Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ferdinand-Philippe

House of Orléans
Kingdom of France

Louis-Philippe

Children
Ferdinand-Philippe, Prince Royal
Louise, Queen of the Belgians
Marie d'Orléans, Duchess of Württemberg
Louis, duc de Nemours
Clementine, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
François, prince de Joinville
Henri, duc d'Aumale
Antoine, duc de Montpensier
Grandchildren
Philippe VII, comte de Paris
Robert, duc de Chartres
Gaston, comte d'Eu
Ferdinand, duc d'Alençon
Margaret d'Orléans
Blanche d'Orléans
Françoise-Marie, duchesse de Chartres
Louis Philippe, prince de Condé
François Louis, duc de Guise
Great Grandchildren
Amélie, Queen consort of Portugal
Philippe, duc d'Orléans
Hélène, Duchess of Aosta
Isabelle, duchesse de Guise
Louise d'Orléans
Ferdinand, duc de Montpensier
Marie d'Orléans, Princess of Denmark
Robert d'Orléans
Henri d'Orléans
Marguerite d'Orléans
Jean III, duc de Guise
Louise d'Orléans
Emmanuel, duc de Vendôme
Great Great Grandchildren
Isabelle d'Orléans
Françoise, Princess of Greece and Denmark
Anne d'Orléans
Henri VI, comte de Paris
Great Great Great Grandchildren
Isabella d'Orléans
Henri VII, comte de Paris
Hélène d'Orléans
François, duc d'Orléans
Anne, Duchess of Calabria
Diane, Duchess of Württemberg
Michel, comte d'Evreux
Jacques, duc d'Orléans
Claude, Duchess of Aosta
Chantal d'Orléans
Thibaut, comte de la Marche
Marie Louise d'Orléans
Sophie Joséphine d'Orléans
Geneviève Marie d'Orléans
Charles Philippe, duc de Nemours
Great Great Great Great Grandchildren
Marie d'Orléans
François, comte de Clermont
Blanche d'Orléans
Jean, duc de Vendôme
Eudes, duc d'Angoulême
Clothilde d'Orléans
Adélaïde d'Orléans
Charles Philippe, duc d'Anjou
François d'Orléans
Diane Marie d'Orléans
Charles-Louis, duc de Chartres
Foulques, duc d'Aumale

HRH Prince Ferdinand-Philippe of Orléans (September 3, 1810—July 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, 1814—May 18, 1858).

They had two children:

Philippe, Count of Paris (1838-1894), Prince Royal, who married Marie Isabelle of Orléans, Princess of Spain (1848—1919).
Robert, Duke of Chartres (1840-1910), married Françoise of Orléans (b.1844-d.1925).

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.