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 Duke of Bourbon (french: Duc de Bourbon) is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of B ...

. The second name of

Montpensier The French lordship of Montpensier (named after the village of Montpensier, département of Puy-de-Dôme), located in historical Auvergne, became a countship in the 14th century. It changed hands from the House of Thiern, to the House of Beau ...

, 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 Ro ...

and their cousins the Bourbon-Penthièvres.

History

The main line was founded by a marriage between

John I, Duke of Bourbon John of Bourbon (1381–1434) was Duke of Bourbon, from 1410 to his death and Duke of Auvergne since 1416. He was the eldest son of Louis II and Anne of Auvergne. Through his mother, John inherited the County of Forez. During the Armagnac–B ...

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 (1363–1401) - ''brother'' # Marie de Valois, comtesse de Montpensier (1375–1434) - ''sister of John; she married

'' # 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 Ro ...

On the death of Anne, Duchess of Montpensier, many of her titles, lands and wealth went to the

. Her cousin Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans was the founder of the modern

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 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 (1824–1890) youngest son of

Louis Philippe, King of the French Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

* 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 Marie de Bourbon (15 October 1605 – 4 June 1627), Duchess of Montpensier, and Duchess of Orléans by marriage, was a French noblewoman and one of the last members of the House of Bourbon-Montpensier. Her parents were Henri de Bourbon, '' D ...

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 lat ...

, a whole collection of titles had been collected and used. These ones were: *

Dauphin of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The c ...

*''Sovereign Prince of the Dombes (Prince du Dombes) *Lord of Châtellerault *

Duke of Montpensier The French lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordshi ...

*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 The House of Bourbon-Maine was a legitimate branch of the House of Bourbon, being thus part of the Capetian dynasty. It was founded in 1672 when Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine was legitimised by his father, King Louis XIV of France. H ...

'', as a result of a scam by his mother Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. Her vast wealth helped to found the

and then the '' Bourbon-Penthièvre'' 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 accusat ...

went on to be absorbed by the

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 Princess Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (german: Prinzessin Elisabeth Charlotte von der Pfalz), (french: Princesse Élisabeth-Charlotte du Palatinat); known as Liselotte von der Pfalz, 27 May 1652 – 8 December 1722) was a German m ...

, ''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 co ...

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 monar ...

of the Orléans family.

History

Counts of Montpensier (1384)

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 ...

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 ...

Post Louis-Philippe of France

Courtesy title

Other Titles

After Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans

House of Orléans

See also