Antoine Philippe, Duke of Montpensier
Louis Antoine Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier was a son of Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and his duchess Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, Duchess of Orléans. He was the younger brother of Louis Philippe, later King of the French. Antoine had a deep affection for him, and they were only ever separated during the Reign of Terror and the events that followed between 1793 and 1797.
Life
In 1791, Antoine Philippe was appointed as an aide-de-camp, with the rank of sous-lieutenant in his brother's regiment He was made adjutant-general before the battle of Jemmapes, in which both he and his brother fought. In Paris at the time of the trial of Louis XVI, Antoine Philippe attempted unsuccessfully to persuade his father not to vote for the king's death.In April 1793, whilst adjutant-general in the armée du Var, Antoine Philippe was arrested at the same time as the other Bourbons who had remained in France. He was imprisoned in Fort Saint-Jean at Marseille.
During his imprisonment, Antoine Philippe contracted tuberculosis which eventually killed him. He had an illegitimate son with Françoise Barbaroux – Jean-Antoine-Philippe Dentend – who became notary to the House of Orléans. In that role, he oversaw Louis Philippe's donation of his personal property in 1830 before his accession. Antoine never saw his child; on 13 fructidor year IV, the French Directory decided to exile him to Philadelphia, where the French Republic's chargé-d'affaires in the United States of America granted him an annual pension of 15,000 francs. He set out on 5 November 1796, accompanied by his brother Louis-Charles, comte de Beaujolais, and in February 1797 met Louis-Philippe in Philadelphia. For two years they travelled around New England, the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi valley.
Returning to Europe in 1800, the royal House of Bourbon remained in exile from France, so the brothers set up in England at Twickenham. Later that year Antoine Philippe sought the hand in marriage of Lady Charlotte Adelaide Constantia Rawdon, daughter of the 1st Earl of Moira by his third wife, Elizabeth Hastings, 16th Baroness Botreaux. Despite her noble lineage, consent for the marriage was withheld by Louis, Count of Provence, and the couple never wed.
In 1807 Antoine Philippe's tuberculosis worsened, motivating his elder brother to take him to Devon to benefit from the fresh air. Twelve miles out of Twickenham, they were forced to stop at an inn in Salt Hill, near Windsor. During a respiratory crisis, Antoine Philippe refused the ether Louis-Philippe was wanting to administer, and, murmuring to him "Give me your hand, I thought I was dying", and with that he died.
Antoine Philippe's funeral service was held at the Catholic chapel on King Street in London. Monsieur attended and, thanks to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, obtained permission to bury his brother in Westminster Abbey.