Jean, Count of Paris

Prince Jean Carl Pierre Marie d'Orléans, Count of Paris (born 19 May 1965) is the current head of the House of Orléans. Jean is the senior male descendant by primogeniture in the male-line of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and thus, according to the Orléanists, the legitimate claimant to the throne of France as Jean IV. Of France's three monarchist movements, Orléanism, Legitimism and Bonapartism, most royalists are Orléanists. Jean is the second son of the late Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019) and his former wife Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg (b. 1934). With the death of his father, he has been using the style of Count of Paris since 2019.

Early life
Jean d'Orléans was born on 19 May 1965 in Boulogne-Billancourt, the son of Henri of Orleans and Maria Theresa of Württemberg. He was baptized in the Catholic Church on 14 June 1965 in the royal chapel of Dreux. He received as godfather, his maternal uncle, Carl of Württemberg, and as godmother, his paternal aunt, Princess Chantal of Orleans.

He holds a master's degree in philosophy, a master's degree in law, and an MBA. He performed national service as an officer and has been a Reserve Colonel of the French army since 2015.

First engagement
Prince Jean was due to marry Duchess Tatjana of Oldenburg (b. 1974) in 2001. Duchess Tatjana is the youngest daughter of Duke Johann of Oldenburg and Countess Ilka of Ortenburg. Her elder sister Eilika married Archduke Georg of Austria in 1997. However, the wedding was cancelled at the last moment because of a dispute over religious denomination: Jean's father, Henri, feared the Orléans claim to the throne would be compromised if there were to be a Protestant heir.

Second engagement and marriage
On 29 November 2008, Henri, the then Count of Paris, announced the engagement of Jean, the then Duke of Vendôme, to Maria Magdalena Philomena Juliana Johanna de Tornos y Steinhart, born in Vienna on 19 June 1977. The civil wedding, conducted by Mayor 7th arrondissement of Paris, Rachida Dati, took place on 19 March 2009 in Paris. The religious wedding was held on 2 May 2009 at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame at Senlis, with a reception at the Château de Chantilly. The bride wore a gown by Christian Lacroix and a jacket embroidered by Maison Lesage.

Issue
The couple have five children:
 * Prince Gaston Louis Antoine Marie d'Orléans (born 19 November 2009 in Paris).
 * Princess Antoinette Léopoldine Jeanne Marie d'Orléans (born 28 January 2012 in Vienna).
 * Princess Louise-Marguerite Eléonore Marie d'Orléans (born 30 July 2014 in Poissy).
 * Prince Joseph Gabriel David Marie d'Orléans (born 2 June 2016).
 * Princess Jacinthe Élisabeth-Charlotte Marie d'Orléans (born 9 October 2018 in Dreux).

Politics
Jean has spoken in support of the Yellow vests protests in France. He has also expressed socially conservative views. such as opposition to both same-sex marriage and abortion.

Titles in pretense

 * 19 May 1965 – 27 September 1987: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France
 * 27 September 1987 – 21 January 2019: His Royal Highness Prince Jean d'Orléans, fils de France, Duke of Vendôme
 * 21 January 2019 – present: Monseigneur The Count of Paris

He was created Duke of Vendôme (Duc de Vendôme) by his paternal grandfather, on 27 September 1987.

Following the death of his father, it was initially thought that Prince Jean would not assume the title of Count of Paris for several months after his father's death, and possibly not for as much as one year.

National

 * Recipient of the National Defence Medal of France, 3rd Class

Dynastic

 * Portuguese Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (19 February 2000)
 * Two Sicilian Royal Family:
 * Knight of the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius (19 March 2019, installed 13 May 2019)
 * Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (22 November 2009, installed 30 May 2011), Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice with Collar (19 March 2019, installed 13 May 2019)

Ancestry
Jean is a direct male-line descendant of Louis Philippe I, the last French king, who in turn was a descendant of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Jean is also descended from Charles X of France, brother of Louis XVI; and the Bourbons of Spain, the Two Sicilies and Parma.