Prince Jean, Duke of Guise

Jean d'Orléans (Jean Pierre Clément Marie; 4 September 1874 – 25 August 1940) was Orléanist pretender to the defunct French throne as Jean III. He used the courtesy title of Duke of Guise.

Jean d'Orléans
Duke of Guise
Orléanist pretender to the French throne
Pretence	28 March 1926 – 25 August 1940
Predecessor	Philippe, Duke of Orléans
Successor	Henri, Count of Paris
Born	(1874-09-04)4 September 1874 Paris, France
Died	25 August 1940(1940-08-25) (aged 65) Larache, Morocco, Spain
Spouse	Princess Isabelle of Orléans ​ ​ (m. 1899)​
Issue	Isabelle, Princess Pierre Murat Françoise, Princess Christopher of Greece and Denmark Princess Anne, Duchess of Aosta Prince Henri, Count of Paris
Names Jean Pierre Clément Marie d'Orléans
House	Orléans
Father	Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres
Mother	Princess Françoise of Orléans
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

He was the third son and youngest child of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres (1840–1910), and grandson of Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans and great-grandson of Louis Philippe I, King of the French. His mother was Princess Françoise of Orléans, daughter of François, Prince of Joinville and Princess Francisca of Brazil.

Biography

In 1926 at the death of his cousin and brother-in-law Philippe, Duke of Orléans, claimant to the defunct throne of France as "Philip VIII", Jean was recognised by his Orléanist supporters as titular king of France with the name "Jean III".^{[citation needed]}

Jean was an amateur historian and archeologist, who lived with his family in a large farm near Rabat, Morocco. Following his "ascension" as Orléanist pretender, he and his eldest son were legally forbidden from ever entering France again, due to an 1886 edict which condemned the heads of Bourbon & Bonaparte dynasties, as well as their heirs apparent, to exile.^[1]

In 1892, Jean passed the entrance exam for the Royal Danish Military Academy and joined the Royal Life Guards. He continued to serve in the Royal Danish Army until 1899, where he was made captain à la suite.^[2]

Jean died in Larache, Morocco, in 1940. He was succeeded as Orléanist claimant to the defunct French throne by his only son, Henri d' Orléans, Count of Paris.

Marriage and issue

Left to right (standing): Bruno, Count of Harcourt, Princess Françoise of Orléans, Princess Anne of Orléans, & Princess Isabelle of Orléans. Left to right (seated): Henri, Count of Paris, Princess Isabelle of Orléans, & Prince Jean, Duke of Guise.

In 1899, Jean married his first cousin, Isabelle d'Orléans (1878–1961). She was the younger sister of Philip VIII, and the daughter of Philip VII and Marie Isabelle d'Orléans.

They had four children:

• Isabelle d'Orléans (1900–1983). First married in 1923 to Marie Hervé Jean Bruno, Count of Harcourt (1899–1930) and then to Prince Pierre Murat in 1934.
• Françoise d'Orléans (1902–1953). Married to Christopher of Greece and Denmark in 1929. He was a son of George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia. They were parents of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark.
• Anne d'Orléans (1906–1986). She married Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta in 1927.
• Henri d'Orléans, Count of Paris (1908–1999).^[3] Married to Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Prince Jean, Duke of Guise

8. Louis Philippe I of France 4. Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans 9. Princess Marie Amélie of Naples and Sicily 2. Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres 10. Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 5. Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 11. Princess Caroline Louise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 1. Prince Jean, Duke of Guise 12. Louis Philippe I of France (= 8) 6. François, Prince of Joinville 13. Princess Marie Amélie of Naples and Sicily (= 9) 3. Princess Françoise of Orléans 14. Pedro I of Brazil and IV of Portugal 7. Princess Francisca of Brazil 15. Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria