Philippe, Comte de Paris

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Louis-Philippe Albert d'Orléans, Comte de Paris (August 24,1838 – September 8,1894) was the grandson of Louis Philippe I, King of the French. He became the Prince Royal, heir to the throne when his father, Prince Ferdinand-Philippe, died in a carriage accident in 1842.

Although there was some effort during the days after the abdication of his grandfather in 1848 to put him on the throne under his mother's (Helene of Mecklenburg) regency, this came to nothing. They fled and the French Second Republic was proclaimed in its stead.

A historian, journalist and outspoken democrat, the Count of Paris volunteered to serve as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War along with his younger brother, the Duke of Chartres. As Captain Philippe d'Orleans, the Count of Paris served on the staff of the commander of the Army of the Potomac under Major General George McClellan for nearly a year. He distinguished himself during the unsuccessful Peninsular Campaign. His history of that war is considered a standard reference work.

In 1864 he married his cousin Marie Isabelle d'Orléans (1848–1919), infanta of Spain. She was daughter of Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain and Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier (1824–1890), the youngest son of Louis-Philippe of France and Marie Amalie of Bourbon-Sicilies. They had eight children, including:

• Amélie of Orléans (1865–1951). She married Carlos I of Portugal in 1886.
• Louis-Philippe Robert, duc d'Orléans (1869–1926).
• Hélène of Orléans (1871–1951). She married Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, 2nd Duke of Aosta in 1895.
• Charles of Orléans (1875–1875).
• Isabelle of Orléans (1878–1961). She married Jean d'Orléans, Duc de Guise in 1899.
• Jacques of Orléans (1880–1881).
• Louise of Orléans (1882–1958). She married Charles de Bourbon-Siciles in 1907.
• Ferdinand of Orléans, Duke de Montpensier (1884–1924). He married Marie Isabelle Gonzales de Olañeta et Ibaretta, 3rd Marchioness of de Valdeterrazo in 1921.

In 1873, anticipating a restoration of the monarchy by the largely monarchist National Assembly that had been elected following the fall of Napoleon III, de Paris withdrew his claims to the French throne in favor of the legitimist claimant, the Comte de Chambord. It was assumed by most that the Comte de Paris was Chambord's heir, and would thus be able to succeed to the throne upon the childless Chambord's death, reuniting the two claims that had rent French monarchists since 1830. However, Chambord's refusal to recognize the tricolor as the French flag sabotaged hopes of a restoration, and the stodgy old legitimist died in 1883 without ever specifically recognizing his Orleanist rival as his heir.

Upon the Comte de Chambord's death, the Comte de Paris was recognized by most monarchists as Philip VII of France. This succession was disputed by the Carlist descendants of the Bourbon kings of Spain, on the grounds that they were descended directly from Louis XIV.

The Comte de Paris lived in Sheen House, Sheen in Surrey Britain, where his grandfather had sought refuge after his abdication. He died at Stowe House in 1894.

See also

• Comte de Paris