Count of Paris to meet President Macron in May

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Prince Jean, Count of Paris, will meet President Emmanuel Macron on 2 May 2019. The Head of the Royal House of France will receive the President of the French Republic at the Château d'Amboise. Formerly the personal property of the Orléans family, the château has been owned by the Fondation St Louis since 1974, when the grandfather of the current Count of Paris placed a number of the family's properties into the foundation to secure them for future generations.

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The Château d'Amboise was the site of an event that held particular importance for Prince Jean d'Orléans. In September 1987 at Amboise, his grandfather, the late Henri, Count of Paris, announced to a group of 2,000 French monarchists that he was granting his elder grandson Jean the title Duke of Vendôme and his younger grandson Eudes the title Duke of Angoulême. Henri also made it clear that he was designating Jean to be his immediate successor, thus disinheriting Jean's father Henri, who had greatly displeased his father after his 1984 divorce from Princess Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Montpensier (née Württemberg). In making this decision, the Count of Paris also bypassed his eldest grandson, Prince François d'Orléans, who had been born with a several handicap.

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As the French Royal Family was celebrating 1,000 years of the Capetian dynasty, the Count of Paris, the Duchess of Montpensier, and the Duke of Angoulême all watched from their place on the dais as the Duke of Vendôme read the following statement to those assembled: "If one day circumstances lead Frenchmen to confer national responsibilities on me, it will be because I have earned their confidence by my work, my efforts, and, I hope, my services rendered. The second millennium has begun in honour, peace and respect. With the help of God, long live France." [In 1991, after reconciling, the Count of Paris restored his son Prince Henri, Count of Clermont, to his place in the line of succession. The count also granted the title Princess of Joinville to Micaëla, the second wife of the Count of Clermont. Upon the death of Prince Henri, Count of Paris, in 1999, he was succeeded as Head of the Royal House by his eldest son Henri (1933-2019). Prince Jean became the Head of House France following the death of his father in January.]

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The Count of Paris and President Macron will be coming together at Amboise in May to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci.