montpensier'' was a semi royal family. The name of Bourbon comes from a marriage between
Marie de Valois, comtesse de Montpensier (1375–1434) who married
Jean de Bourbon - the
duc de Bourbon. The second name of
Montpensier, comes from the title of the family.
The Bourbon-Montpensier family were the founders of the vast wealth that would later be enjoyed by 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 R ...
and their cousins the
Bourbon-Penthièvre
The House of Bourbon-Penthièvre was an illegitimate branch of the House of Bourbon, thus descending from the Capetian dynasty. It was founded by the duc de Penthièvre (1725–1793), the only child and heir of the comte de Toulouse, the yo ...
s.
History
The main line was founded by a marriage between
John I, Duke of Bourbon and
Marie de Valois, comtesse de Montpensier. The title was transferred down the line, mainly by females. The most famous examples of holders of the title of ''duc de Montpensier'' were:
#
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, ''duchesse de Montpensier'' (''La Grande Mademoiselle'')
#
Philippe II d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier''
#
Louis Philippe II d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier''
This semi royal house was in existence for just over two centuries.
Counts of Montpensier (1384)
# Charles de Valois, comte de Montpensier (1362–1382) - ''son of
John de Valois, duc de Berry and Auvergne''
#
John of Valois, Count of Montpensier
John of Berry (1375/1376–1397), count of Montpensier (1386–1401), was a French nobleman. He was the son of John, Duke of Berry and Joanna of Armagnac. He had no children and predeceased his father.
He married twice:
#in 1386 at Saint-Ouen ...
(1363–1401) - ''brother''
#
Marie de Valois, comtesse de Montpensier (1375–1434) - ''sister of John; she married
John I, Duke of Bourbon''
#
Louis I de Bourbon, comte de Montpensier (1403–1486) - ''son''
#
Gilbert de Bourbon, comte de Montpensier (1448–1496) - ''son of Louis I''
#
Louis II de Bourbon, comte de Montpensier (1483–1501) - ''son of Gilbert''
#
Charles III de Bourbon, comte de Montpensier (1490–1527) - ''brother of Louis II''
Dukes of Montpensier (1539)
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...
#
Louise de Bourbon, ''duchesse de Montpensier'' (1482–1561) - ''sister of Charles III''
#
Louis III de Bourbon, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1513–1582) - ''son of Louise''
# François de Bourbon, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1542–1592) - ''son of Louis''
#
Henri de Bourbon, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1573–1608) - ''son of François''
#
Marie de Bourbon, ''duchesse de Montpensier'' (1605–1627) - ''daughter of Henri''
#
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, ''duchesse de Montpensier'' (''La Grande Mademoiselle'') (1627–1693) - ''daughter of Marie''
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 R ...
On the death of Anne, Duchess of Montpensier, many of her titles, lands and wealth went to 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 R ...
. Her cousin
Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans was the founder of the modern
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 R ...
and was her sole heir. As a result of this vast inheritance, the Orléans family became very wealthy. Their wealth only increased when the
Bourbon-Penthièvre
The House of Bourbon-Penthièvre was an illegitimate branch of the House of Bourbon, thus descending from the Capetian dynasty. It was founded by the duc de Penthièvre (1725–1793), the only child and heir of the comte de Toulouse, the yo ...
married into the family in 1769.
#
Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier''
#
Philippe II d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1674-1723)
#
Louis d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1703-1752) - ''son of Philippe''
#
Louis Philippe I d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1725-1785) - ''son of Louis''
#
Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier'' (''Philippe Égalité'') (1747-1793) - ''son of Louis Philippe I''
#
Louis Philippe III d'Orléans, King of the French, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1773-1850) - ''son of Louis Philippe Joseph''
Post Louis-Philippe of France
#
Philippe d'Orléans, comte de Paris, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1838-1894) - ''grandson of Louis Philippe''
#
Philippe d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1869-1926) - ''son of Philippe''
#
Jean d'Orléans, duc de Guise, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1874-1940) - ''cousin of Philippe''
#
Henri d'Orléans, comte de Paris, duc d'Orléans, ''duc de Montpensier'' (1908-1999) - ''son of Jean''
#
Henri d'Orléans, comte de Paris, duc de France, ''duc de Montpensier'' (born 1933) - ''son of Henri''
Courtesy title
The title Duke of Montpensier has been used as a courtesy title by other members of the House of Orléans:
* Antoine Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier (1775–1807) second son of
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Louis Philippe Joseph; 13 April 17476 November 1793), was a major French noble who supported the French Revolution.
Louis Philippe II was born at the Château de Saint-Cloud to Louis Philippe I, Duke of Char ...
*
Antoine d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier
es, Antonio María Felipe Luis de Orleans
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Neuilly, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palacio de Orléans-Borbón, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain
, date of burial =
, place ...
(1824–1890) youngest son of
Louis Philippe, King of the French
*
Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg, Duchess of Montpensier (born 1934), ex-wife of
Prince Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France
Other Titles
Before the title was given to the
Orléans Family, the title was the main on used by the holder. By the time of the marriage of
Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier and a
Prince du Sang,
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
''Monsieur'' Gaston, Duke of Orléans (Gaston Jean Baptiste; 24 April 1608 – 2 February 1660), was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his second wife, Marie de' Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a '' Fils de France''. He late ...
, a whole collection of titles had been collected and used. These ones were:
*
Dauphin of Auvergne
*''Sovereign Prince of the Dombes (Prince du Dombes)
*Lord of Châtellerault
*
Duke of Montpensier
*Prince de Luc,
*Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon,
*Prince de Joinville
*Duc de Beaupréau
*Duc de Guise
*Duc de Saint-Fargeau
*Duc de Joyeuse
*Duc de Châtellerault
*Marquise de Méziere
*Comte d'Eu,
*Comte de Mortain
*Comte de Bar-sur-Seine
*vicomte d'Auge
*Vicomte de Brosse,
*Baron de Beaujolais,
*Lord de Champigny-sur-Veude
''Note:Most of the titles were used in their feminine forms because most of the holders of the titles were women.''
After Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans
On the death of
Marie de Bourbon, ''duchesse de Montpensier'' in 1627, less than a month after the birth of her daughter
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, duchesse de Montpensier the family wealth had grown astonishingly. After her mother's death, Anne became the heiress to one of the largest fortunes in, probably, Europe.
Unfortunately she died with no heirs. Even though she could have been Queen of various countries, she was happy being a
Princesse du Sang in France and having her various residences at her disposal. She died in 1693 and most of her fortune went to her other royal cousin
Philippe de France, ''
duc d'Orléans''. Even though some of her titles had gone to
Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, the founder of the illegitimate line of ''
Bourbon du Maine'', as a result of a scam by his mother
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan.
Her vast wealth helped to found 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 R ...
and then the ''
Bourbon-Penthièvre
The House of Bourbon-Penthièvre was an illegitimate branch of the House of Bourbon, thus descending from the Capetian dynasty. It was founded by the duc de Penthièvre (1725–1793), the only child and heir of the comte de Toulouse, the yo ...
'' family financially. The latter getting most of it through the death and inheritances from their cousins the du Maines.
They
In Modern English, ''they'' is a third-person pronoun relating to a grammatical subject.
Morphology
In Standard Modern English, ''they'' has five distinct word forms:
* ''they'': the nominative (subjective) form
* ''them'': the acc ...
went on to be absorbed by 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 R ...
via a marriage and no male heirs.
House of Orléans
On the death of Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, the title was used exclusively by the main members on the house. The first person to hold the title of duc de Montpensier was Philippe de France and the title is often said to have been inherited by his wife
Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine, ''duchesse d'Orléans''. Even so, she did not hold the title in her own right but as the wife of the duke of Montpensier.
The title passed down the line of the Orléans family and is now used as a
courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some c ...
by the pretender to the
Throne
A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the mon ...
of the
Orléans family.
See also
*
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...
{{Authority control
Bourbon-Montpensier, House of
Bourbon-Montpensier, House of