Born at the Palais Royal in Paris, he was brought up by his parents with great simplicity, he was educated at the college of Henri IV. At the age of 8, Henri inherited a fortune of 66 million livres, the lands and wealth of his godfather, Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, the last Prince of Condé. Henri also inherited the famous Château de Chantilly, domaines of Saint-Leu, Taverny, Enghien, Montmorency and Mortefontaine. He also gained the Château d'Écouen. At the age of seventeen he entered the army with the rank of a captain of infantry.
François Paul d'Orléans, Duke of Guise died in infancy.
François Louis Philippe Marie d'Orléans, Duke of Guise died unmarried.
Stillborn son.
Stillborn son.
Military
Henri distinguished himself during the French invasion of Algeria and, in 1847, he became lieutenant-general and was appointed Governor-General of Algeria, a position he held from 27 September 1847 to 24 February 1848. In this capacity, he received the submission of the emir Abdel Kadir, in December 1847. After the Revolution of 1848, he retired to England and busied himself with historical and military studies, responding in 1861 to Napoleon III's violent attacks upon the House of Orléans with a Letter upon History of France. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, he volunteered for service in the French army but his offer was declined. Elected deputy for the Oisedépartement, he returned to France, and succeeded to the seat of the comte Montalembert in the Académie française. In March 1872, he resumed his place in the army as Général de division and, in 1873, presided over the court-martial which condemned Marshal Bazaine to death. At this time, having been appointed commander of the VII Army Corps at Besançon, he retired from political life and, in 1879, became inspector-general of the army. The act of exception, passed in 1883, deprived all members of families who had reigned in France of their military positions. Consequently, the duc d'Aumale was placed on the unemployed supernumerary list. Subsequently, in 1886, another law was promulgated which expelled from French territory the heads of former reigning families and provided that, henceforward, all members of those families should be disqualified for any public position or function and election to any public body. The duc d'Aumale protested energetically but was nonetheless expelled.
Bibliophile
Aumale was a notable collector of antique books and manuscripts and owned the important medieval Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Most of his collection is still at Chantilly.
Death
After the fire of the Bazar de la Charité, the duke wanted to send his condolences to the families of the victims, however, after writing 20 letters, he suffered a cardiac arrest and died. In his will, written on 3 June 1884, the duke had bequeathed his Chantilly estate to the Institute of France, including the Château de Chantilly where his extensive art collection was to be turned into a museum. This generosity led to the government withdrawing his decree of exile and the duke returned to France in 1889. Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale, died in Lo Zucco, Sicily, and was buried in Dreux, in the chapel of the Orléans.
