Jean, Count of Paris

Jean Carl Pierre Marie d'Orléans (born 19 May 1965), who uses the title Jean, Count of Paris (French: comte de Paris), is the current head of the House of Orléans. The senior male descendant by primogeniture in the male-line of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, he is, according to the Orléanists, the legitimate claimant to the throne of France as Jean IV.[2][3] Of France's three monarchist movements, Orléanism, Legitimism and Bonapartism, most royalists are Orléanists.[4] Prince Jean is the second son of Prince Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019), the late head of the House of Orléans and his former wife Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg.

Prince Jean
Count of Paris, Duke of Vendôme (more)
Orléanist pretender to the French throne
Tenure21 January 2019 – present
PredecessorPrince Henri, Count of Paris
Heir apparentPrince Gaston d’Orléans
Born (1965-05-19) 19 May 1965
Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Spouse
Philomena de Tornos Steinhart (m. 2009)
IssuePrince Gaston, Count of Clermont
Princess Antoinette, Madame Royale
Princess Louise-Marguerite
Prince Joseph
Princess Jacinthe
Full name
Jean Carl Pierre Marie[1]
HouseOrléans
FatherPrince Henri, Count of Paris
MotherDuchess Marie Therese of Württemberg
ReligionRoman Catholic
French royal family
Orléanist
  • HRH The Count of Paris
    HRH The Countess of Paris
    • HRH The Count of Clermont
    • HRH Prince Joseph
    • HRH Princess Antoinette
    • HRH Princess Louise-Marguerite
    • HRH Princess Jacinthe

First engagement

Prince Jean was due to marry Duchess Tatjana of Oldenburg (b. 1974) in 2001. Duchess Tatjana is the youngest daughter of Duke Johann of Oldenburg and Countess Ilka of Ortenburg. Her elder sister Eilika married Archduke Georg of Austria in 1997. However, the wedding was cancelled at the last minute because of a dispute over religious denomination. Jean's father Henri feared the Orléans claim to the throne would be compromised if there were to be a Protestant heir.[5]

Marriage

On 29 November 2008, the Count of Paris announced the engagement of the Duke of Vendôme to Maria Magdalena Philomena Juliana Johanna de Tornos y Steinhart, born in Vienna on 19 June 1977.[6] The civil wedding, conducted by Mayor Rachida Dati, took place on 19 March 2009 in Paris. The religious wedding was held on 2 May 2009 at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame at Senlis,[7] with a reception at the Château de Chantilly.[8] The bride wore a gown by Christian Lacroix and a jacket embroidered by Maison Lesage.[9]

Philomena is the daughter of Don Alfonso de Tornos y Zubiría (b. Getxo, 13 October 1937), of Basque ancestry, and wife (married Vienna, 18 September 1976) Maria Antonia Anna Zdenka Edle von Steinhart (b. 1944), of Austro-Hungarian ancestry.[10][11] She has a sister named María Magdalena (born 1980) and a brother named David (born 1982). Her paternal grandparents were Juan de Tornos y Espelíus (b. 2 April 1905), secretary of Don Juan, Count of Barcelona, and wife (m. 1930 or 1931) María del Carmen Zubiría y Calbetón (b. 29 June 1906), daughter of the 2nd Marquis de Yanduri.[12] Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Edler von Steinhart (1910–1998) and his wife (married September 1939) Gabriele Felicitas Murad von Werner (1913–1994), paternal granddaughter of Murad Effendi.[13]

Prince Jean and Philomena are distantly related, both being descendants of Count Jaroslav Borzita von Martinitz (1582-1649) who served as Imperial Governor of Bohemia (having survived the Prague Defenestration of 1618) and his first wife Maria Eusebie von Sternberg (1584-1634).

Issue

The couple have five children:

  • Prince Jean with his wife and son Gaston in 2010

Titles, styles and honours

Titles
  • 19 May 1965 – 27 September 1987: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France[15]
  • 27 September 1987 – 21 January 2019: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France, Duke of Vendôme[15]
  • 21 January 2019 – present: His Royal Highness The Count of Paris

He was created Duke of Vendôme (French: Duc de Vendôme) by his paternal grandfather, on 27 September 1987.[15]

Following the death of his father, it was initially thought that Prince Jean would not assume the title of Count of Paris for several months after his father's death, and possibly not for as much as one year.[16] However, on 2 February 2019, he used the title to sign a press release.[17][18]

To French Orléanists, the Count is Jean IV, titular King of France. Per French tradition, the pretender is commonly addressed as Monseigneur rather than Royal Highness.[19]

Honours

National

Foreign

Ancestry

Jean is a direct male-line descendant of Louis Philippe I, the last French king, who in turn was a descendant of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Jean is also descended from Charles X of France, brother of Louis XVI; and the Bourbons of Spain, the Two Sicilies and Parma.

Patrilineal descent

Jean is a member of the House of Orléans, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, itself a branch of the Capetian dynasty. His patrilineal ancestors, or direct male-line ancestors, include many of the kings of France.

References
  1. "Portrait du prince Jean". www.gensdefrance.com (in French).
  2. Bloks, Moniek (1 January 2019). "Prince François of Orléans, eldest son of Henri, Count of Paris, pretender to the defunct French throne, has died". Royal Central. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  3. "Henri d'Orléans, pretender to French throne, dies". RFI. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  4. O'Reilly, Edward (24 January 2019). "Did You Know? The Tale of the three Frenchmen who still lay claim to the throne". The Local. Stockholm. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  5. "BBC News - EUROPE - Royal wedding plans suffer a hitch". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017. https://archive.today/20120712033311/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1384875.stm
  6. "Royal Sportal". Royalsportal.de. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  7. "Le mariage de Jean d'Orléans et Philomena en images" [The wedding of Jean d'Orléans and Philomena in pictures]. Paris Match (in French). 4 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  8. "Jean d'Orlean and Philomena de Tornos to have secind". Hellomagazine.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  9. WWD Staff (4 May 2009). "Fashion Scoops: The Next Halston?… Something Lacroix…. – WWD". Wwd.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  10. "Ancestors of Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart". 9 April 2009. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  11. "Descendants of Franz Edler von Steinhart and Maria Martin". 5 April 2009. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  12. "Jean d'Orléans engaged to Philomena de Tornos". 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  13. "Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart, * 1977 - Geneall.net". Geneall.net. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  14. "Une nouvelle princesse est née à Dreux" [A new princess was born in Dreux]. L'Écho Républicain (in French). 12 October 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  15. de Montjouvent, Philippe (1998). Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance (in French). Charenton, France: Editions du Chaney. pp. 13–14, 214, 217, 391–392, 396–398, 473–474. ISBN 2-913211-00-3..
  16. "Disparition - Le Comte de Paris s'éteint et laisse la maison de France au prince Jean". www.lechorepublicain.fr (in French). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  17. "Le prince Jean d'Orléans est officiellement le nouveau comte de Paris". Paris Match (in French). 4 February 2019.
  18. "Les obsèques du comte de Paris". Noblesse & Royautés (in French). 2 February 2019.
  19. https://web.archive.org/web/20190711165734/https://www.la-couronne.org/la-famille-royale-de-france/
  20. "Détails de l'object - Sipa Press: A Window on the World. Agence Presse". Sipa.com. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  21. James, John, ed. (1 January 2019). Almanach de Gotha. ISBN 9780993372582.
  22. "Le comte et la comtesse de Paris reçus dans l'ordre de Constantinien". la-couronne.org. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  23. "Heir to the French Throne and former French Minister invested into the Order - Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George". Constantuinian.org.uk. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
Jean, Count of Paris
Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon
Born: 19 May 1965
French royalty
Preceded by
Henri, Count of Paris		 Count of Paris
21 January 2019 – present		 Incumbent
Heir apparent:
Prince Gaston d'Orléans
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Henri VII		 — TITULAR —
King of the French
21 January 2019 – present
Reason for succession failure:
French Revolution of 1848 leads to Abolition of monarchy		 Incumbent
Heir apparent:
Prince Gaston d'Orléans, Prince Royal
Preceded by
Prince François, Count of Clermont		 — TITULAR —
Prince Royal of France
2016 or 30 December 2017 - 21 January 2019		 Succeeded by
Prince Gaston d'Orléans
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