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 defunct throne of France as Jean IV.[2] Of France's three monarchist movements, Orléanism, Legitimism, and Bonapartism, most royalists are Orléanists.[3] Jean is the second son of the late Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019) and his former wife Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg (born 1934). With the death of his father, he has been using the style of Count of Paris since 2019.[4]
After attending the Passy-Saint-Nicolas-Buzenval, a private Catholic secondary school, he attended the Sorbonne, where he obtained a master's degree in philosophy in 1989. In 1992, he earned a master's degree in law from the Free Faculty of Law, Economics and Management of Paris. In 1994, he earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Azusa Pacific University in Los Angeles, California.[5]
After finishing his military duties, he began to work as a consultant at Lazard, then as a financial consultant at Deloitte, followed by working as a project manager at the Groupe Banque Populaire.
Jean is multilingual, speaking French, English, and German.[7]
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 (b. 1940) and his wife, Countess Ilka of Ortenburg (b. 1942).[8] Her elder sister Eilika married Archduke Georg of Austria in 1997. However, the wedding was cancelled at the last moment 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]
In 2021, Jean filed a lawsuit against the Saint-Louis foundation, demanding €1 million in damages and the return of five properties, including the Château d'Amboise. In 1886, the château was bequeathed to the Institute of France by Jean's ancestor Henri d’Orléans, with the caveat that the property would never be altered by the institute. The Saint-Louis foundation was later founded by Jean's grandfather, Henri VI, Count of Paris, in 1974. Jean's lawsuit alleges that the Institute violated their contract to never alter the property, after they announced plans to transform the Pavillon d’Enghien into a €760-a-night luxury hotel, containing a spa and gastronomic restaurant.[13] Jean had previously lived in the château from 2001 to September 2021 rent-free, but was forcefully evicted by the institute after they began to demand he pay rent, which Jean viewed as a violation of their contract.[14]
Family
Jean and his wife Philomena have six children:
Prince Gaston Louis Antoine Marie d'Orléans, Dauphin of France (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).[15]
Prince Alphonse Charles François Marie d'Orléans (born 31 December 2023 in Carcassonne).[16]
19 May 1965 – 27 September 1987: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France[22]
27 September 1987 – 21 January 2019: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France, Duke of Vendôme[22]
21 January 2019 – present: Monseigneur The Count of Paris[23]
He was created Duke of Vendôme (French: Duc de Vendôme) by his paternal grandfather, on 27 September 1987.[22]
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.[24]
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)[26]
^ abcdde 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. ISBN2-913211-00-3..
1 Actually reign twice: first from 1814-1815, second from 1815-1824 2 Actually reigned from 1824-1830 3 Orléanist pretender from 1848-1873 as Louis Philippe II 4 Reigned as King of Spain from 1886-1931 as Alfonso XIII 5 Briefly restored and then deposed in 1815 6 Actually reigned from 1852-1870
.svg)
