Philippe d’Orléans

Philippe de Bourbon was the younger son of King Louis XIII and Anne of Austria and the brother of Louis XIV, the “Sun King”. At court he was simply called “Monsieur”. In 1660 he became Duke of Orléans. He was a successful military commander and in 1677 defeated William of Orange at the Battle of Cassel, and he greatly increased the wealth of his family. His palace at Saint-Cloud was famous for its gardens.

At a time when sex between men was in theory punishable by death in France, Philippe barely concealed his love for men. From the late 1650s until his death his favourite was Philippe de Lorraine, the Chevalier de Lorraine. Louis XIV tolerated the relationship, though he occasionally banished the Chevalier when the court gossiped too loudly. Philippe wore dresses, jewellery and make-up and surrounded himself with young men. The memoirist Saint-Simon described him as a small, pot-bellied man in high heels, “always adorned like a woman”.

He married twice, first Henrietta of England and then Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte. In her letters she complained that her husband thought of nothing but his young men and spent huge sums on them.

Philippe died of a stroke at Saint-Cloud in 1701, aged 60. He founded the House of Orléans, which later produced King Louis-Philippe. His life is a rare testimony to a queer life lived openly in absolutist Europe – visible because power protected him.