Philippe I, Duke of Orleans

Philippe I, was the brother of King Louis XIV. He was known as Monsieur at court later became the Duke of Orleans. Philippe was treated with suspicion by both his mother and the Cardinal of France. He was constantly shunted aside and poorly educated to keep him from outshining his elder brother.

Philippe grew up to be a frivolous man, more interested in fashion and society than politics and government. He was also openly homosexual, which made him an object of scorn, even to his womanizing brother.

There was more to Philippe than met the eye. He was an able military leader, a keen collector of art, and perhaps a shrewd investor (as Nancy Nichols Barker suggests in her book Brother to the Sun King). Given a chance, he might have made a fine king -- which was just why his mother went to such lengths to keep him in his place.