Gaston, Duke of Orléans
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Gaston Jean-Baptiste de France d uc d'Orléans (April 25, 1608 – February 2, 1660, Blois), was the third son of the French king Henry IV and of his wife Marie de' Medici.
As a son of the king, he was a Fils de France. As the eldest surviving brother of King Louis XIII, he was known at court by the traditional honorific of Monsieur.
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[edit] Early Life
He was born at the Fontainbleau. Known at first as the Duc d'Anjou, he became Duc d'Orléans, Comte de Blois and Comte de Chartres in 1626, and had nominal command of the army which besieged La Rochelle in 1628, having already entered upon that course of political intrigue which would occupy the remainder of his life.
On two occasions he had to leave France for conspiring against the government of his mother and of Cardinal Richelieu; and after waging an unsuccessful war in Languedoc, he took refuge in Flanders.
Reconciled with his brother Louis XIII, he plotted against Richelieu in 1635, fled from the country, and then submitted to the king and the cardinal.
Soon afterwards the same process repeated itself. Orléans stirred up Cinq-Mars to attempt Richelieu's murder, and then deserted his unfortunate accomplice (1642). In 1643, on the death of Louis XIII, Gaston became lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and fought against Spain on the northern frontiers of France; he was created duc d'Alençon in 1646. However, during the wars of the Fronde (1648–1653), he passed with great facility from one party to the other.
[edit] Issue
Gaston first married on August 6, 1626, at Nantes, to Marie de Bourbon, daughter and heiress of Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier. He later married on January 3, 1632, at Nancy, Marguerite (d. 1672), sister of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine. By Marie he had a daughter and a son:
- Anne, Duchess of Montpensier (1627–1693) (Mademoiselle de Montpensier or La Grande Mademoiselle, to distinguish her from Mademoiselle, the daughter of Monsieur, Louis XIV's brother)
- She was the last of the line of the House of Bourbon-Montpensiers.
- Jean Gaston (c. 1626)
By Marguerite he had four daughters and a son, who died very young:
- Marguerite Louise (July 28, 1645, Paris – September 17, 1721 Paris), married in Florence on June 20, 1661 Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (separated 1675).
- Elizabeth (December 26, 1646, Paris – March 17, 1696, Versailles), duchesse d'Alençon, married at St. Germain-en-Laye on May 15, 1667 Louis Joseph, Duke of Guise.
- Françoise Madeleine (October 13, 1648, St. Germain-en-Laye – January 14, 1664, Turin), married at The Louvre March 4, 1663 Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy, no issue.
- Marie Anne (November 9, 1652, Paris – August 17, 1695, Blois), Mademoiselle de Chartres.
By Marie Porcher he had a daughter:
By Louise-Roger de La Marbeliere he had a son:
[edit] Later life
After the death of his brother Louis XIII in 1643, his nephew became Monsieur. In order to tell the pair appart, Gaston was called Le Grand Monsieur and Philippe, duc d'Anjou (as he was till he became the Duke of Orléans on Gastons death) became Le Petit Monsieur.
After the Fronde, Gaston was then exiled by Mazarin to Blois in 1652, he remained there until his death. On his death all his Orléáns titles went to the younger brother of Louis XIV, known as Le Petit Monsieur till his uncle's death.
[edit] Ancestors
| Gaston, Duke of Orléans | Father: Henry IV of France |
Paternal Grandfather: Antoine of Navarre |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme |
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Françoise d'Alençon |
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| Paternal Grandmother: Jeanne III of Navarre |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Henry II of Navarre |
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| Paternal Great-grandmother: Marguerite de Navarre |
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| Mother: Marie de' Medici |
Maternal Grandfather: Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Eleonora di Toledo |
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| Maternal Grandmother: Johanna of Austria |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Anna of Bohemia and Hungary |
[edit] References
- Gaston Jean Baptiste de France Duc d'Orléans
- Gaston, Duc d'Orléans Accessed February 24, 2008
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
