Louise of Orléans

Queen of the Belgians from 1832 to 1850

This article is about the consort of Leopold I, King of the Belgians. For the daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, see Princess Louise of Orléans. For the daughter of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Alençon, see Louise d'Orléans (1869–1952).

Louise of Orléans

Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1841

Queen consort of the Belgians
Tenure| 9 August 1832 – 11 October 1850

Born| (1812-04-03)3 April 1812
Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily
Died| 11 October 1850(1850-10-11) (aged 38)
Ostend, Kingdom of Belgium
Burial|

Church of Our Lady of Laeken

Spouse|

Leopold I of Belgium

(m. 1832)​

Issue|

* Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium
* Leopold II, King of the Belgians
* Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
* Charlotte, Empress of Mexico

| Names

Louise-Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle
House| Orléans
Father| Louis Philippe I of France
Mother| Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies
Signature|

Louise of Orléans (Louise-Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle; 3 April 1812 – 11 October 1850) was the first Queen of the Belgians as the second wife of King Leopold I from their marriage on 9 August 1832 until her death in 1850. She was the second child and eldest daughter of the French king Louis Philippe I and his wife, Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies. Louise rarely participated in public representation, but acted as the political adviser of her spouse. Her large correspondence is a valuable historical source of the period and has been published.

## Life

[edit]

Born in Palermo, Sicily, on 3 April 1812, she was the eldest daughter of the future Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and of his wife Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies. As a child, she had a religious and bourgeoisie education thanks to the part played by her mother and her aunt, Princess Adélaïde of Orléans, to whom she was very close. She was given a strict religious upbringing by her aunt. She also learned to speak English, German, Dutch and Italian.

As a member of the reigning House of Orléans, she was entitled to the rank of a Princess of the Blood Royal.

### Marriage

[edit]

The Wedding of Leopold I of Belgium and Louise of Orléans by Joseph-Désiré Court Drawing of the family of King Leopold I of Belgium

In 1830, her father became King of the French. Her position thus changed and her status was raised to that of the eldest daughter of a king.

On 9 August 1832, the twenty-year-old Louise married King Leopold I of the Belgians, who was twenty-two years her senior, at the Compiègne Palace. Leopold had been widowed after the death of his first wife, Princess Charlotte of Wales, in childbirth in 1817. Since Leopold was a Protestant, he and Louise had both a Catholic and a Calvinist ceremony.[citation needed]

The marriage had been suggested already when Leopold was considered for the throne of Greece, and was repeated when he was elected king of the Belgians instead of Louise's brother the duke of Nemours. The marriage created an alliance between two newly elected and less established monarchs, her father and spouse, and was thus seen as suitable. Louise's mother disliked the marriage because Leopold was a Protestant, but since Louise's father was a new monarch and his position weak in the eyes of other monarchs, the marriage was considered favorable for the new French Orléans dynasty, as it might then become easier for Louise's siblings to marry members of established dynasties.

While the marriage was arranged against Louise's will, and she was unhappy to leave France and her family, Leopold was very careful to treat her with consideration and respect from the beginning, which was appreciated by Louise, and soon their relationship came to be described as a harmonious one. Described as a devoted wife and loving mother, she was of a shy nature, and as her husband preferred that she live a quiet family life, she was not given much opportunity to overcome her shyness. She was devoted to the upbringing of her children, and it was noted that she entertained Leopold by reading for him from Stendhal, Chateaubriand, Byron, and Shakespeare.

After the birth of their last child in 1840, Leopold and Louise often spent their free time separately: while Leopold visited the Ardennes, Louise preferred to take her vacations in Oostende. From 1844, Leopold had a relationship with Arcadie Claret, whom he settled in a house near the palace in Brussels. Louise's health, which was weakened by childbirth as well as the misfortunes of her family in France, caused the sympathies of the public to be with Louise against Leopold in this matter, and the carriage of his mistress was bombarded with filth on the street.

### Public role as Queen

[edit]

Louise Marie d'Orléans-de Keyser

Queen Louise was described as a shy and introverted personality with weak health. Belgium was a newly independent monarchy, and there was yet no established tradition about what the role of a queen consort should look like. King Leopold's view was that public royal representation was to be used sparsely, and he did not create a public role for Louise as queen. Queen Louise was rarely seen in public and her life centered around the supervision of her children's upbringing, correspondence with her birth family in France, and religious devotion with her private confessor Pierre de Coninck, with whom she had a close relationship. Louise was given four ladies-in-waiting as companions: the Dame d'honneur, Countess Louise-Jeanne de Thezan du Poujol de Merode, and the three Dames du Palais, Baroness Caroline du Mas Goswin de Stassart, Baroness Caroline de Wal Masbourg Emmanuel d'Hooghvorst, and Countess Zoé Vilain.

While the king seldom engaged himself and even more rarely Louise in public representation, he did however regularly arrange private royal representation in the form of receptions, balls and state banquets for the aristocracy in the royal Palace of Laeken. During the first years of his reign, most of the guests were British, as the Belgian nobility were still largely loyal to the House of Orange, but gradually the Belgian aristocracy started to attend the royal receptions. The guests of the royal receptions were almost the only people Louise met in Belgium. Among this small circle, Louise gradually became somewhat less shy and appeared to enjoy the masquerade balls.

Every morning, Queen Louise received reports from her ladies-in-waiting of people asking her for financial assistance. She then personally visited their homes to bring them comfort and financial aid. Sometimes Queen Louise did not have enough money for her charitable works and then borrowed money from her ladies-in-waiting without telling her husband.[citation needed] She also received such applications from France and often answered them if her secretary informed her that they were genuine. She was a supporter of the lace making business, which was in a period of decline in the 1830s but was greatly helped by her financial support of a lace making school.

Portrait of Leopold I of Belgium by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1840. The painting as commissioned for the Palace of Versailles by Louise's father

King Leopold eventually allowed Louise to make her own trips around Belgium, and her favorite place became the Flemish coastal towns, particularly Oostende, where she took riding trips, bathed in the sea and walked along the beach, collecting seashells. She was seldom permitted to make trips abroad. Leopold did not bring her on his visit to the baptism of Princess Victoria in London in 1841, despite her wish to accompany him. He did bring her to Paris to visit her parents in 1841, as well as to Brühl in 1843, where she met Queen Victoria of Great Britain. In 1844, she celebrated her birthday with Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace, and she was also present at the state visit to London in 1847.

Despite the fact that Queen Louise was a shy personality who was rarely seen in public, she was a person with a strong will and many opinions in private. She was known to have a great interest in political issues, and the contemporary German press once claimed that the Belgian queen "has an extreme interest in political affairs and this is an issue of discontent in Brussels".[1] King Leopold did in fact, with time, ask for her opinions in state affairs, and she is known to have given him advice in diplomatic issues.[2] Eventually, the king's confidence in her ability grew to an extent that he suggested to the government that Queen Louise should be made official regent when he was absent from the country.[3] His suggestion was however met with such unanimous opposition that he was forced to retract his plans.[4]

Queen Louise was given public sympathy in Belgium when her parents were deposed during the February Revolution of 1848. She visited her exiled parents in England in October that same year. The revolution in France made the Belgian king and queen more popular in Belgium, and they toured the Belgian provinces to great acclaim.

### Death

[edit]

Queen Louise died of tuberculosis in the former Royal palace of Ostend on 11 October 1850.[5] Her death was confirmed in record by ministers Charles Rogier and Victor Tesch. Her body was brought to Laeken, and a memorial was erected in Oostende. She is buried beside her husband in the Royal Crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

## Children

[edit]

Louise, Queen of the Belgians with her son Leopold, Duke of Brabant, later Leopold II of the Belgians

Louise and Leopold had four children, including Leopold II of Belgium and Empress Carlota of Mexico.

* Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium (24 July 1833 – 16 May 1834)
* King Leopold II of Belgium (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909)
* Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders (24 March 1837 – 17 November 1905), whose son became King Albert I of Belgium;
* Princess Charlotte of Belgium (7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927), consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.

## Honours

[edit]

* Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Royal Order of Leopold
* Portugal: Dame of the Order of Queen Saint Isabel, 14 July 1835[6]
* Spain: Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa, 10 February 1835[7]

### Arms

[edit]

* Alliance Coat of Arms of King Leopold I
and Queen Louise

* Royal Monogram of Queen Louise-Marie
of Belgium

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Louise of Orléans

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|

|  |  |
| 9\. Louise Henriette de Bourbon

| 2\. Louis Philippe I of France|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Louis Jean Marie, Duke of Penthièvre

| 5\. Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon|

|  |  |
| 11\. Maria Teresa Felicitas d'Este

| 1\. Louise of Orléans|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Charles III of Spain

| 6\. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|

|  |  |
| 13\. Maria Amalia of Saxony

| 3\. Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor

| 7\. Maria Carolina of Austria|

|  |  |
| 15\. Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hippolyte d'Ursel, Lettres intimes de Louise d'Orléans : Première reine des Belges, Paris, Éditions Jourdan, 2015, 286 p. (ISBN 978-2-930757-48-3)
2. ^ Georges van den Abeelen, Portraits de rois : 150 ans de monarchie constitutionnelle, Bruxelles, 1981, p. 44.
3. ^ Carlo Bronne, Léopold Ier et son Temps, Bruxelles, Goemaere, 1947, 399 p., p. 163.
4. ^ Carlo Bronne, Léopold Ier et son Temps, Bruxelles, Goemaere, 1947, 399 p., p. 163.
5. ^ King Leopold I, Monarchie.be, Retrieved 2 April 2016
6. ^ Bragança, Jose Vicente de (2014). "Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Príncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota" [Portuguese Honours awarded to Princes of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]. Pro Phalaris (in Portuguese). 9–10: 5. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
7. ^ "Real orden de damas nobles de la Reina Maria Luisa", Calendario Manual y Guía de Forasteros en Madrid (in Spanish): 91, 1848, retrieved 20 April 2020

## Further reading

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louise of Orléans.

* (in French) Mia Kerckvoorde (2002). Louise d’Orléans, reine oubliée, 1812-1850. Paris: Duculot. ISBN 2-8011-0949-5.
* (in French) Madeleine Lassère (2006). Louise, reine des Belges. 1812-1850. Paris: Perrin. ISBN 2-262-02366-2.

Louise of Orléans

House of Orléans

Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon

Born: 3 April 1812 Died: 11 October 1850

Belgian royalty
New title |  Queen consort of the Belgians
1832–1850  | Vacant

Title next held by

Marie Henriette of Austria

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Orléans

Generations descend from Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, father of King Louis Philippe I of France

1st generation|

* Princess Adélaïde

2nd generation|

* Louise, Queen of the Belgians
* Marie, Duchess Alexander of Württemberg
* Clémentine, Princess August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

3rd generation|

* Marguerite, Princess Władysław Czartoryski
* Princess Françoise, Duchess of Chartres
* Princess Marie Isabelle, Countess of Paris
* Princess Maria Amelia of Orléans
* Princess Marie Christine of Orléans
* Mercedes, Queen of Spain

4th generation|

* Amélie, Queen of Portugal
* Marguerite, Duchess of Magenta
* Princess Hélène, Duchess of Aosta
* Princess Isabelle, Duchess of Guise
* Louise, Princess Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
* Marie, Princess Valdemar of Denmark
* Louise, Princess Alfons of Bavaria

5th generation|

* Isabelle, Princess Pierre Murat
* Françoise, Princess Christopher of Greece and Denmark
* Princess Anne, Duchess of Aosta
* Marie Louise, Princess Philip of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

6th generation|

* Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria
* Diane, Duchess of Württemberg
* Claude, Duchess of Aosta

7th generation|

* Marie, Princess Gundakar of Liechtenstein

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of the Blood

Generations start from the children of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme

1st generation|

* Marie of Bourbon

2nd generation|

* Catherine, Duchess of Lorraine

3rd generation|

* Éléonore, Princess of Orange
* Louise, Duchess of Longueville
* Marie, Princess of Carignan

4th generation|

* Anne Geneviève, Duchess of Longueville

5th generation|

* none

6th generation|

* Marie Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Berry
* Louise Adélaïde, Abbess of Chelles
* Charlotte Aglaé, Duchess of Modena
* Louise Élisabeth, Queen of Spain
* Philippine Élisabeth, Mademoiselle de Beaujolais
* Louise Diane, Princess of Conti
* Marie Thérèse, Princess of Conti
* Anne Marie, Mademoiselle de Condé
* Louise Bénédicte, Duchess of Maine
* Marie Anne, Duchess of Vendôme
* Marie Anne, Duchess of Bourbon
* Louise Adélaïde, Mademoiselle de La Roche-sur-Yon

7th generation|

* Louise Marie
* Marie Anne Éléonore, Abbess of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs
* Louise Élisabeth, Princess of Conti
* Louise Anne, Mademoiselle de Charolais
* Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Clermont
* Henriette Louise, Mademoiselle de Vermandois
* Élisabeth Alexandrine, Mademoiselle de Sens
* Louise Henriette, Duchess of Orléans

8th generation|

* Bathilde, Duchess of Bourbon
* Louise Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Orléans

9th generation|

* Louise Adélaïde, Abbess of Remiremont
* Adélaïde, Princess of Orléans

10th generation|

* Louise, Queen of the Belgians
* Marie, Princess Alexander of Württemberg
* Clémentine, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by marriage

1st generation|

* Princess Maria Antonia Koháry of Csábrág and Szitnya*
* Princess Louise of Orléans

2nd generation|

* Princess Alexandrine of Baden
* Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom
* Maria II, Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
* Princess Clémentine of Orléans
* Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria**
* Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen**

3rd generation|

* Princess Alexandra of Denmark***
* Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia***
* Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia***
* Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont***
* Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
* Princess Maria Pia of Savoy
* Princess Louise of Belgium
* Princess Leopoldina of Brazil
* Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma
* Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz
* Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria**

4th generation|

* Princess Victoria Mary of Teck***
* Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife***
* Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg***
* Princess Amélie of Orléans
* Archduchess Karoline Marie of Austria
* Princess Mathilde of Bavaria
* Princess Giovanna of Savoy
* Princess Astrid of Sweden**
* Lilian Baels**

5th generation|

* Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth
* Princess Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern
* Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela
* Fabiola de Mora y Aragón
* Paola Ruffo di Calabria**
* Léa Wolman**

6th generation|

* Miriam Ungría y López
* María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdórfila
* Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz**
* Claire Coombs**

7th generation|

* Kelly Rondestvedt^

* *princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld by marriage until 1826
* **also a princess of Belgium by marriage
* ***also a British princess by marriage
* ^did not have a royal or noble title by birth

* v
* t
* e

Belgian royal consorts

* Louise of Orléans (1832–1850)
* Marie Henriette of Austria (1865–1902)
* Elisabeth in Bavaria (1909–1934)
* Astrid of Sweden (1934–1935)
* Fabiola de Mora y Aragón (1960–1993)
* Paola Ruffo di Calabria (1993–2013)

* Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz (2013–present)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
* Netherlands
* Sweden
* Poland
* Vatican
* Belgium

Artists|

* ULAN
* RKD Artists

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC
* RISM
* Yale LUX

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