Duke of Orléans was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives, or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King Philip VI for his younger son Philip, the title was recreated by King Charles VI for his younger brother Louis, who passed the title on to his son and then to his grandson, the latter becoming King Louis XII. The title was created and recreated six times in total, until 1661, when Louis XIV bestowed it upon his younger brother Philippe, who passed it on to his male descendants, who became known as the "Orléans branch" of the Bourbons.
Image: Louis Orleans Gaignieres
Image: French Portrait of King Louis XII of France at Prayer Walters 4634
Image: Corneille de Lyon 001
Image: Charles II, duc d'Orléans (1522 1545)
Philip VI, called the Fortunate or the Catholic and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 until his death in 1350. Philip's reign was dominated by the consequences of a succession dispute. When King Charles IV of France died in 1328, his nearest male relative was his nephew, King Edward III of England, but the French nobility preferred Charles's paternal cousin, Philip.
Philip VI in a contemporary miniature depicting the trial of Robert III of Artois, c. 1336
Coronation of Philip VI
Flemish leader as fish seller went to search in French camp
Philip VI and his first wife, Joan of Burgundy