French Royalty: Louis the Duke of Nemors (1814-96)


Figure 1.--This 1845 Winterhalter portrait shows Gaston d'Eu, the eldest son of Prince Louis and grandson of Louis Philippe. Gaston wears a burgandy dress with lace collar, ruffled trim, and pantalettes. Note the large, plumed hat at his side.

Louis was the son of Louis Phillipe, the last king of France. He was born in 1814 during the last years of the Napoleonic era. He became the Duke of Nemors. I have litttle information on his childhood or the clothes he wore as a boy. He married Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a relative of England's Prince Albert and Belgium's King Leopold I, in 1840. The couple had four children. The oldest was Gaston d'Eu (Louis-Philippe-Marie Ferdinand-Gaston, Count of Eu was borm in 1842. The other children were Ferdinand d'Alençon, duc d' Alencon (1844- ); Margaret d'Orleans (1846- ); and Blanka d'Orleans (1857- ). An 1845 Winterhalter portrait shows how the boys were dressed. The portrait shows Gaston with a short hair cut and what looks like an open necked, narrow-waisted burgandy velvet dress with lace collar and ruffled cuffs. He appdars to have white stockings, frilled pantalettes, and pantent leather shoes. What appears to be a large white, plumed hat is at his side. He would have been about 3-4 years old at the time. The two boys were quite close in age and were probably dressed similarly. At this time little additional information is available on the family. Louis died in 1896.

Parents

Louis was the son of King Louis Phillipe, the last king of France. His mother was Marie-Amélie de Bourbon. Her father was Ferdinand IV de Bourbon of Naples, King of Naples & Sicily (1751- ). Her mother was Maria Carolina, Habsburg-Lotharingen (1752- ). The couple married during the height of the Napoleonic Empire (1809).

Childhood

Louis was born in 1814 at the Palais Royal, in Paris at the end of the Napoleonic era. He became the Duke of Nemors. I have litttle information on his childhood or the clothes he wore as a boy. At age 12 years he was nominated colonel of the first regiment of chasseurs.

Young Adult Life

The majaor cause celebre in the 1820s was the liberation of Greece from the Ottomans. Louis was one of the royals considered as a possible king for liberated Greece. Louis became a chevalier of the Order of the Saint Esprit (1830). He entered the Chambre des Pairs. Louis was a stronger candidate for the monarchy of another new country--Belgium. Louis was with the French army that entered Belgium to support the new kingdom in its attempt to separate from the Netherlands. He separation from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands; there he took part in the siege of Antwerp. The Belgians nominated Louis to be king (1831). This presented, however, international problems. The British looked with great concern over French domination of the Low Countries. An Louis as son of the French king looked like French domination to them. As a result, Louis-Philippe was forced to decline the nomination for his son. Louis next was involved in France's efforts to subdue Algeria. He was with the Algerian expedition that moved agsainst the town of Constantine (1836). He commanded a second expeditioin against Constantine (1837). He commanded a brigade. General Damrémont was killed, but Constantine was taken by assault.

Marriage

Louis married Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha at saint-cloud (1840). She was a relative of Brirain's Prince Albert and Belgium's King Leopold I. Adolphe Thiers in the Chamber of Deputies proposed a marriage dowry to the couple. The Chamber refused which was seen as a rebuke to Louis-Philippe's government.

Children

The couple had four children. The oldest was Gaston d'Eu (Louis-Philippe-Marie Ferdinand-Gaston, Count of Eu was borm in 1842. The other children were Ferdinand d'Alençon, duc d' Alencon (1844- ); Margaret d'Orleans (1846- ); and Blanka d'Orleans (1857- ). At this time little additional information is available on the family.

Gaston d'Eu (1842-1922)

Louis' oldest son was Louis Philippe Marie Ferdinand Gaston d'Orléans was born in 1842. He was given the title count of Eu. Winterhalter in 1845 pain Gaston, giving us an idea as to how the boys were dressed. The portrait shows Gaston with a short hair cut and what looks like an open necked, narrow-waisted burgandy velvet dress with lace collar and ruffled cuffs. He appears to have white stockings, frilled pantalettes, and pantent leather shoes. What appears to be a large white, plumed hat is at his side. He would have been about 3-4 years old at the time. The two boys were quite close in age and were probably dressed similarly. Gaston married Isabella, eldest daughter of Don Pedro II of Brazil (1864). Brazil unlike the other Latin American countries did not become a republic after independence. Rather the son of the Portuguese king declared independence and established a Brazilian empire. Isabella was the Princess imperial and heress to the throne. Gaston played a controversial role in the War of the Triple Alliance. The Brazilian monarchy was overthrown (1889). The Emperor and his family went into exile in Europe. Ironically, Gaston's great-grandson--Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza is the current presumptive heir to the throne of Portugal.

Ferdinand d'Alençon, duc d' Alencon (1844- )

Ferdinand was given the title of duc d'Alençon. He married Sophie Charlotte Augustine of Wittelsbach (1847-97), a Bavarian princess (1868). She was the sister of the Empress Elizabeth of Austria ("Sisi"). They had two children, Louise d'Orleans (1869) and Emanuel d'Orleans (1872- ), Duke of Vendôme.

Margaret d'Orleans (1846- )

Margaret married Prince Ladislaus Czartoryski. He was an exiled Polish noble who was politically active. He was a great collector of art and founder of the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków.

Blanka d'Orleans (1857- )


Death

Louis died in 1896.








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Created: May 24, 2001
Last updated: 5:12 PM 7/24/2008