Louis duc d Orleans

Louis Orléans, duc d' , 1372-1407, brother of King Charles VI of France, whose chief counselor he was from 1388 to 1392. After 1392, when Charles VI suffered his first attack of insanity, Louis became involved in a long struggle for control with his uncle, Philip the Bold of Burgundy, and with Philip's successor, John the Fearless . Unpopular because of his extravagance, he was treacherously murdered by John's order in 1407. His death precipitated the civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians .

Orléans, Louis Philippe, Duc d' (1747–93) French Bourbon prince. A liberal, he was elected to the National Convention (1792) and voted for the King's execution. When his son, the future King Louis Philippe, defected (1793), he was arrested and executed during the so-called Reign of Terror.

Orléans, Duc d' A title borne by younger princes of the French royal family from the 14th century. Charles VI of France bestowed the duchy of Orléans on his brother Louis (1392). Louis's grandson became Louis XII of France. His great-grandson became FRANCIS I and the Valois-Orléans ended with the death of HENRY III in 1589. Philippe (1674–1723) of the second Bourbon-Orléans branch of the family became Regent of France in 1715 during the minority of LOUIS XV. His great-grandson Louis Philippe Joseph (‘ Philippe Égalité’) succeeded to the title in 1785. He was a supporter of the French Revolution from its beginnings, and in June 1789 he organized the 47 nobles who joined the Third Estate. In 1792 he voted for the death of the king but, with all the remaining Bourbons, was arrested, accused of conspiracy, and guillotined (1793).