This LGBT History Month we are looking at a range of important figures in LGBTQ+ history. Fraizer, your LGBTQ+ Representative, has chosen a variety of people who are important to LGBTQ+ history for different reasons and who come from varied backgrounds. Each week we will look at people in politics, art and more, and from as early as 27 BC.
This week we are featuring Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (1640 - 1701).
Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orléans was the younger son of Louis XIII of France and his wife, Anne of Austria. Philippe became an ancestor of most modern-day Roman Catholic royalty, giving him the nickname of "the grandfather of Europe".
Though he eventually married and fathered several children, Philippe was very open about being bisexual and freely acted effeminately*. The most notable was a man of the same name, Philippe of Lorraine. Philippe of Lorraine was a renowned lover of Philippe d'Orléans, known for his many affairs.
*Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits in a boy or man that are more often associated with feminine behavior, mannerism, style, or gender roles rather than with traditionally masculine behavior, mannerisms, style or roles.