Louis Philippe Joseph duc d'Orléans
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Louis-Philippe-Joseph duke d' Orlans
(born April 13, 1747, Saint-Cloud, Francedied Nov. 6, 1793, Paris) French Bourbon prince who supported popular democracy in the French Revolution. A cousin of Louis XVI, he disapproved of Marie-Antoinette and lived away from the royal court at Versailles. In 1787 he was exiled to his estates for challenging the king's authority. In 1789 he was elected to the Estates General and soon joined the Third Estate. After joining the Jacobin Club (1791), he renounced his title of nobility (1792) and accepted the name Philippe galit from the Paris Commune. In the National Convention, he supported the radicals, but, after his son Louis-Philippe defected to the Austrians, he was accused of conspiracy, arrested, and guillotined.
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Orléans, Louis Philippe Joseph, duc d' (lwē fēlēp' zhôzĕf' dük dôrlāäN'), known as Philippe Égalité (āgälētā'), 1747-93, French revolutionist; great-grandson of Philippe II, duc d'Orléans (see Orléans, family) and great-great-great-grandson of King Louis XIII. First duke of Montpensier and then duke of Chartres, he succeeded his father as duke of Orléans in 1785. A libertine, he squandered his immense wealth, then, to recoup his fortune, lined the gardens of his Palais Royal with shops. The gardens became a gathering point for the popular elements of Paris. He became a leader of the discontented faction in the Assembly of the Notables (1787), and he was briefly exiled for protesting the king's attempt to force the Parlement of Paris to consent to taxation. As a deputy to the States-General (1789), he was one of the liberal nobles who joined the third estate (June 25, 1789). After incurring blame for disturbances in the capital, he accepted a mission (Oct., 1789-July, 1790) to England. His liberal views were suspected of cloaking an ambition to become constitutional monarch, and as the revolution progressed he lost the confidence of both republicans and royalists. After exchanging his title for the name Citizen Égalité, he was elected to the National Convention (Sept., 1792), where he joined the Mountain and voted for the execution of King Louis XVI. When his eldest son deserted to the enemy with General Dumouriez, Philippe Égalité was arrested (Apr., 1793). He was guillotined (November) during the Reign of Terror. His son became King Louis Philippe.
Bibliography
See study by G. A. Kelly (1982).
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