Jean, Count of Paris
| Prince Jean | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count of Paris | |||||
 | |||||
| Orléanist pretender to the French throne | |||||
| Tenure | 21 January 2019 – present | ||||
| Predecessor | Prince Henri, Count of Paris | ||||
| Heir apparent | Prince Gaston d’Orléans | ||||
| Born | 19 May 1965 Boulogne-Billancourt, France | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue |
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| House | Orléans | ||||
| Father | Prince Henri, Count of Paris | ||||
| Mother | Duchess Marie Therese of Württemberg | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||
| French royal family Orléanist |
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Jean Carl Pierre Marie d'Orléans (born 19 May 1965) is the current head of the House of Orléans. Jean is the senior male descendant by primogeniture in the male-line of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and thus, according to the Orléanists, the legitimate claimant to the throne of France as Jean IV.[2][3] Of France's three monarchist movements, Orléanism, Legitimism and Bonapartism, most royalists are Orléanists.[4] Jean is the second son of the late Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019) and his former wife Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg (b. 1934). With the death of his father, he has been using the style of Count of Paris since 2019.[5]
Early life
Jean d'Orléans was born on May 19, 1965, in Boulogne-Billancourt, the son of Henry of Orleans and Maria Theresa of Württemberg. He was baptized in the Catholic Church on June 14, 1965 in the royal chapel of Dreux. He received as godfather, his maternal uncle, Carl of Württemberg, and as godmother, his paternal aunt, Princess Chantal of Orleans.[6]
He holds a master's degree in philosophy, a master's degree in law, and an MBA.[7] He performed national service as an officer and has been a Reserve Colonel of the French army since 2015.[8]
First engagement
Prince Jean was due to marry Duchess Tatjana of Oldenburg (b. 1974) in 2001. Duchess Tatjana is the youngest daughter of Duke Johann of Oldenburg and Countess Ilka of Ortenburg. Her elder sister Eilika married Archduke Georg of Austria in 1997. However, the wedding was cancelled at the last minute because of a dispute over religious denomination. Jean's father Henri feared the Orléans claim to the throne would be compromised if there were to be a Protestant heir.[9]
Second engagement and marriage
On 29 November 2008, Henri, the then Count of Paris, announced the engagement of Jean, the then Duke of Vendôme, to Maria Magdalena Philomena Juliana Johanna de Tornos y Steinhart, born in Vienna on 19 June 1977. The civil wedding, conducted by Mayor Rachida Dati, took place on 19 March 2009 in Paris. The religious wedding was held on 2 May 2009 at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame at Senlis, with a reception at the Château de Chantilly.[10][unreliable source?] The bride wore a gown by Christian Lacroix and a jacket embroidered by Maison Lesage.[11]
Philomena is the daughter of Don Alfonso de Tornos y Zubiría, of Basque ancestry, and wife Maria Antonia Anna Zdenka Edle von Steinhart, of Austro-Hungarian ancestry.[citation needed]
Issue
The couple have five children:
- Prince Gaston Louis Antoine Marie d'Orléans (born 19 November 2009 in Paris).
- Princess Antoinette Léopoldine Jeanne Marie d'Orléans (born 28 January 2012 in Vienna).
- Princess Louise-Marguerite Eléonore Marie d'Orléans (born 30 July 2014 in Poissy).
- Prince Joseph Gabriel David Marie d'Orléans (born 2 June 2016).
- Princess Jacinthe Élisabeth-Charlotte Marie d'Orléans (born 9 October 2018 in Dreux).[12]
Politics
Jean has spoken in support of the Yellow vests protests in France.[13] He has also expressed his opposition to both same-sex marriage and abortion.[14][15]
Titles, styles and honours
Titles in pretense
- 19 May 1965 – 27 September 1987: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France[16]
- 27 September 1987 – 21 January 2019: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France, Duke of Vendôme[16]
- 21 January 2019 – present: Monseigneur The Count of Paris[17]
He was created Duke of Vendôme (French: Duc de Vendôme) by his paternal grandfather, on 27 September 1987.[16]
Following the death of his father, it was initially thought that Prince Jean would not assume the title of Count of Paris for several months after his father's death, and possibly not for as much as one year.[18]
Honours
National
France: Recipient of the National Defence Medal, 3rd Class
Dynastic
Portuguese Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (19 February 2000)[19][page needed]
Two Sicilian Royal Family:
- Knight of the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius (19 March 2019, installed 13 May 2019)
- Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (22 November 2009, installed 30 May 2011), Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice with Collar (19 March 2019, installed 13 May 2019)[20]
Ancestry
Jean is a direct male-line descendant of Louis Philippe I, the last French king, who in turn was a descendant of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Jean is also descended from Charles X of France, brother of Louis XVI; and the Bourbons of Spain, the Two Sicilies and Parma.
| Ancestors of Jean, Count of Paris[16] |
|---|
References
- ^ "Portrait du prince Jean". gensdefrance.com (in French).
- ^ Bloks, Moniek (1 January 2019). "Prince François of Orléans, eldest son of Henri, Count of Paris, pretender to the defunct French throne, has died". Royal Central. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "Henri d'Orléans, pretender to French throne, dies". RFI. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ O'Reilly, Edward (24 January 2019). "Did You Know? The Tale of the three Frenchmen who still lay claim to the throne". The Local. Stockholm. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ [Le Prince - website Le Comte de Paris
- ^ Philippe de Montjouvent. Le comte de Paris et sa descendance, éditions du Chaney. p. 215.
- ^ Ibid
- ^ Gotha Almanac, John James, Earl of Tara, 2019
- ^ "BBC News - EUROPE - Royal wedding plans suffer a hitch". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017. https://archive.today/20120712033311/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1384875.stm
- ^ "Jean d'Orlean and Philomena de Tornos to have secind". Hellomagazine.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ WWD Staff (4 May 2009). "Fashion Scoops: The Next Halston?… Something Lacroix…. – WWD". Wwd.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Une nouvelle princesse est née à Dreux" [A new princess was born in Dreux]. L'Écho Républicain (in French). 12 October 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "Le Prince Jean de France: "Gilets Jaunes : Bâtir un projet commun"". 13 December 2018.
- ^ "Le Prince Jean de France à la Manif Pour Tous". 21 March 2013.
- ^ Jean d'Orléans. Un Prince français. p. 111.
- ^ a b c d de Montjouvent, Philippe (1998). Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance (in French). Charenton, France: Editions du Chaney. pp. 13–14, 214, 217, 391–392, 396–398, 473–474. ISBN 2-913211-00-3..
- ^ Official website
- ^ "Disparition - Le Comte de Paris s'éteint et laisse la maison de France au prince Jean". lechorepublicain.fr (in French). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ James, John, ed. (1 January 2019). Almanach de Gotha. ISBN 9780993372582.
- ^ "Heir to the French Throne and former French Minister invested into the Order - Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George". Constantuinian.org.uk. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
External links
- Official website (in French)
- Duke of Vendôme Jean d'Orléans stakes his claim to French throne, The Times, 10 October 2009.
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