Henri d'Orléans, comte de Paris

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• http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00015292&tree=LEO

BIOGRAPHY Born in 1908, he was the only son and fourth child of Jean, Duc de Guise, and Princess Isabelle d'Orléans. He spent his childhood near Larache, in French Morocco, where his parents went to live in 1909. After the First World War, Henri studied at the Catholic University of Angers. When his uncle, the head of the house, died in 1926, he went into exile with his father, the new claimant, and others of his immediate family.

The royal family moved to near Brussels and Henri attended University of Louvain. He spoke French, English, Spanish, German and Italian. In Palermo, on 8 April 1931, he married Princess Isabel de Orléans and Braganca and they became the parents of eleven children, all of whom survived to adulthood. After their marriage they lived in the Château d'Agimont near the Belgian-French border.

During his exile the Count owned and edited two newspapers in Belgium for circulation in France 'Le Courier Royal' and 'Ici France'. In 1939 the Count was refused permission by the governments of France and England to serve in their armies. Eventually he served in the French Foreign Legion for one year.

In 1940 he became the head of the royal house of France and was said to be worth at least $650 million in castles, forest, farmland and other holdings. After the Second World War the family lived in Pamplona, Spain, and in Cintra, Portugal.

It has been suggested, the Count of Paris had 'unofficial discussions' with Sir Winston Churchill in 1947. Henri came away with the impression that the success of a royalist resurgence in France would not be received unsympathetically by a Conservative government in England.

In 1950 the French Parliament abrogated the 1886 Law of Exile, and the Count of Paris and his family returned to France. Also in 1950 Henri was identified as the single largest landholder in France and became involved in the French political life. Principally through the publication by his office of his 'Monthly Information Bulletin from the Political Office of Monseigneur the Count of Paris'. After politics, agriculture was Henri's favourite occupation and he was also an amateur pilot and an excellent horseman.

Henri expected his family to conduct themselves in an impeccable fashion. He arranged suitable marriages. Scandal and frivolous involvements were not tolerated, and a destiny-imposed dedication to France was the rule of his House. General de Gaulle was regarded a traditionalist and possibly a royalist and, it was rumoured, intended to restore Henri to the throne of France. Many years later, Henri's eldest son claimed that he was forced to marry a German Princess to support his father in his claims to the throne of France.

However, Henri was a gambler and a ladies' man and spent much time in the casinos of Deauville and Biarritz. To finance his habits, he sold off land and castles, antique furniture, jewellery and art. A ruby-and-diamond necklace that had belonged to Marie Antoinette was sold to the Louvre for $1 million.

Starting in the early 1980s, Henri sold off holdings worth an estimated $15 million, including real estate in Sicily, Portugal, Belgium and in France. Making no secret of his meanness towards his children, he said they would inherit only 'crumbs'. The Château of Amboise and the royal chapel at Dreux were deeded by Henri to a foundation he had created in 1973. Separated from his wife, Monique Friesz was reported to be his mistress in his later years.

A month before he died from prostate cancer, he wrote his will, making his wife sole beneficiary of whatever worldly goods he left behind. Some of his children employed a French lawyer who soon maintained that about $38 million from Henri's estate had disappeared. Henri died 19 June 1999 in Dreux and on 28 June was buried there.

S.A.R o Conde de Paris viveu em Portugal durante a 2ª Guerra Mundial numa quinta em Sintra, próximo de Lisboa com a sua Família.

Os Reis de Portugal passavam nessa cidade o Verão até ao séc.IXX, devido a seu clima ameno durante o Verão. Sua 1ª mulher era D. Isabel, princesa de Orleans e Bragança que nasceu em Château d' Eu a 13.08.1911.  Filha de D. Pedro de Alcântara de Orleans e Bragança, Príncipe do Grão-Pará nascido em  Petrópolis 15.10.1875. Neta de D. Isabel de Bragança, Princesa Imperial do Brasil nascida no Rio de Janeiro, Paço de São Cristóvão a 29.07.1846.

Bisneta de D. Pedro II, Imperador do Brasil nascido no Rio de Janeiro a 02.12.1825                                                     

S.A.R o Conde de Paris viveu em Portugal durante a 2ª Guerra Mundial numa quinta em Sintra, próximo de Lisboa com a sua Família.

Os Reis de Portugal passavam nessa cidade o Verão até ao séc.IXX, devido a seu clima ameno durante o Verão. Sua 1ª mulher era D. Isabel, princesa de Orleans e Bragança que nasceu em Château d' Eu a 13.08.1911.  Filha de D. Pedro de Alcântara de Orleans e Bragança, Príncipe do Grão-Pará nascido em  Petrópolis 15.10.1875. Neta de D. Isabel de Bragança, Princesa Imperial do Brasil nascida no Rio de Janeiro, Paço de São Cristóvão a 29.07.1846.

Bisneta de D. Pedro II, Imperador do Brasil nascido no Rio de Janeiro a 02.12.1825