Adelaide (1777–1847)
Adelaide (1777–1847)
Princess of Orléans. Name variations: Adélaïde; Adelaide d'Orleans; Adelaide of Orleans; Mademoiselle d'Orléans or Orleans. Born Adelaide Eugenie Louise in Paris, France, on August 23 or 25, 1777; died on December 31, 1847; daughter of Louis Philippe Joseph (Philippe-Égalité), duke of Orléans (1785–1793), Montpensier (1747–1752), and Chartres (1752–1785), and Louise Marie of Bourbon (1753–1821); sister of Louis Philippe, king of France (r. 1830–1848); married Baron Athelin.
Adelaide's father Louis Philippe Joseph, duke of Orléans, was a liberal reformer, a thorn in the side of Louis XVI, who aided French Revolutionists. He was guillotined, however, not by royalists but by another revolutionary faction in 1793. Her mother Louise Marie of Bourbon was noted for her charities. Her father's reputation preceded her when Princess Adelaide was returning to France in 1792 from a visit to England, and she found herself listed among the émigrés. She succeeded, however, in making her escape and remained in exile until 1814. In 1830, Adelaide was influential in persuading her brother Louis Philippe, the Citizen King, to accept the crown of France.