Gaston Jean-Baptiste, duc d'Orléans (April 25, 1608 - February 2, 1660), third son of the French king Henry IV (reigned 1589 - 1610) and of his wife Marie de' Medici, was born at Fontainebleau. Duke of Orléans is one of the most important titles in the French peerage, dating back at least to the 14th century. ... April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ... Events March 18 - Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia July 3 - Quebec City founded by Samuel de Champlain. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces. ... Henry IV (French: Henri IV) (December 13, 1553 – May 14, 1610), called the Great (French: le Grand), was the first of the Bourbon kings of France, reigning from 1589 until 1610. ... Marie de Medici (April 26, 1573 - July 3, 1642), born in Italy as Maria de Medici, was queen consort of France under the French name Marie de Médicis. ... Fontainebleau is a city and commune about 50 km south of Paris, France. ...

Known at first as the duke of Anjou, he became duke of Orléans in 1626, and had nominal command of the army which besieged La Rochelle in 1628, having already entered upon that course of political intrigue which would occupy the remainder of his life. On two occasions he had to leave France for conspiring against the government of his mother and of Cardinal Richelieu; and after waging an unsuccessful war in Languedoc, he took refuge in Flanders. Reconciled with his brother Louis XIII, he plotted against Richelieu in 1635, fled from the country, and then submitted to the king and the cardinal. Counts of Anjou, c. ... The entrance to the old La Rochelle harbour, with the two 14th century towers. ... Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his death. ... Coat of arms of the province of Languedoc, now being used as an official flag by the Midi-Pyrénees region as well as by the city of Toulouse Languedoc (Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc... This article is in need of attention. ... Louis XIII (September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643), called the Just (French: le Juste), was King of France from 1610 to 1643. ... Events February 10 - The Académie française in Paris is expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite. ...

Soon afterwards the same process repeated itself. Orleans stirred up Cinq-Mars to attempt Richelieu's murder, and then deserted his unfortunate accomplice (1642). In 1643, on the death of Louis XIII, Gaston became lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and fought against Spain on the northern frontiers of France; but during the wars of the Fronde (1648 - 1653) he passed with great facility from one party to the other. Then exiled by Mazarin to Blois in 1652 he remained there until his death. For the French feminist newspaper, see La Fronde The Fronde (1648–1653) was a civil war in France, followed by the Franco-Spanish War with Spain (1653–1659). ... Cardinal Jules Mazarin, French diplomat and statesman Jules Mazarin, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino; but best known as Cardinal Mazarin (July 14, 1602 – March 9, 1661) served as the chief minister of France from 1642, until his death. ... Blois is a city in France, the préfecture (capital) city of the Loir_et_Cher département, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours. ... Events April 6 - Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope, and founded Cape Town. ...

Gaston first married Marie (d. 1627), daughter and heiress of Henri de Bourbon, duc de Montpensier (d. 1608). He later married Marguerite (d. 1672), sister of Charles III, Duke of Lorraine. By Marie he left a daughter: Charles III (April 5, 1604 – September 18, 1675), was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 to 1634, when he abdicated in favor of his younger brother, and again from 1661 until 1669, when the duchy was occupied by the French. ...

• Anne, Duchess of Montpensier (La Grand Mademoiselle)

By Marguerite he left three daughters: Anne Marie Louise dOrleans, duchesse de Montpensier (May 29, 1627 - April 5, French memoir-writer, was born at the Louvre. ...

• Marguerite Louise (1645-1721), wife of Cosimo III, grand duke of Tuscany
• Elizabeth (1646-1696), wife of Louis Joseph, Duke of Guise
• Françoise Madeleine (1648-1664), wife of Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. Charles Emmanuel II (June 20, 1634 - June 12, 1675) was the Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Maria Christina until 1663. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...