Princess Clémentine of Orléans

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Princess Clémentine of Orléans, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess in Saxony (March 6, 1817 – February 16, 1907) was the youngest daughter of Louis-Philippe, King of the French, and his wife Marie Amalie of the Two Sicilies. She was the mother of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.

Contents 1 Life 1.1 Children 2 Ancestry 3 References 3.1 Notes

[edit] Life

Born at the Château de Neuilly, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, soon after the restoration, Princess Clémentine became a royal princess following her father's ascension to the French throne in 1830. Never one to lack ambition, she sought a likely future king to marry and was directed towards Prince August of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary, Duke in Saxony (1818-1881), whom she married on April 20, 1843 in Saint-Cloud. Her instincts proved to be incorrect in this case as August, one year her junior, would never become a king. They had five children:

[edit] Children

• Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary (1844–1921), who married his cousin, Princess Louise, daughter of King Léopold II of Belgium;
• Prince August of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary (1845–1907), who married Leopoldina of Brazil, younger daughter of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil;
• Princess Clotilde of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary (1846–1927), who married Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria, Palatine of Hungary and became the foremother of the so-called Hungarian branch of the Habsburg dynasty;

House of Orléans
Kingdom of France

Louis-Philippe Children    Ferdinand-Philippe, Prince Royal    Louise, Queen of the Belgians    Marie d'Orléans, Duchess of Württemberg    Louis, duc de Nemours    Clementine, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha    François, prince de Joinville    Henri, duc d'Aumale    Antoine, duc de Montpensier Grandchildren    Philippe VII, comte de Paris    Robert, duc de Chartres    Gaston, comte d'Eu    Ferdinand, duc d'Alençon    Margaret d'Orléans    Blanche d'Orléans    Françoise-Marie, duchesse de Chartres    Louis Philippe, prince de Condé    François Louis, duc de Guise Great Grandchildren    Amélie, Queen consort of Portugal    Philippe, duc d'Orléans    Hélène, Duchess of Aosta    Isabelle, duchesse de Guise    Louise d'Orléans    Ferdinand, duc de Montpensier    Marie d'Orléans, Princess of Denmark    Robert d'Orléans    Henri d'Orléans    Marguerite d'Orléans    Jean III, duc de Guise    Louise d'Orléans    Emmanuel, duc de Vendôme Great Great Grandchildren    Isabelle d'Orléans    Françoise, Princess of Greece and Denmark    Anne d'Orléans    Henri VI, comte de Paris Great Great Great Grandchildren    Isabella d'Orléans    Henri VII, comte de Paris    Hélène d'Orléans    François, duc d'Orléans    Anne, Duchess of Calabria    Diane, Duchess of Württemberg    Michel, comte d'Evreux    Jacques, duc d'Orléans    Claude, Duchess of Aosta    Chantal d'Orléans    Thibaut, comte de la Marche    Marie Louise d'Orléans    Sophie Joséphine d'Orléans    Geneviève Marie d'Orléans    Charles Philippe, duc de Nemours Great Great Great Great Grandchildren    Marie d'Orléans    François, comte de Clermont    Blanche d'Orléans    Jean, duc de Vendôme    Eudes, duc d'Angoulême    Clothilde d'Orléans    Adélaïde d'Orléans    Charles Philippe, duc d'Anjou    François d'Orléans    Diane Marie d'Orléans    Charles-Louis, duc de Chartres    Foulques, duc d'Aumale

• Princess Amelie of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary (1848–1894), who married Maximilian Emanuel, Duke in Bavaria, the youngest brother of Empress Elisabeth of Austria; and
• Ferdinand (1861–1948), who became Tsar of Bulgaria (1887-1918) and from whom the Royal House of Bulgaria descends.

After fleeing France in 1848 following the end of her father's reign, first to Coburg, and then to Vienna, where her husband was an officer with the Austro-Hungarian army. Realising that she would never be Queen, Clémentine turned her efforts to instilling in Ferdinand, her favorite child, the idea that, as a direct descendant not only of Louis-Philippe but of the Sun King, he deserved to be a King. Of which country was not an important matter. As it turned out, that country was Bulgaria and Clémentine actively lobbied for Ferdinand's election as Prince of Bulgaria.^[1]

Styles of Princess Clémentine of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Reference style Her Royal Highness Spoken style Your Royal Highness Alternative style Ma'am This box: view • talk • edit

Known for her "shrewd mind and a remarkable understanding of European politics and diplomacy", Clémentine was often sent by Ferdinand as his representative on diplomatic missions around Europe. An extremely wealthy woman, Clémentine made herself popular in her adopted homeland by showering money on Bulgaria, including a donation of four million francs towards the completion of a railway line linking Bulgaria to Europe's rail network.^[2]

Increasingly deaf as she aged, Clémentine became dependent on an enormous ear trumpet and on people obligingly raising their voices for her. It became an occupational hazard of the Bulgarian court to be caught in long, loud conversations with Clémentine that she was reluctant to end.

Clementine died in Vienna in 1907, aged 90. Her influence on Ferdinand was so pronounced that people began to predict his downfall. She was buried in Coburg, with an inscription on her memorial reading "King's daughter, no Queen herself, yet King's mother."

[edit] Ancestry

16. Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans

8. Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans

17. Auguste Marie Johanna of Baden-Baden

4. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

18. Louis Armand II de Bourbon, Prince of Conti

9. Louise Henriette de Bourbon-Conti

19. Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé

2. Louis-Philippe of France

20. Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse

10. Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre

21. Marie-Victoiré-Sophie de Noailles

5. Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre

22. Francesco III d'Este

11. Maria Theresa Felicitas d'Este

23. Charlotte Aglaé of Orléans

1. Princess Clémentine of Orléans

24. Philip V of Spain

12. Charles III of Spain

25. Elisabeth of Parma

6. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies

26. Augustus III of Poland

13. Maria Amalia of Saxony

27. Maria Josepha of Austria

3. Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies

28. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine

14. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor

29. Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans

7. Marie Caroline of Austria

30. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor

15. Maria Theresa of Austria

31. Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

• Aronson, T. (1986) Crowns in conflict: the triumph and the tragedy of European monarchy, 1910-1918, J. Murray, London. ISBN 0-7195-4279-0
• Constant, S. (1979) Foxy Ferdinand, 1861-1948, Tsar of Bulgaria, Sidgwick and Jackson, London. ISBN 0-283-98515-1