Philippe D'Orleans - Louis XIV's FLAMBOYANT brother

Welcome to this video about Philip of France, Duke d'Orléans and brother of King Louis XIV. Second in line to the throne of France, he was a serious threat to the monarchy, but Monsieur never opposed Louis XIV, who was the legitimate ruler. The Duke always remained loyal to the crown and led an extravagant way of life. He regularly shocked the public, surrounded himself with many flamboyant characters and, despite his feminine image, regularly successfully led military campaigns. On September 21, 1640, Philip of France, Duke d'Anjou and the future Duke d'Orléans was born to King Louis XIII and his wife, Anne of Austria. Philip was born in a residence at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The boy was the younger brother of the future King Louis XIV, who was born on September 5, 1638. Louis XIV ascended the throne in 1643 after their father's death. The news that Anne of Austria gave birth to Philip was greeted with great enthusiasm at court. The all-powerful Cardinal Richelieu was particularly delighted. He understood that thanks to the birth of Philip, the line of succession was guaranteed in case something would happen to the young Dauphin Louis. The relationship between Philip and Louis was unusual for royal families. History shows how royal brothers often hated each other and battled one another for power. The hereditary principle in which the senior heir received all titles and lands, or in some cases, the crown, whereas the other remained in his shadow, was extremely unfair and often led to the earlier mentioned battles. However, Philip of Orléans never plotted against Louis. The two brothers maintained a warm relationship throughout most of their life, partly thanks to the efforts of their mother, Anne of Austria, who went to great lengths to assure her children grew up together. The boys played and studied together. They even got into trouble together, which led them to be beaten as punishment together as well. The two brothers often got into fights with one another and, although Louis was older, he didn't always win. Like all children, they could argue about trifles, plates of food, sharing beds in a new room, and so forth. Philip was temperamental, loved to shock people, but at the same time he could quickly forgive others. On the other hand, Louis was stubborn and held grudges, which would remain the case throughout Louis' life and reign. The king did not forget or forgive easily. The fact that Philip was the younger brother of the king meant that many courtiers did not like Monsieur. One of his most powerful opponents was Cardinal Mazarin, who followed in the footsteps of Richelieu after his death. Mazarin was responsible for the education of Louis and his younger brother. However, the cardinal did not trust Philip and considered him a threat to Louis' throne. Monsieur could well repeat the actions of Gaston d'Orléans, the uncle of Louis and Philip, who conspired against the government of his brother, King Louis XIII. Some biographers will claim that the homosexuality were deliberately cultivated in Monsieur by Mazarin, as he assumed it would keep Philip weak and unloved at court. However, the feminine side of Philip was encouraged by his mother, Anne of Austria. She preferred her younger son's gentle nature to the harshness of Louis. Thus, she encouraged his cross-dressing and feminine mannerisms. As time passed, Mazarin and Anne of Austria started to spend more time on Louis to further his education as a king. It became less important what happened to Philip, as long as he did not meddle with the throne. This gave Philip the freedom to build a life at court surrounding himself with his flamboyant friends. In 1661, Louis XIII's younger brother, Gaston, the Duc d'Orléans, died. After his death, the title of Duc d'Orléans was passed to Philippe, who was previously the Duke of Anjou. In the same year, Philippe d'Orléans married Henriette Anne Stewart, daughter of Charles I of England. Philip's first wife, Henriette, was meant to marry Louis XIV himself. However, during their adolescence, the monarchy in England was overthrown, Charles I was executed, and the Republic of the Commonwealth of England was established. A marriage of Henriette to the King of France was now out of the question. Wives of kings were chosen based on position and prestige of the dynasty of the country they originated from. When Henriette's brother, Charles II, regained his father's throne in 1660, Henriette's position became more favorable. But Louis XIV was already married by then to Maria Theresia of Spain, so the offer was made for her to marry Philippe. Cardinal Mazarin opposed the marriage, but when he died on March 9, 1661, the engagement went ahead. It isn't really known how Henriette felt about the upcoming marriage to Philippe. In England, rumors flied about Monsieur's colorful character. After their wedding, Louis gifted his brother the Palais Royal, which became Philippe and Henriette's city residence. Monsieur felt quite fascinated by his wife for two weeks after the wedding, but he soon lost interest and returned to the company of his lovers at court. They did not have a happy marriage, but despite his homosexuality, Philippe did his duty to the Bourbon dynasty, and four children were born. Marie Louise d'Orléans. She was born on March 27, 1662, and she died on February 12, 1689. Philippe-Charles d'Orléans. The Duke of Valois. He was born on July 16, 1664, and died in infancy on December 8, 1666. An unnamed baby girl was born on July 9, 1665 in Versailles, but she died shortly after birth. Anne-Marie d'Orléans was born on August 27, 1669. She died on August 26, 1728. Henriette of England died in 1670, and Philippe married a second time to Elisabeth-Charlotte of the Paltz on December 21, 1671. From this marriage, three children were born. Alexandre-Louis d'Orléans. The Duke of Valois. Born in 1673, he died at the age of three years old in 1676. Philippe II d'Orléans was born on August 2, 1674. He became Regent of France upon the death of his uncle Louis XIV. He died on December 2, 1723. Elisabeth-Charlotte d'Orléans was born on September 13, 1676, and died on December 23, 1744. Among the descendants of Philippe's children, we can count King Louis-Philippe and all of the Orléanist pretenders to the throne of France. His daughter Elisabeth-Charlotte was a direct ancestor of Queen Marie-Antoinette. From this bloodline also comes Napoleon II, son of Napoleon I and Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria. The surviving correspondence of Elisabeth-Charlotte of the Pals, known at court as La Palatine, has become an extensive record about life at court. The romances of Philippe, mainly the affair with the Chevalier Philippe de Lorraine, is well documented by La Palatine. The Chevalier de Lorraine was a member of an ancient aristocratic family. Despite efforts of both Henriette and La Palatine to break up the relationship between the two men, Philippe remained close to the Chevalier. Their relationship lasted until the death of Monsieur in 1701. The Chevalier de Lorraine survived him by only one year. After the death of Philippe d'Orléans, Louis XIV ordered his entire personal correspondence to be burned, as Louis dreaded the publicity and scandal that might be caused by Philippe's extravagant lifestyle. As mentioned earlier, Philippe proved himself to be a great military strategist. Firstly, during the War of Devolution in 1667 to 1668, when France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands. At the start of the Franco-Dutch War, Philippe d'Orléans was sent to Flanders. Under Philippe's command, the army first captured Cambrai and then laid the city of Saint-Omer under siege. At this point in time, Philippe was informed that the Dutch army, led by William of Orange, was on their way from Ypres. The two sides met each other at the Battle of Cassel on April 11, 1677. Due to the strategy laid out by Philippe, the Dutch suffered a crushing defeat. 8000 men died and 3000 were imprisoned. The victory allowed Philippe to complete the siege of Saint-Omer, after which he took control of the city. Although his military campaign was a great success, Philippe was called back to Versailles by Louis XIV. He was denied any further military commands. It is speculated that Louis XIV was jealous of his brother's achievements. During the later years of his life, Philippe took great pride in the achievement of his children. At this point in time, the relationship between Monsieur and his brother the King was strained. Philippe died on June 9, 1701, the day after a dramatic quarrel with Louis over Philippe's son, whose behavior Louis XIV disapproved of. Philippe fervently defended his son and vehemently reproached his royal brother for his hypocritical attitude. However, the effort had exhausted him so much that he suffered a stroke the same evening and died the next day. Louis XIV was very affected by his brother's death, according to the chroniclers of the time. It is said that Louis XIV felt guilty for Philippe's death due to their argument the day before. After Philippe's death, his heart was taken to Val-de-Grâce and his body was taken to the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris. During the French Revolution, his grave was desecrated and his body was removed to a mass grave. It has been returned, along with the remains of the other French royals, to the crypt of the Basilica during the Restoration. This concludes today's video. Next week, we'll talk about Louis XV. 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