Orléans, Gaston, duc d'

Orléans, Gaston, duc d'

(gästôN` dük dôrlāäN`), 1608–60, son of King Henry IVHenry IV,
1553–1610, king of France (1589–1610) and, as Henry III, of Navarre (1572–1610), son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret; first of the Bourbon kings of France.
..... Click the link for more information.  and Marie de' MediciMarie de' Medici
, 1573–1642, queen of France, second wife of King Henry IV and daughter of Francesco de' Medici, grand duke of Tuscany. She was married to Henry in 1600. After his assassination (1610) she became regent for her son Louis XIII.
..... Click the link for more information. , younger brother of Louis XIIILouis XIII,
1601–43, king of France (1610–43). He succeeded his father, Henry IV, under the regency of his mother, Marie de' Medici. He married Anne of Austria in 1615.
..... Click the link for more information. . He took part in many of the conspiracies of the great nobles against Louis XIII's minister, Cardinal RichelieuRichelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, duc de
(Cardinal Richelieu) , 1585–1642, French prelate and statesman, chief minister of King Louis XIII, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
..... Click the link for more information. , and several times fled from France. Although Gaston was pardoned after each revolt, his associates did not fare so well; the younger Henri de MontmorencyMontmorency, Henri, duc de,
the younger, 1595–1632, admiral and marshal of France; son of the elder Henri de Montmorency. He became governor of Languedoc in 1613 and fought in the religious and foreign wars of Louis XIII's reign.
..... Click the link for more information.  and the marquis de Cinq MarsCinq Mars, Henri Coëffier Ruzé d'Effiat, marquis de
, 1620–42, French conspirator. Introduced at court by Cardinal Richelieu at an early age, Cinq Mars rapidly rose in King Louis XIII's favor and was made master of the horse.
..... Click the link for more information.  were executed. After the death (1643) of Louis XIII, Gaston became lieutenant general of France and successfully campaigned against the Spanish. For his leading part in the FrondeFronde
, 1648–53, series of outbreaks during the minority of King Louis XIV, caused by the efforts of the Parlement of Paris (the chief judiciary body) to limit the growing authority of the crown; by the personal ambitions of discontented nobles; and by the grievances of
..... Click the link for more information.  he was exiled (1652) to Blois. Gaston was the father of Mlle de MontpensierMontpensier, Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, duchesse de
, 1627–93, French princess, called Mademoiselle and La Grande Mademoiselle; daughter of Gaston d'Orléans, the brother of Louis XIII.
..... Click the link for more information. .