Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Member of the royal family of France, Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723 (1674–1723)

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Lived 1674–1723, aged 49France

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Wikipedia
43 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1674–1723
Aged 49
Awards
3
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

He held absolute power over France for eight years without being king. Philippe d'Orléans ruled as Regent during Louis XV's childhood, a stretch that gave its name to an entire era — la Régence — and made him the most powerful man in Europe who never wore a crown.

Biography

About

Born at Saint-Cloud on 2 August 1674, Philippe Charles was the son of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, and Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, and carried the title Duke of Chartres from birth. In 1692 he married his first cousin Françoise Marie de Bourbon, youngest legitimised daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. When Louis XIV died in 1715, Philippe became Regent of France for his great-nephew and first cousin twice removed, the five-year-old Louis XV. For the next eight years he wielded near-absolute authority, a period the French still call simply the Regency. The arrangement ende…

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