The Spanish branch of the Orléans family

[TampaBay]

The Montpensier family name keeps coming up on quite a few threads.  

Who are these people?  

They seem to have married into as many familes as the Coburgs did.

[Eurohistory]

King Louis Philippe of the French had six sons:

1 - Prince Ferdinand, the Duc d'Orléans (1810-1842)

2- Prince Louis, duc de Nemours (1814-1896)

3- Prince François, Prince de Joinville (1818-1900)

4- Prince Charles, Duc de Penthiévre (1820-1828 )

5- prince henri, Duc D'Aumale (1822-1897)

6- Prince Antoine, Duc de Montpensier (1824-1890)

The last, the Duc de Montpensier, married Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain, relocated to Spain and raised his children as Spaniards.  It is through him that the Montpensier blood flowed into other royal Catholic families.  Montpensier's eldest daugher, Isabel, married her first cousin the Count of Paris (1838-1894), eldest son of the Duc d'Orléans, and they were the parents of: Queen Marie Amélie of Portugal (1865-1951), the Duc d'Orléans (1869-1926), Hélène Duchess of Aosta (1871-1951), Isabelle Duchess de Guise (1878-1961), Infanta Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1882-1958) and Ferdinand Duc de Montpensier (1884-1924).

Montpensier's heir was his youngest surviving son, Infante Antonio (1866-1930), who had married his first cousin Infanta Eulalia, youngest daugter of Queen Isabel II.  Antonio and Eulalia are the parents of Infante Alfonso de orleans, Beatrice Coburg's husband.

Montpensier and Luisa Fernanda had 8 children, but only three married.  The others died in infancy or puberty.

Arturo Beéche

[bluetoria]

Is anything more known about how happy Fernanda & Montpensier were together, in spite of their marriage having been arranged? The loss of so many of their children must have been terrible, but were they generally happy?

There are some interesting letters between QV & King Leopold about the Spanish marriages. When it was first thought that Montpensier would marry Fernanda QV wrote:

"Pray explain to me the cause of the King's [Louis Philippe's] obstinacy about that Spanish marriage for no country has a right to dictate in that way to another. If Tatane [Montpensier] was to think of the Infanta, England would be extremely indignant, & would (and with right) consider it tantamount to a marriage with the Queen herself." (Ah, but they didn't count of Isabella having children!)  

King Leopold replied:

"The Spanish marriage question is really very curious; in fact all the other Bourbon branches are hostile to the Orleans family, but the idea that makes the King [Louis Philippe] so constant in his views about it is that he imagines it would create in France a bad impression if now any other than a Bourbon was to marry the Queen of Spain." (Was Cadiz a Bourbon then?)  

[Eurohistory]

Luisa Fernanda was such a pious woman that it is quite possible she never gave much thought to her husband's extramarital distractions.

Arturo Beéche

[bluetoria]

Luisa Fernanda was such a pious woman that it is quite possible she never gave much thought to her husband's extramarital distractions.

Arturo Beéche

So he wasn't faithful. What a shame. Pious or not, it still surely would have hurt her! Her 'faith' might have helped her deal with the pain but it wouldn't have stopped her from feeling it, don't you think.  :-/

[jfkhaos]

It is a shame.  A great majority of the books I have been reading lately have mentioned that many of the royal and imperial women at this time fully believed there was a different code of conduct for men and women.  I can't even imagine wanting to see my wife if it was revealed that she was unfaithful to me, let alone continue an unhappy marriage, but then again, with these women in question, they had a great deal to lose by leaving, divorcing, etc.  (I just realized that I have been upgraded to a YaBB Senior Member!!  Reading and responding really does pay off!)

[aron]

Here is a list of the children of the duc de Montpensier

ANTOINE Marie Philippe Louis, Duc de Montpensier 1824, cr Infant of Spain 10.10.1859, *Neuilly-sur-Seine 31.7.1824, +Sanlúcar de Barrameda 4.2.1890; m.Madrid 10.10.1846 Infta Luisa Fernanda of Spain (*30.1.1832 +1.2.1897); their children were Infants of Spain
B1. FERNANDO Maria Enrique Carlos, Infant of Spain, *Sanlúcar de Barrameda 29.5.1859, +nr Orléans 3.12.1873, bur Dreux
B2. FELIPE Raymundo Maria, Infant of Spain, *Seville 12.5.1862, +Seville 13.2.1864
B3. ANTONIO Maria Luís Felipe Juan Florencio, Infant of Spain, Duca di Galliera, *Seville 23.2.1866, +Paris 24.12.1930; m.Madrid 6.3.1886 Eulalia Infanta of Spain (*Madrid 12.2.1864, +Irun 8.3.1958)
C1. ALFONSO Maria Francisco Antonio Diego, Infant of Spain, Duca di Galliera, *Madrid 12.11.1886, +Sanlúcar de Barrameda 10.8.1975; m.Schloß Rosenau, Coburg 15.7.1909 Beatrice, Pss of Great Britain and Ireland, Pss of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (*Eastwell Park, Kent 20.4.1884, +Sanlúcar de Barrameda 13.7.1966)
D1. ALVARO Antonio Carlos Felipe Fernando, Infant of Spain, Pr d'Orléans, Duca di Galliera, *Coburg 20.4.1910, +Monte Carlo 22.8.1997; m.Rome 10.7.1937 Carla Parodi Delfino (*Milan 13.12.1909)
E1. Don ALONSO d'Orléans et Parodi Delfino, *Rome 23.8.1941, +Houston, Texas 7.9.1975; m.Naples 12.1.1966 Donna Emilia Ferrara Pignatelli dei Principi di Strongoli (*Naples 6.4.1940)
F1. Don ALFONSO d'Orléans et Ferrara-Pignatelli, 7th Duc de Galliera, *Santa Cruz, Teneriffe 2.1.1968; m.Paris 28.3.1994 Véronique Goeders (*Verviers, Belgium 16.11.1970)
G1. Don ALONSO Juan d'Orléans et Goeders, *Paris 15.7.1994
F2. Don Alvaro d'Orléans, *Santa Cruz, Teneriffe, 4.10.1979
E2. Don ALVARO Jaime d'Orléans, *Rome 1.3.1947; m.Campiglione 22.5.1974 Giovanna San Martino d'Aglié dei Marchesi di Fontanetto (*Campiglione 10.4.1945)
F1. Don Andrea d'Orléans, *Rome 9.7.1976
F2. Don Alois d'Orléans, *Rome 24.3.1979
F3. Doña Maria del Pilar d'Orléans, *Rome 27.5.1975
E3. Doña Gerarda d'Orléans, *Rome 25.8.1939; m.New York 26.7.1963 (div 1977) Harry Saint (*New York 13.2.1941)
E4. Doña Beatriz d'Orléans, *Seville 27.4.1943; m.Rome 25.4.1964 Tomasso dei Conti Farini (*Turin 16.9.1938)
D2. ALONSO Maria Cristino Justo, Infant of Spain, *Madrid 28.5.1912, +k.a. nr Madrid 18.11.1936
D3. ATAÚLFO Carlos Isabelo Alejandro, Infant of Spain, *Madrid 20.10.1913, +Malaga 8.10.1974
C2. LUÍS FERNANDO Maria Zacarias, Infant of Spain, *Madrid 5.11.1888, +Paris 20.6.1945; m.London 19.9.1930 Marie Say (*Verrières-le-Buisson 25.8.1857, +Paris 15.7.1943)
B4. LUÍS Maria Felipe Antonio, Infant of Spain, *Seville 30.4.1867, +Château de Randan 21.5.1874
B5. MARIA ISABEL Francisca de Asis Antonia Luisa Fernanda Cristina Amelia Filipa Adelaida Josefa Elena Enriquetta Carolina Justina Rufina Gasparina Melchiora Baltasara Matea, Infanta of Spain, *Seville 21.9.1848, +Villamanrique de la Condesa 23.4.1919; m.Kingston on Thames 30.5.1864 Pr Philippe d'Orléans, Cte de Paris (*24.8.1838 +8.9.1894)
B6. MARIA AMELIA Luisa Enriquetta, Infanta of Spain, *Seville 28.8.1851, +Seville 11.11.1870
B7. MARIA CRISTINA Francisca de Paula Antonieta, Infanta of Spain, *Seville 29.10.1852, +Seville 28.4.1879
B8. MARIA de la REGLA Francisca de Asis Antonia Luisa Fernanda, Infanta of Spain, *Seville 9.10.1856, +Seville 25.7.1861
B9. MARIA de las MERCEDES Isabel Francisca de Asis Antonia Luisa Fernanda, Infanta of Spain, *Madrid 24.6.1860, +Madrid 26.6.1878; m.Madrid 23.1.1878 King Alfonso XII of Spain (*Madrid 28.11.1857, +El Pardo 25.11.1885)

[aron]

King Alfonso XII was first married to his cousin Maria de las Mercedes who died in 1878 after a miscarriage and because she also had tuberculosis.

In 1879 the plans of a second wedding for ALfonso XII with MARIA CRISTINA Francisca de Paula Antonieta, Infanta of Spain, *Seville 29.10.1852, +Seville 28.4.1879 , sister of Maria de Las Mercedes, where shattered because Maria Cristina died before the engagement. She died probably of tuberculosis.

[aron]

There was a also a stillborn son born on 31 march 1857. That makes a total of 10 children.

[Eurohistory]

All of the Montpensier children were created Infantes and Infantas, respectively, at birth by their aunt, Queen Isabel II.

Unfortunately for the Duke of Montpensier and his wife, most of their children died either young or in their teenage years.

Only the Infanta Isabel (who married the Head of the French Royal House - the Count of Paris, her first cousin) and the Infante don Antonio (who married Infanta doña Eulalia, youngest daughter of Queen Isabel II and thus a first cousin of don Antonio's) left posterity.

The Countess of Paris was a marvelous woman.  Her brother don Antonio was a tremendous disappointment as son, husband and certainly as a father.

Arturo Beéche

[Bernardino]

It seems that Don Antonio's wife (Doña Eulalia) was said to have refused to marry him at first, because...there was a chance of marrying the Duke of Bragança, future King Dom Carlos I of Portugal...He liked the idea, but his parents didn´t want this Spanish connection...

Nonetheless Psse Marie Amélie d'Orléans also had Spanish ancestry...so it seems they didn't like Eulalia actually...How was Eulalia?

[Eurohistory]

Princess Marie-Amelie d'Orléans was the eldest daughter of the Count of Paris and his wife, Infanta Isabel of Spain (Montpensier), herself the eldest daughter of the Duke of Montpensier and the Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain.

Arturo Beéche

[Bernardino]

Like her mother, Queen Dona Maria Amelia was an exceptional woman...
She seems to have been born to suffer very much...the death of her husband and children, all many years before the end of her long life...in the words of a sister of her she was a real 'mater dolorosa'...

[Eurohistory]

it seems they didn't like Eulalia actually...How was Eulalia?

Actually the Dukes of Montpensier were very fond of their niece and daughter-in-law the Infanta Eulalia.  Montpensier and Eulalia had a very good relationship.

The Countess of Paris and Eulalia also got along very weel and commiserated as to their frustrations regarding Antonio.

Arturo Beéche

[Bernardino]

Probably the King and the Queen of Portugal wanted a Princess not so directly Spanish...

Antonio and Eulalia's children were amazingly consanguineous, but they were quite healthy and normal weren´t them?