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Lot Essay
H.R.H. Henri Eugène Philippe Louis d'Orléans, Duc d'Aumale (1822-1897), French Royalty and Military Officer, was the fifth son of Louis-Philippe, King of France and Duc d'Orléans and Marie Amalie of Bourbon-Sicilies. He was one of the leaders for the Orléanist cause of a constitutional monarchy in France. He entered the Army with the rank of a Captain of Infantry and distinguished himself during the French invasion of Algeria. In 1847, he became Lieutenant-General and was appointed Governor-General of Algeria. After the Revolution of 1848, he retired to England and devoted himself to historical and military studies, writing A Letter upon the History of France (1861) as a reply to Napoleon's violent attacks upon the House of Orléans. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, the Duke returned to France as deputy for the Oise département and, in 1872, he resumed his place in the Army as General of Division. In 1873 he presided over the court-martial which condemned Marshal Bazaine (1811-1888) to death for negotiating with the Germans. The Act of Exception, passed in 1883, deprived all members of families that had reigned in France of their military positions; consequently the Duc d'Aumale was placed on the Unemployed Supernumerary List. Subsequently, in 1886, another law was promulgated which expelled from French territory the heads of former reigning families. However, in 1884, the Duke bequeathed the Château de Chantilly, and his magnificent art collection there, to France as a museum. This generosity led the French government to withdraw the decree of exile, and the Duke returned to France in 1889. He died in 1897 and was buried in Dreux, in the chapel of the Orléans.
The Duc d'Aumale represents the richest part of the [Orléans] family. He has rebuilt and greatly embellished Chantilly; but he is above all a soldier, and has shown upon many occasions that he is distinguished, not only by personal bravery, but also by an exceptionally profound knowledge of the art of war.
Vanity Fair, 'Princes', No. 9, 1884.
The Duc d'Aumale represents the richest part of the [Orléans] family. He has rebuilt and greatly embellished Chantilly; but he is above all a soldier, and has shown upon many occasions that he is distinguished, not only by personal bravery, but also by an exceptionally profound knowledge of the art of war.
Vanity Fair, 'Princes', No. 9, 1884.