Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Philippe Charles (August 2, 1674 – December 2, 1723) called Duke of Chartres (1674–1701), and then Duke of Orléans (1701–1723) was Regent of France from 1715 to 1723. His regency during the minority of Louis XV being the last regency in the kingdom of France, he is still commonly referred to as le Régent and his regency as la Régence.

Before regency

He was born in Saint-Cloud, the son of Philip I, Duke of Orléans and his second wife Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (1652–1722). He was also the nephew of king Louis XIV.

He had his first experience of arms at the siege of Mons in 1691. He fought with distinction at Steenkerque, Neerwinden and Namur (1692–1695). During the next few years, being without employment, he studied natural science.

In 1692, he married Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mlle de Blois (1677–1749), his first cousin and the legitimized daughter of Louis XIV and Mme de Montespan. This marriage won him the favor of the king.

He was next given a command in Italy (1706) and in Spain (1707–1708) where he gained some important successes, but he cherished lofty ambitions and was suspected of wishing to take the place of Philip V on the throne of Spain. Louis XIV was angry at these pretensions, and for a long time held him in disfavour. In his will, however, he appointed him president of the council of regency of the young king Louis XV (1715).

Regency

On the death of Louis XIV (September 1, 1715), the late king's five-year-old great-grandson was crowned king Louis XV of France. The duke of Orléans went to the parlement, had the will annulled, and himself invested with absolute power, and the then forty-one-year-old Philippe became Regent.

At first he decreased taxation and dismissed 25,000 soldiers. But the inquisitorial measures which he had begun against the financiers led to disturbances. He was, moreover, weak enough to countenance the risky operations of the banker John Law, whose bankruptcy led to a disastrous crisis in the public and private affairs of France. On June 6, 1717, under the influence of Law and the Duc de Saint-Simon, the Regent persuaded the Regency Council to purchase from Thomas Pitt for £135,000 the largest diamond in the world at that time, a 141 carat (28.2 g) cushion brilliant, for the crown jewels of France. The diamond was known from then on as "le Régent".

There existed a party of malcontents who wished to transfer the regency from Orleans to Philip V, king of Spain. A conspiracy was formed, under the inspiration of Cardinal Alberoni, first minister of Spain, and directed by the Prince of Cellamare, Spanish ambassador in France, with the complicity of the duke and duchess of Maine (the legitimized son of Louis XIV); but in 1718 it was discovered and defeated. Guillaume Dubois, formerly tutor to the duke of Orleans, and now his chief minister, caused war to be declared against Spain, with the support of the emperor, and of England and the Netherlands (Quadruple Alliance). After some successes of the French marshal, the Duke of Berwick, in Spain, and of the imperial troops in Sicily, Philip V made peace with the regent (1720).

End of regency

On the majority of the king, which was declared on February 15, 1723, the duke of Orleans resigned the supreme power; but he became first minister to the king, and remained in office till his death on December 23, 1723. He died at the Palace of Versailles and was buried in the city of his birth, Saint-Cloud.

Other characteristics

The regent had great qualities, both brilliant and solid, which were unfortunately spoilt by an excessive taste for pleasure. His dissolute manners found only too many imitators, and the regency was one of the most corrupt periods in French history.

Philippe was a professed atheist who boasted to read the satirical works of François Rabelais inside a Bible binding during mass, and liked to hold orgies even on religious high holidays. He acted in plays of Molière and Racine, composed an opera, and was a gifted painter and engraver. Despite his atheism, Philippe favoured the Jansenists against the decrees of the Pope.

A liberal and imaginative man, he was however, often weak, inconsistent and vacillating. Nonetheless, as Regent, he changed the manners of the ruler and his nobles from the hypocrisy of Louis XIV to complete candor. He was against censorship and ordered the reprinting of books banned under the reign of his uncle. Reversing his uncle's policies again, Philippe formed an alliance with England, Austria, and the Netherlands, and fought a successful war against Spain that established the conditions of a European peace.

Philippe promoted education, making the Sorbonne tuition free and opening the Royal Library to the public (1720). He is however most remembered for the debauchery he brought to Versailles and for the John Law banking scandal.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Marriage and children

On 18 February 1692, he married Francoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois (1677–1749), with whom he had 8 children:
- Mademoiselle de Valois (17 December 1693 – 17 October 1694)
- Marie Louise Elisabeth (20 August 1695 – 21 July 1719).
- Louise Adélaïde (13 August 1698 – 10 February 1743).
- Charlotte Aglaé (20 October 1700 – 19 January 1761).
- Louis, Duke of Orléans (4 August 1703 – 4 February 1752).
- Louise Elisabeth (11 December 1709 – 16 June 1742).
- Philippine Elisabeth (18 December 1714 – 21 May 1734).
- Louise Diane (27 June 1716 – 26 September 1736).

Biographies

The Regent of the Roues by Andrew C.P. Haggard - 1905 London: Hutchinson & Co. (In English)
The Scandalous Regent by W.H. Lewis - 1961 London: Andre Deutsch (In English)
Phillippe, Duke of Orleans: Regent of France by J.H. Shennan - 1979 London: Thames and Hudson (In English)
Le Regent 1674-1723 by Jean Meyer - 1985 Paris: Editions Ramsay (In French)
Le Regent by Jean-Christian Petitfils - 1986 Paris: Libraire Artheme-Fayard (In French)
Philippe, Duc D'Orleans: Regent of France by Christine Pevitt - 1997 London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (In English)

Regents of France | House of Bourbon | French nobility | 1674 births | 1723 deaths