Prince Gaston of Orléans

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. Of France's three monarchist movements, Orléanism, Legitimism and Bonapartism, most royalists are Orléanists. 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.

Marriage and issue

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.

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. 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, with a reception at the Château de Chantilly. The bride wore a gown by Christian Lacroix and a jacket embroidered by Maison Lesage.

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. 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 Marqués de Yanduri. 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.

She spent part of her youth in the Auvergne and studied at the Lycée Maritime in Ciboure.

Issue

The couple have five children:

• Prince Gaston Louis Antoine Marie d’Orléans, Count of Clermont (born 19 November 2009 in Paris), his six godparents are: Prince Eudes, Duke of Angoulême (paternal uncle), Magdalena de Tornos (maternal aunt), Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, Count François-Pierre de Feydeau and Magdalena, Countess de El Abra.
• Princess Antoinette Léopoldine Jeanne Marie d’Orléans (born 28 January 2012 in Vienna), her six godparents are: David de Tornos (maternal uncle), Princess Leopoldine of Liechtenstein (her first cousin), Count Damian von Schönborn-Buchheim (father's first cousin), Francesca Lopez de la Osa, Leopoldo Gavito and Dominique de Layre.
• Princess Louise-Marguerite Eléonore Marie d’Orléans (born 30 July 2014 in Poissy), her five godparents are: Princess Marguerite of Liechtenstein (her first cousin), Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, Philippe d'Albert, 13th Duke of Luynes, Don Alvaro-Jaime de Orléans-Borbón and Archduke Michael of Austria.
• Prince Joseph Gabriel David Marie d’Orléans (born 2 June 2016), his six godparents are: Prince Johann Wenzel of Liechtenstein (his first cousin), Infante Afonso, Prince of Beira (father's second cousin), Benedikt du Cassé, Princess Marie-Liesse, Duchess of Angoulême (father's sister-in-law), Princess Tılsım of Liechtenstein and Kildine Stevenson (father's first cousin).
• Princess Jacinthe Élisabeth-Charlotte Marie d’Orléans (born 9 October 2018 in Dreux). She was christened four days after her birth at the Saint-Etienne Church in Dreux, France. Her godparents are Princess Maria-Immaculata of Liechtenstein (her first cousin), Prince Pierre d'Orléans (her first cousin), Prince Charles Philippe, Duke of Anjou (father's first cousin), the Duchess of Gramont, Princess Silvia d'Arenberg and Count Hervé de Solages.

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  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
• 27 September 1987 - 21 January 2019: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France, Duke of Vendôme
• 21 January 2019 - 2 February 2019: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, Count of Paris and Duke of Vendôme
• 2 February 2019 – present: His Royal Highness titular King Jean IV of France, Count of Paris and Duke of Vendôme (more commonly addressed as Monseigneur the Count of Paris)

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

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. However, on 2 February 2019, he used the title to sign a press release.

Honours

National

•  France: Recipient of the National Defence Medal, 3rd Class

Foreign

• Portuguese Royal Family: Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (19 February 2000)
• Two Sicilian Royal Family:
  • Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius: Knight (19 March 2019, installed 13 May 2019)
  • Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George: Knight Grand Cross of Justice (22 November 2009, installed 30 May 2011), Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice with Collar (19 March 2019, installed 13 May 2019)

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.