Louise D'orléans, Première Reine Des Belges

Exhibition at the Musée Condé, Château de Chantilly, 19 October 2024 - 16 February 2025,
then at the TreM.a, Namur, 14 March - 16 June 2025

Princess Louise (1812-1850), the first daughter of Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans and later King of the French, was a key figure in European Romanticism. Her meticulous education, with its emphasis on the arts, history, languages and the sciences, prepared her to occupy a place of choice at the heart of society and even, with her father's accession to the throne, to assume the destiny of a crowned head. As Princess of France and then first Queen of Belgium, Louise d'Orléans became the romantic protagonist of a romantic epic: the emergence of an improbable kingdom whose voice would nevertheless join the chorus of European nations.

This exhibition catalogue sheds new light on this forgotten queen, based on fresh research. It presents true masterpieces, many of them unknown, from prestigious collections, notably the Royal Collection of Belgium.