Jean, Count of Paris


Jean Carl Pierre Marie d'Orléans, who uses the title Jean, Count of Paris, is the current head of the House of Orléans. The senior male descendant by primogeniture in the male-line of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, he is, according to the Orléanists, the legitimate claimant to the throne of France as Jean IV. Of France's three monarchist movements, Orléanism, Legitimism and Bonapartism, most royalists are Orléanists.
Prince Jean is the second son of Prince Henri, Count of Paris, the late head of the House of Orléans and his former wife Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg.

First engagement

Prince Jean was due to marry Duchess Tatjana of Oldenburg in 2001. Duchess Tatjana is the youngest daughter of Duke Johann of Oldenburg and Countess Ilka of Ortenburg. Her elder sister Eilika married Archduke Georg of Austria in 1997. However, the wedding was cancelled at the last minute because of a dispute over religious denomination. Jean's father Henri feared the Orléans claim to the throne would be compromised if there were to be a Protestant heir.

Marriage

On 29 November 2008, the Count of Paris announced the engagement of the Duke of Vendôme to Maria Magdalena Philomena Juliana Johanna de Tornos y Steinhart, born in Vienna on 19 June 1977. The civil wedding, conducted by Mayor Rachida Dati, took place on 19 March 2009 in Paris. The religious wedding was held on 2 May 2009 at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame at Senlis, with a reception at the Château de Chantilly. The bride wore a gown by Christian Lacroix and a jacket embroidered by Maison Lesage.
Philomena is the daughter of Don Alfonso de Tornos y Zubiría, of Basque ancestry, and wife Maria Antonia Anna Zdenka Edle von Steinhart, of Austro-Hungarian ancestry. She has a sister named María Magdalena and a brother named David. Her paternal grandparents were Juan de Tornos y Espelíus, secretary of Don Juan, Count of Barcelona, and wife María del Carmen Zubiría y Calbetón, daughter of the 2nd Marquis :File:Palacio_de_Yanduri_02.jpg|de Yanduri. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Edler von Steinhart and his wife Gabriele Felicitas Murad von Werner, paternal granddaughter of Murad Effendi.
Prince Jean and Philomena are distantly related, both being descendants of Count Jaroslav Borzita von Martinitz who served as Imperial Governor of Bohemia and his first wife Maria Eusebie von :File:Český Šternberk 2.jpg|Sternberg.

Issue

The couple have five children:

Titles

He was created Duke of Vendôme by his paternal grandfather, on 27 September 1987.
Following the death of his father, it was initially thought that Prince Jean would not assume the title of Count of Paris for several months after his father's death, and possibly not for as much as one year. However, on 2 February 2019, he used the title to sign a press release.
To French Orléanists, the Count is Jean IV, King of France. Per French tradition, the pretender is commonly addressed as Monseigneur rather than Royal Highness.

Honours

National

Jean is a direct male-line descendant of Louis Philippe I, the last French king, who in turn was a descendant of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Jean is also descended from Charles X of France, brother of Louis XVI; and the Bourbons of Spain, the Two Sicilies and Parma.

Patrilineal descent

Jean is a member of the House of Orléans, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, itself a branch of the Capetian dynasty. His patrilineal ancestors, or direct male-line ancestors, include many of the kings of France.
  1. Robert II of Worms and Rheingau, 770–807
  2. Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 800–834
  3. Robert IV the Strong, 820–866
  4. Robert I of France, 866–923
  5. Hugh the Great, 895–956
  6. Hugh Capet, 941–996
  7. Robert II of France, 972–1031
  8. Henry I of France, 1008–1060
  9. Philip I of France, 1053–1108
  10. Louis VI of France, 1081–1137
  11. Louis VII of France, 1120–1180
  12. Philip II of France, 1165–1223
  13. Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226
  14. Louis IX of France, 1214–1270
  15. Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317
  16. Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, c. 1280–1342
  17. James I, Count of La Marche, 1315–1362
  18. John I, Count of La Marche, 1344–1393
  19. Louis, Count of Vendôme, c. 1376–1446
  20. Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428–1478
  21. François, Count of Vendôme, 1470–1495
  22. Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537
  23. Antoine of Navarre, 1518–1562
  24. Henry IV of France, 1553–1610
  25. Louis XIII of France, 1601–1643
  26. Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, 1640–1701
  27. Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, 1674–1723
  28. Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, 1703–1752
  29. Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, 1725–1785
  30. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, 1747–1793
  31. Louis Philippe I, King of the French, 1773–1850
  32. Prince Ferdinand d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, 1810–1842
  33. Robert, Duke of Chartres, 1840–1910
  34. Jean, Duke of Guise, 1874–1940
  35. Henri, Count of Paris, 1908–1999
  36. Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France 1933–2019
  37. Jean, Count of Paris, 1965–