Questions about Names, Styles and Titles

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Stefan

That Title was alreaday given to his uncle Jacques by his grandfather the late Comte de Paris, so it is not availible for Prince Jean.

Which only illustrates the crazy situation. The Duc d'Orléans is - how logical- not the Chef de la Maison d'Orléans.

In every "normal" non-reigning family we see that the heads are the Duke of Bragança, the Duke of Bavaria, the Duke of Savoia, etc. But in this disfunctional House the Duc d'Orléans is neither the Chef, nor is the heir, nor is the heir's son but is a junior son of the previous head...

[Mbruno]

I thought that peerages given to French princes during the Ancien Régime were like the British ones, i.e. transmitted hereditarily by male-only primogeniture, but from what you guys are saying, they seem to be more like personal, courtesy titles.


I am actually confused, but maybe a French poster will be able to clarify it.

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

I thought that peerages given to French princes during the Ancien Régime were like the British ones, i.e. transmitted hereditarily by male-only primogeniture, but from what you guys are saying, they seem to be more like personal, courtesy titles.


I am actually confused, but maybe a French poster will be able to clarify it.

I don't think courtesy titles had peerages linked to them, but as stated in the Heraldica article in my earlier post (Heraldica is an extremely well sourced website), the titles given to princes at birth were mere courtesy titles, and they did not receive titles linked to actual domains until they reached adulthood.

[An Ard Ri]

Other Duchies bestowed on French Prince and Princesses

Dukedom of Berry
Duke of Albret - associated with the Royal House of Navarre
Duke of Valois
Duke of Angoulême
Duke of Alençon
Duke of Anjou

Following the death of Louise de Savoie mother of king François, all of her titles merged with the Crown.

Louise was Duchess of Anjou,Duchess of Nemours,Duchess of Angouleme,Duchess of Bourbon and Auvergne , Countess of Forez ,Clermont and Marche ,Dame de Beaujeu .