Louis d'Orléans (1703-1752) - Find a Grave Memorial

French Nobility. Louis d'Orléans, son of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and his wife Françoise Marie de Bourbon, was born at the Palace of Versailles. His father was Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV. His mother was the legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV and his mistress Madame de Montespan. At birth, he was given the title of Duke of Chartres. He was raised by his mother and his paternal grandmother Elizabeth Charlotte. Upon the death of his father in 1723, Louis became the Duke of Orléans and the head of the house of Orléans. He was also next in line to the throne of France until 1729 and the birth of Louis XV's first son. His family arranged his marriage to Johanna of Baden-Baden. The marriage by proxy took place in Germany on June 18, 1724. He met his bride in France on the day of their wedding ceremony on July 13, 1724. They had two children. Their son was born in 1725. However, his wife died three days after the birth of their daughter in 1726. Louis had fallen in love with his wife, and her death sent him into a prolonged period of mourning. After 1740, he retired into private life at the Abbaye Sainte-Geneviève de Paris. Due to the scandalous behavior of his daughter-in-law Louise Henriette, Louis never acknowledged the legitimacy of his grandchildren. He died in 1752 at the Abbaye de Sainte Geneviève. He was interred at Val-de-Grâce in Paris.

Bio by: Anne Philbrick