Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans

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Ferdinand-Philippe
Ferdinand-Philippe
French Monarchy
House of Orléans

Louis-Philippe
Children
   Ferdinand-Philippe, Crown Prince of France
   Louise-Marie of France
   Marie of Orléans
   Louis, Duke of Nemours
   Francisca of Orléans
   Clementine of Orléans
   François, Prince of Joinville
   Charles, Duke of Penthièvre
   Henri, Duke of Aumale
   Antoine, Duke of Montpensier
Grandchildren
   Philippe (VII), Count of Paris
   Robert, Duke of Chartres
   Gaston, Count of Eu
   Ferdinand Philippe Marie, Duke of Alençon
   Margaret of Orléans
   Blanche of Orléans
   Marie-Françoise of Orléans
   Louis Philippe Marie Léopold, Prince of Condé
   François Louis, Duke of Guise
Great Grandchildren
   Amélie of Orléans
   Philippe (VIII), Duke of Orléans
   Hélène of Orléans
   Charles of Orléans
   Isabelle of Orléans
   Jacques of Orléans
   Louise of Orléans
   Ferdinand, Duke of Montpensier
   Marie of Orléans
   Robert of Orléans
   Henri of Orléans
   Marguerite of Orléans
   Jean, Duke of Guise
   Louise of Orléans
   Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Vendôme and Alençon
Great Great Grandchildren
   Isabelle of Orléans
   Françoise of Orléans
   Anne of Orlçans
   Henri (VI), Count of Paris
Great Great Great Grandchildren
   Isabella of Orléans
   Henri (VII), Count of Paris
   Hélène of Orléans
   François, Duke of Orléans
   Anne of Orléans
   Diane of Orléans
   Michel, Count of Evreux
   Jacques, Duke of Orléans
   Claude of Orléans
   Chantal of Orléans
   Thibaut, Count of La Marche
   Marie Louise of Orléans
   Sophie Joséphine of Orléans
   Geneviève Marie of Orléans
   Charles Philippe, Duke of Nemours
Great Great Great Great Grandchildren
   Marie of Orléans
   François, Count of Clermont
   Blanche of Orléans
   Jean, Duke of Vendôme
   Eudes, Duke of Angoulême
   Clothilde of Orléans
   Adélaïde of Orléans
   Charles Philippe, Duke of Anjou
   François of Orléans
   Diane Marie of Orléans
   Charles-Louis, Duke of Chartres
   Foulques, Duke of Aumale, Count of Eu

HRH Prince Ferdinand-Philippe of Orléans (September 3, 1810July 13, 1842) was Prince Royal of France.

Born Ferdinand Philippe Louis Charles Henri Joseph of Orléans in Palermo, Italy, he was the eldest son of the then exiled future king Louis-Philippe of France and Princess Marie Amalie of Bourbon-Sicilies.

At his birth Ferdinand-Philippe was given the title of Duke of Chartres. In 1830 when his father was offered the French throne by the Chamber of Deputies, Ferdinand-Philippe received the title of Duke of Orléans.

His marriage was arranged to the Duchess Helena Luisa Elizabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (known as Hélène, January 24, 1814May 18, 1858).

They had two children:

Hélène adored her husband, but tragically, when he was only 32 years old, Ferdinand-Philippe died in a carriage accident in Sablonville in the Hauts-de-Seine département. He was interred in an elaborate tomb in the Chapelle Royale, in Dreux, Eure-et-Loir.

Nearly 16 years later, Helene died, on May 18, 1858 in Richmond, Surrey, England, where members of the French royal family had been forced to flee after the revolt against King Louis-Philippe and the election of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte as President of France. Because Hélène was a Protestant, she could not be buried in the Catholic Chapelle Royale at Dreux. Instead a room with a separate entrance was built attached to the chapel and a window was opened between her tomb and her husband's. The sculpture of the Protestant princess rests atop her tomb, depicting her reaching through the opening to the tomb of her beloved Catholic prince.