fme_553001 - LOUIS PHILIPPE JOSEPH, DUKE OF ORLÉANS, called PHILIPPE ÉGALITÉ Médaille commémorant l’exécution de Philippe d’Orléans le 6 novembre 1793

LOUIS PHILIPPE JOSEPH, DUKE OF ORLÉANS, called PHILIPPE ÉGALITÉ

(1747-1793)

Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of Orléans, known as Philippe-Égalité, was born in Saint-Cloud on April 13, 1747. He successively bore the titles of Duke of Montpensier, then Duke of Chartres and finally Duke of Orléans. Extremely rich, fueled by political ambitions, open to new ideas, he was eager to play a role, especially as he became Marie-Antoinette's bitter enemy. Deputy of the nobility to the states general of 1789, he was one of the first to join the third estate. he certainly cherished the dream of ascending the throne or becoming regent. A demagogue, he thought he had his chance after the flight from Varennes and became deputy of Paris to the Convention. He then took the name of Philippe-Égalité and did not hesitate to vote for the death of his cousin Louis XVI. Having become a suspect, he was arrested in April 1793 and sentenced to the guillotine. He is the father of Louis-Philippe who bore after him the title of Duke of Orléans until his accession to the throne in 1830..