Chapelle royale de Dreux
Encyclopedia
Dreux
Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, is a Chapel and burial site of the Royal House of Orléans
House of Orleans
Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...
. The House of Orléans (Maison d'Orléans) was founded by Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
- the younger brother of Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. The house rose to prominence during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and once again during the reign of Louis-Philippe of France
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
.
History
The House of Bourbon-PenthièvreBourbon-Penthièvre
The House of Bourbon-Penthièvre was an illegitimate branch of the House of Bourbon, thus descending from the Capetian dynasty. It was founded by the duc de Penthièvre , the only child and heir of the comte de Toulouse, the youngest illegitimate son of Louis XIV of France and the marquise de...
was one of the greatest land owning families in France before the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. In 1775, the lands of the comté de Dreux had been given to the duc de Penthièvre by his cousin Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
.
In 1783, the Duke sold his domain of Rambouillet
Château de Rambouillet
The château de Rambouillet is a castle in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the Île-de-France region in northern France, southwest of Paris...
to Louis XVI. On November 25 of that year, in a long religious procession, Penthièvre transferred the nine caskets containing the remains of his parents, the comte and comtesse de Toulouse
Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Comte de Toulouse
Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse , duc de Penthièvre , d'Arc, de Châteauvillain and de Rambouillet , , was the son of Louis XIV and of his mistress Madame de Montespan...
, his wife, Princess Maria Teresa of Modena
Maria Teresa d'Este
Maria Teresa Felicitas d'Este was born a Princess of Modena and was by marriage the Duchess of Penthièvre. She was the mother-in-law of Philippe Égalité and thus the grandmother to the future Louis-Philippe of France.-Life:...
, and six of their seven children, from the small medieval village church next to the castle in Rambouillet, to the chapel of the Collégiale Saint-Étienne de Dreux.
The duc de Penthièvre died in March 1793 and his body was laid to rest in the crypt beside his parents. On November 21 of that same year, in the midst of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, a mob desecrated the crypt and threw the ten bodies in a mass grave in the Chanoines cemetery of the Collégiale Saint-Étienne.
In 1816, the Duke of Penthièvre's daughter, the Duchess of Orléans
Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon
Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, Duchess of Orléans, , was the daughter of Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre and of Princess Maria Theresa Felicitas of Modena. At the death of her brother, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, prince de Lamballe, she became the wealthiest heiress in France...
, had a new chapel built on the site of the mass grave of the Chanoines cemetery, as the final resting place for her family. In 1830, Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, son of the Duchess of Orléans, embellished and enlarged the chapel which was renamed Chapelle royale de Dreux, now the necropolis of the Orléans royal family.
Among the seventy-five members buried in the new chapel are:
House of Bourbon
- Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of ToulouseLouis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Comte de ToulouseLouis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse , duc de Penthièvre , d'Arc, de Châteauvillain and de Rambouillet , , was the son of Louis XIV and of his mistress Madame de Montespan...
(1678–1737);
- ∞ Marie Victoire de Noailles, Countess of ToulouseMarie Victoire de NoaillesMarie Victoire Sophie de Noailles, Countess of Toulouse , was the daughter of Anne Jules de Noailles, the 2nd Duke of Noailles, and his wife, Marie-Françoise de Bournonville...
(1688-1766);- Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (1725-1793);
- ∞ Princess Maria Teresa Felicitas of Modena, Duchess of Penthièvre'Maria Teresa d'EsteMaria Teresa Felicitas d'Este was born a Princess of Modena and was by marriage the Duchess of Penthièvre. She was the mother-in-law of Philippe Égalité and thus the grandmother to the future Louis-Philippe of France.-Life:...
(1726-1754) ;-
- Louis Marie de BourbonLouis Marie, Duke of RambouilletLouis Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Rambouillet was a French prince and child of the eldest son of the Duke of Penthièvre...
(1746-1749); - Louis Alexandre Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Lamballe (1747-1768);,
- Jean Marie de BourbonJean Marie, Duke of ChâteauvillainJean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Châteauvillain was a French Duke and nobleman. He died in Paris at the age of 6. He was the duc de Châteauvillain from birth.-Biography:...
(1748-1755); - Vincent Marie Louis de Bourbon (1750-1752);
- Marie Louise de Bourbon (1751-1753);
- Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, Mlle de Penthièvre, future Duchess of OrléansLouise Marie Adélaïde de BourbonLouise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, Duchess of Orléans, , was the daughter of Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre and of Princess Maria Theresa Felicitas of Modena. At the death of her brother, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, prince de Lamballe, she became the wealthiest heiress in France...
(1753-1821); - Louis Marie Félicité de Bourbon (1754);
- Louis François Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of ContiLouis François II de Bourbon, prince de ContiLouis François Joseph de Bourbon was Prince of Conti, succeeding his father Louis François de Bourbon. His mother was Louise Diane d'Orléans, the youngest daughter of Philippe d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, the Regent of France during the minority of King Louis XV of France...
(1734–1814)
- Louis François Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Conti
- Louis Marie de Bourbon
-
House of Orléans
- the heart of Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of OrléansPhilippe II, Duke of OrléansPhilippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
, regent of France for Louis XV of FranceLouis XV of FranceLouis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
(1674–1723); - Louis Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of OrléansLouis-Philippe of FranceLouis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
and later King of the French (1773–1850);
- ∞ Princess Maria Amalia of the Two SiciliesMaria Amalia of the Two SiciliesMaria Amalia of Naples and Sicily sometimes known as Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and later the Queen of the French from 1830–1848, consort to Louis Philippe I....
(1782-1866);-
- Louis Antoine Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of MontpensierAntoine Philippe, Duke of MontpensierLouis Antoine Philippe d'Orléans, duc de Montpensier was a son of Louis Philippe d'Orléans and his duchess Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon...
(1775-1807);
- Louis Antoine Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier
- Louise Marie Adélaïde Eugénie d'Orléans, Madame Adélaïde (1777-1847);
- Françoise d'Orléans Mademoiselle d'Orléans (1777-1782);
- Louis Charles Alphonse Léodgard d'Orléans, Count of Beaujolais (1779-1808)
- Ferdinand Philippe Louis Charles Éric Rosalino Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans (1810-1842);
-
- ∞ Duchess Helen of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1814-1858);
-
- Charles Ferdinand Louis Philippe Emmanuel d'Orléans, Duke of PenthièvrePrince Charles, Duke of PenthièvreCharles d'Orléans was the eighth child of the Duke and Duchess of Orléans, future Louis Philippe I and la Reine Marie Amélie...
(1820-1828)- Henri Eugène Philippe Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, (1822–1897);
- Charles Ferdinand Louis Philippe Emmanuel d'Orléans, Duke of Penthièvre
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- ∞ Princess Maria Carolina of the Two Sicilies (1822–1869);
- Louis Philippe Marie Léopold d'Orléans, Prince of Condé (1845-1866)
- Henri Léopold Philippe Marie d'Orléans, Duke of Guise (1847-1847)
- François Paul d'Orléans, Duke of Guise (1852-1852)
- François Louis Philippe Marie d'Orléans, Duke of Guise (1854-1872)
- Henri Robert Ferdinand Marie Louis Philippe d'Orléans, Count of Paris - Orléanist pretender from 1940–1999;
- ∞ Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza, wife of the Count of Paris (1911-2003);
- François Gaston Michel Marie d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, son of the above (1935–1960);
- Thibaut Louis Denis Humbert Marie d'Orléans, Count of La Marche, brother of the above (1948–1983)
- Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde d'Orléans, Princess of CondéBathilde d'OrléansLouise Marie Thérèse Bathilde d'Orléans, Princess of Condé , was a French princess. She was sister of Philippe Égalité, the mother of the executed duc d'Enghien and aunt of Louis-Philippe King of the French...
, the Duchess of Orléans's sister-in-law (1750–1822)