Prince Michel, Count of Evreux
Prince Michel Joseph Benoît Marie of Orléans, Count of Evreux, was born on 25 June 1941 in Rabat, Morocco. He is the son of the late Henri, count of Paris (the Orleanist claimant to the French throne from 1940 until his death) and Princess Isabelle de Orléans-Bragança.
Background
Raised in exile as one of the eleven children of the French pretender, his family re-patriated to France in 1950 after the law of banishment against former French dynasties was repealed. He received an academic education appropriate for his rank and earned a university degree studying mathematics, chemistry and physics, did not find occasion to maintain a career.
Family
He was dating Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark when he met Béatrice Pasquier de Franclieu, whom he married on 18 November 1967 in Casablanca, Morocco, without his father's consent. Born Béatrice Marie Guillemine Huguette in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 24 October 1941, the daughter of Bruno Marie Emilien Pasquier de Franclieu (Lyon, 4 March 1914 - Paris, 15 September 1944) of a noble family, and his wife Jacqueline Françoise Marie Thérèse Irène Térisse (Rambouillet, 7 September 1918 - 2006) who had married in Lormes on 29 April 1938.
The marriage was not regarded as dynastic, nor were his wife and children accorded traditional Orléanist royal titles. On 10 December 1976, Béatrice was allowed by her father-in-law to share ad personam her husband's style, viz., "Her Royal Highness Princess Michel of Orléans, comtesse d'Evreux". Subsequent to the accession as head of the House of Orléans and pretender by his brother Prince Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France in 1999, his wife and children were recognized as fully dynastic members of the royal house with commensurate styles and titles.
The family lived in Morocco, Germany and England. Their children attained adulthood in Spain. According to the prince's wife, her work as a fashion consultant for Women's Wear Daily and Dior, combined with her husband's lack of a career, imposed strains upon the marriage. Michel and Beatrice were separated in 1994 and he left their home, although there were no plans to terminate the marriage. They had four children (and several grandchildren):
- Princess Clotilde Jacqueline Charlotte Marie of Orléans 4 December 1968
- Princess Adélaïde Jeanne Marie of Orléans b. 11 September 1971
- Charles-Philippe, Duke of Anjou b. 3 March 1973
- Prince François Charles Frédéric Bruno Marie of Orléans b. 10 February 1982
External links
- Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France official website: Institut de la Maison Royale de France
fr:Michel d’Orléans