Princess Isabelle of Orléans (1878–1961)

Princess Isabelle of Orléans (Isabelle Marie Laure Mercédès Ferdinande; 7 May 1878 21 April 1961) was a member of the French Orleanist royal family and by marriage Duchess of Guise.

Princess Isabelle
Duchess of Guise
Consort of the Head of the House of Orléans
Tenure28 March 1926 – 25 August 1940
PredecessorMaria Dorothea of Austria
SuccessorIsabelle of Orléans-Braganza
Born(1878-05-07)7 May 1878
Eu, France
Died21 April 1961(1961-04-21) (aged 82)
Larache, Morocco
SpousePrince Jean, Duke of Guise
IssuePrincess Isabelle, Countess of Harcourt
Françoise, Princess Christopher of Greece and Denmark
Princess Anne, Duchess of Aosta
Prince Henri, Count of Paris
Names
Isabelle Marie Laure Mercédès Ferdinande d'Orléans
HouseOrléans
FatherPrince Philippe, Count of Paris
MotherInfanta Maria Isabel of Spain
ReligionRoman Catholic

Biography

Early life

Isabelle was born at the Château d'Eu, Eu, France, the third daughter and fifth child of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris and Infanta Maria Isabel of Spain. In 1886, when she was eight years old, a law was promulgated by the Third Republic that effectively exiled all dynasties who formerly ruled France, whereupon she and her family moved to England.

Marriage and issue

As a young woman, Isabelle had many suitors, chief among them being the future Albert I of Belgium. Albert, however, was forced to end the courtship under pressure from his uncle King Leopold II, who feared that a marriage to the daughter of an exiled pretender to the French throne would result in backlash from the republican government in Paris.[1]

On 30 October 1899, Isabelle married her first cousin Prince Jean, Duke of Guise (1874–1940). Jean was the son of prince Robert, Duke of Chartres (1840–1910) and Françoise d'Orléans (1844–1925). Upon the death of her brother, Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Orléans, claimant to the throne of France as "Philip VIII", the Duke of Guise became, at least for his Orleanist supporters, titular king of France as "Jean III".[2] The title was disputed by members of the Spanish Anjou branch of the family, descended from Louis XIV.

The couple had four children:

Princess Isabelle died in Larache, Morocco.

Ancestry

References

  1. Voir Pierre Daye, Léopold II, Fayard, 1934, p. 462
  2. "Duke of Guise claims throne". royalmusingsblogspotcom. Archived from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
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