Louise d’Orléans

Louise Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle d’Orléans was born on 3 April 1812 in Palermo and died on 11 October 1850 in Ostend. The daughter of the future French king Louis-Philippe I and Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, she belonged to the House of Orléans. Through her marriage to Leopold I, she became the first Queen of the Belgians in 1832. Her descendants founded a dynasty that continues to shape the Belgian monarchy; through her family, she was also an ancestor of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the pretender to the Italian throne, and Prince Napoléon. Louise was the second eldest of ten children. Her parents had married in Palermo in 1809 and, despite political difficulties, maintained a harmonious marriage. The family initially lived in Sicily, moved to France in 1814, and had to flee to England during Napoleon’s return in 1815. The Orléans family did not return permanently to France until 1817. Louise grew up at the Palais Royal and the Château de Neuilly, and later in other royal residences. Her father placed great importance on an exacting yet open-minded education. The children studied history, geography, and foreign languages; Louise learned English, German, and Italian. Louis-Philippe sometimes taught his children himself and wanted to prepare them for a politically turbulent future. Their deeply religious mother was responsible for their religious education. Family life was marked by unusual closeness and familiarity. The siblings were raised affectionately, had nicknames, and spent much time together, which was considered distinctly bourgeois in aristocratic circles. Louise took an interest in art. She drew and painted flowers and landscapes, though she remained less gifted than her sister Marie, who was particularly talented as a sculptor and painter. Louise studied history with, among others, Jules Michelet, while the flower painter Pierre-Joseph Redouté taught her art. Music interested her less; she took greater pleasure in riding, in which she displayed considerable skill. Educational journeys, including trips to the Alps and Switzerland, supplemented her training. The July Revolution of 1830 changed her life. Her father became King of the French, and Louise was now his eldest daughter. At the same time, a fragile monarchy emerged in newly independent Belgium. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who had become Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, in 1831, sought a wife who could help consolidate the young state. A marriage with one of Louis-Philippe’s daughters promised closer relations between Belgium and France. After lengthy negotiations, he chose Louise. The princess was not initially attracted to Leopold, who seemed cold and stern and was twenty-one years her senior. Nevertheless, she agreed to the marriage, encouraged by her brother Ferdinand and her teachers. The couple married on 9 August 1832 at the Château de Compiègne. Since Leopold was a Lutheran, the wedding included civil, Catholic, and Lutheran ceremonies. Louise suffered deeply from being separated from her family and initially regarded the marriage as a painful political sacrifice. Her fears soon proved unfounded. Leopold treated her with great kindness, and the couple developed a close relationship founded on mutual trust. Louise discovered a sensitive and caring man behind his reserved manner. She advised him on personal, political, and diplomatic matters and became an important, though usually behind-the-scenes, support for the king. The couple had four children. Their first son, Louis-Philippe, was born in 1833 but died in 1834 before reaching his first birthday. In 1835 came the future King Leopold II, followed in 1837 by Philippe, Count of Flanders, and in 1840 by Charlotte. Louise was largely responsible for their education. She oversaw their religious, intellectual, and practical training, monitored their lessons, and regularly kept the king informed of their progress and difficulties. Their upbringing was strict and organized around long, carefully regulated days. As queen, Louise led a relatively secluded life. The court at Laeken was small, and Leopold rarely displayed his wife in public. Her pronounced shyness made contact with the Belgian population even more difficult. Nevertheless, she closely observed political affairs and took an active interest in the problems of the young state. She supported Leopold’s policies, followed international developments, and was particularly critical of the Dutch attitude toward Belgium. Some contemporaries occasionally accused her of involving herself too deeply in political matters. Louise was also a skilled intermediary in dynastic marriages. Among other unions, she helped arrange the marriage of her sister Marie to Alexander of Württemberg, that of her brother, the Duke of Aumale, to Victoria of Saxe-Coburg, and that of her brother François to Françoise of Brazil. She also took part in the so-called Spanish marriages of 1846. Despite her own initial reservations about marriage, she acted in these matters primarily out of concern for the happiness of her relatives. Her extensive correspondence, especially with her mother, provides a vivid picture of European politics and court life in her time. Louise wrote daily, describing political events as well as family concerns, and displayed a keen power of observation. Religiously, she was the most devout of Marie-Amélie’s children. On Christian grounds, she opposed the death penalty, even after her father survived an assassination attempt in 1835 and the perpetrator was executed. Louise’s health was delicate throughout her life and deteriorated after several family losses. The deaths of her first child, her sister Marie, and her brother Ferdinand affected her deeply. In 1844 Leopold began a relationship with Arcadie Claret, which Louise could not fail to notice. Although the royal marriage continued outwardly, Leopold’s frequent absences and the public knowledge of his mistress increased Louise’s loneliness. The Revolution of 1848, which drove her father from the French throne and forced him into exile in Britain, struck Louise particularly hard. She visited her parents in England but returned to Belgium in weakened health. In 1850 she suffered from severe coughing, breathing difficulties, weakness, and other serious ailments. After her father’s death in August, her condition deteriorated dramatically. Louise was taken to Ostend, where she died on 11 October 1850 at the age of 38, surrounded by her family. At first, her reserve prevented her from becoming a truly popular queen. After her death, however, Belgian public sympathy grew considerably. Louise had supported people in need, helped families financially, promoted charitable institutions, and worked to revive Belgium’s lace-making industry. Her generosity and quiet sense of duty contributed to her later reputation as “the beloved Queen.” Her remains were eventually buried in the royal crypt at Laeken, which became the burial place of the Belgian royal family.