Louise of Orléans

For other people named Louise-Marie, see Louise-Marie.
Louise of Orléans

Louise by Nicaise de Keyser now part of the Royal Collection.
Queen consort of the Belgians
Tenure 9 August 1832 – 11 October 1850
Born (1812-04-03)3 April 1812
Palermo, Sicily
Died 11 October 1850(1850-10-11) (aged 38)
Ostend, Belgium
Spouse Leopold I of Belgium
Issue
Full name
Louise Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle d'Orléans
House Orléans
Father Louis-Philippe I, King of the French
Mother Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies
Religion Roman Catholic
Signature

Louise of Orléans (Louise Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle; 3 April 1812 – 11 October 1850) was a Princess of Orléans[1] and was Queen consort of the Belgians as the last wife of King Leopold I. She is an ancestor of the present King of Belgium, Italian Royal Pretender (Prince of Naples), the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the present Prince Napoléon - head of the Imperial House of France.

Life

Born in Palermo, Sicily, on 3 April 1812, she was the eldest daughter of the future King Louis-Philippe I, King of the French and of his wife Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies. As a child, she had a religious and bourgeoise education thanks to the part played by her mother and her aunt, Princess Adélaïde of Orléans to whom she was very close. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon she was entitled to the rank of a Princess of the Blood Royal.

On her father's side, she was a descendant of Philippe Égalité, Philippe d'Orléans, Regent for Louis XV, Madame de Montespan, and of Louis XIV and Philippe I, Duke of Orléans both the sons of Louis XIII. On her mother's side, she was a descendant of Maria Theresa of Austria and Catherine de' Medici. At the accession of her father to the throne, under the name Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, when she was eighteen, Louise became a princesse d'Orléans.

Marriage

On 9 August 1832, Louise married King Leopold I of the Belgians at the Château de Compiègne, in France. Since Leopold was a Protestant, they had both a Catholic and a Calvinist ceremony.

Children

Louise and Leopold had four children, including Leopold II of Belgium and Empress Carlota of Mexico.

Louise was the 298th Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa on 10 February 1835. A devoted wife and loving mother, she was of a very shy nature and was often only seen in public when her husband forced her. She soon proved to be very popular at the Belgian court with her famous generosity and beauty. Queen Louise-Marie died of tuberculosis in Ostend on 11 October 1850. She is buried beside her husband in Royal Crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

Ancestry

Titles and Styles

Honours

References

  1. ↑ Ordonnance of 13 August 1830 :
    LOUIS PHILIPPE ROI DES FRANÇAIS, à tous présens et à venir, salut.
    Notre avènement à la couronne ayant rendu nécessaire de déterminer les noms et les titres que devaient porter à l'avenir les princes et princesses nos enfans, ainsi que notre bien-aimée sœur,
    Nous avons ordonné et ordonnons ce qui suit :
    Les princes et princesses nos bien-aimés enfans, ainsi que notre bien-aimée sœur, continueront à porter le nom et les armes d'Orléans.
    Notre bien-aimé fils aîné, le duc de Chartres, portera, comme prince royal, le titre de duc d'Orléans.
    Nos bien-aimés fils puînés conserveront les titres qu'ils ont portés jusqu'à ce jour.
    Nos bien-aimées filles et notre bien-aimée sœur ne porteront d'autre titre que celui de princesses d'Orléans, en se distinguant entre elles par leurs prénoms.
    Il sera fait, en conséquence, sur les registres de l'état civil de la Maison royale, dans les archives de la Chambre des Pairs, toutes les rectifications qui résultent des dispositions ci-dessus [...]

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louise-Marie of France.
Louise of Orléans
Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon
Born: 3 April 1812 Died: 11 October 1850
Belgian royalty
New title Queen consort of the Belgians
1832–1850 		Vacant
Title next held by
Marie Henriette of Austria
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