Prince Jean and Princess Philomena, Duke and Duchess of Vendôme, welcomed a son today. The baby’s first (and so far, the only-known) name is Gaston.

Duke and Duchess of Vendôme, courtesy of Freerepublic

The little Prince is the first child for the Duke and Duchess of Vendôme, who were married earlier this year (civilly, on March 19 and religiously, on May 2). Princess Philomena’s pregnancy was announced in July. Gaston is the 8th grandchild of the Count of Paris and will eventually assume the Headship of the House of Orléans.

Prince Jean, Dauphin de France, Duke of Vendôme is the son of Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France (the Orléanist pretender to the French throne) and Duchess Marie Therese of Württemberg, the Duchess of Montpensier. In 2006, Count of Paris created Prince Jean ‘Dauphin de France’, bypassing Jean’s mentally disabled elder brother, Prince François, Count of Clermont.

The baby’s name, Gaston, has deep roots with the House of Orléans. Distinguished members of Orléans family with the same name include Gaston, Duke of Orléans, the Fils de France and Le Grand Monsieur (the third son King Henry IV and Marie de’ Medici, the eldest surviving brother of King Louis XIII, and the last member of the elder branch of Bourbon-Orléans) and Gaston d’Orléans, Count of Eu (the son of Louis, Duke of Nemours, who himself was the son of King Louis-Philippe, and Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary).

You can view the thread dedicated to the birth of Prince Gaston here.

Marsel French Royals Birth, House of Orléans, Prince Gaston, Prince Jean of France, Princess Philomena

Click on image to see photo at Seeger

On tuesday, the Duchess of Montpensier has appeared in public again for the first time after she fell ill this spring.  The duchess, who was dressed in a black dress with a two string pearl necklace, attended the gala Andre-Charles Boule Exhibition ” A new style for Europe” at the old Opera in Frankfurt (Germany). She was accompanied by one of her sons, the duke of Vendôme. His wife stayed home, as she is in an advanced state of her pregnancy.

Marengo French Royals Duchess of Montpensier, Exhibition, Germany, Health, Prince Jean of France

 A new classic Orleans feud has been made public in this weeks issue of Point de Vue. This time the heir to the dynasty, prince Jean, attacked his father, the count of Paris. The count is the head of the Orleans family and one of the pretenders to the French throne. The count recently married Micaela Cousiño in a religious ceremony in Arcangues. The couple married in a civil ceremony in 1984, after the count divorceed his first wife, duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg.

Click on image to see photo at noblesseetroyautes.com

Prince Jean, duke of Vendôme has released a communiqué in which he disapproves of his father’s religious remarriage and of the annulment of the wedding between his parents. He says he considers it ridicule, of bad taste and offensive to the laws of God and the royal family of France. In Point de Vue the prince says that he has a difficult relationship with his father, who he saw very little since he was 9 years old. The pricne also says he was against the sale of the estate of the late coutness of Paris (née princess Isabel of Brazil).

The magazine also writes that the prince wrote an e-mail to his cousins just before the count would marry religiously in Arcangues, urging them all not to attend the wedding. In the end only few members of the Orléans family were present at the wedding, among them the duke of Anjou with his wife the duchess of Cadaval and princesses Chantal and Claude. None of the count’s children were present at the wedding.  Prince Jean claims that a reconsiliation with his father is out of the question. In a statement issued by the count of Paris, the count reminds his son that he is forgetting who of them is the father and who is the son.

Marengo French Royals Count of Paris, Prince Jean of France

 It has been confirmed that Prince Jean and Princess Philomena d’Orleans, Duke and Duchess of Vendome, are expecting her first child together. The child is expected to arrive later this year.

Prince Jean is the second son of the Count of Paris and his former wife, the Duchess of Montpensier; he married Dona Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart on 2 May 2009 in Senlis.

The pregnancy of the Princess has been announced soon after having spent their honeymoon in Compostela.

The baby will be the eighth grandchild of the Count of Paris and of the Duchess of Montpensier; if male, he will be third in the Line of Succession to the French Throne and, one day, Head of the French Royal Family.

For more information about Prince Jean and Princess Philomena, see this thread.

MAfan French Royals Pregnancy, Prince Jean of France, Princess Philomena

Click on image to see photo at Hello!

 On May 2nd Prince Jean of Orléans, Duke of Vendôme married the Spanish Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart in a religious ceremony at the Our Lady Cathedral in Senlis.  The couple married in a civil ceremony in Paris on March 19th.  The father of prince Jean is the head of the French royal family: prince Henri of Orléans, count of Paris P[rince Jean is his heir and as the website of the count of Paris shows, prince Jean is using the old title ‘Dauphin’, as was customary for a crown prince of France during the monarchy. 

The bride was dressed in a gown made by Lacroix, inspired by the curtains of the bed of Marie-Antoinette. She used a 200 year old lace veil and a gold & turqoise tiara from her own family. The groom was escorted into church by his aunt, princess Maria Carolina of Liechtenstein. She is a half-sister of Jean’s mother Marie-Thérese, who was taken to hospital a few days before the religious ceremony.

After the wedding ceremony, the couple and their guests  toasted to the marriage with champagne in the gardens of Chateau of Hugues Capet. After this the wedding party then moved on to a reception in the Castle de Chantilly. The Orléans family displayed a rare  sense of unity during this wedding as all of the sisters and brothers of the count of Paris were represented. Among the family members present were the duke and duchess fo Württemberg, the count of La Marche, the Duke of Anjou and his wife Duchess Diana de Cadaval and the duke and duchess of Noto.

The Belgian royal family came witrh a large delegation: the duke and duchess of Brabant, princess Astrid and Archduke Lorenz and Prince Laurent with princess Claire were present. From Spain came Infanta Pilar, a sister of the king and other royals present were the duke and duchess of Bragança, the duke and duchess of Calabria and prince Guillaume and princess Sybilla of Luxembourg. Tracted the guest that attracted the most attention was however French Justice minister Rachida Dati, who was dressed all in black.

More about the wedding in this thread.

Marengo French Royals Prince Jean of France, Princess Philomena, Wedding

Click on image to see more photos at Belga

 Less than a month to go for the religious wedding ceremony of pince Jean of France and the Spanish Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart. The couple married in a civil ceremony on March 19th of this year, the religious wedding will be on May 2nd in Senlis. To mark the occassion German boulevard magazine Bunte has this small video with clips of the couple. It shows their engagement in Chantilly, the prince and his father the count of Paris and Jean & Philomena’s civil wedding.

More information about the wedding between prince Jean of France, duke of Vendome and Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart in this TRF thread.

Marengo French Royals Prince Jean of France, Princess Philomena, Wedding

  Prince Jean of France, Duke of Vendôme today married Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart in a civil ceremony in Paris. The ceremony was sealed by the liberal mayor of the 7th arrondissiment of Paris, Rachida Dati.  The ceremony was attended by a group of 60 to 70 relatives and friends. Among them the parents of the groom, the count of Paris and the duchess of Montpensier as well as his stepmother Micaela. The groom’s sister princess Marie of Liechtenstein also attended with two of her daughters, as did her brother prince Eudes, duke of Angouleme with his wife Marie-Liesse. Other members of the Orleans family were also present, among them princess Chantal with her husband baron Francois Xavier Sambucy de Sorgue, their daughter Kildine with her two little daughters, the duke and duchess of Orleans,their sons prince Charles Louis and prince Foulques. Their cousin prince François, son of the count of Evreux, also attended.

Click on image to see more photos at Belga

After the ceremony the party went to the house of  countess Gilone de Dreux Brézé , the daughter of the late princess Isabelle of France, Countess d’ Harcourt. The religious wedding will be on May 2nd in the town of Senlis. The  bride revealed to society magazine Point de Vue that she will wear a tiara and a 200 year old veil, both from her own family. Her dress will be made of Christian Lacroix.

Read more about prince Jean and princess Philomena in this thread and read more about their wedding here. A special thanks for TRF member vincent for the provided information.

Marengo French Royals Prince Jean of France, Princess Philomena, Wedding

  Prince Jean of France, duke of Vendôme and his fiancee Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart attended a charity ball in the Casino of Madrid. The ball was organised by the Spanish branch of the order of Malta and was attended by various members of the order

Click on image to see photo at www.noblesseetroyautes.com

The duke of Vendôme and Philomena de Tornos got engaged  in November 2008. The is planning to marrying the cathedral of Senlis on May 2^nd. The wedding will be followed by a reception at Chantilly Castle.

More information about this couple and the upcoming wedding can be found in thisTRF thread. The official website of the order of Malta can be found here.

Marengo French Royals Prince Jean of France, Princess Philomena