Born at the
Palace of Fontainebleau in July 1664, he is known from birth by his father's lesser title of Duke of Valois. His father,
Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans, known at court as
Monsieur was married to
Henrietta of England, daughter of the murdered
Charles I of England and the French born
Queen Henriette Marie. As such, his parents were first cousins. He had one elder sister, Princess Marie Louise and a younger sister, Princess Anne Marie who was born after his death. He received the names of his father,
Philippe and his maternal grandfather,
Charles. Philippe Charles birth helped to smooth over the difficult relationship his parents had; his father was a renowned
homosexual who was under the domination of his long term lover the "
Chevalier de Lorraine". Monsieur complained that Henriette (known simply as
Madame) flirted with men at court including the king himself. Court gossip claimed that Philippe Charles' own older sister
Marie Louise, was the product of Louis XIV's and Madame's flirting. After the death of the Queen mother,
Anne of Austria in January 1666, Louis XIV promised to raise Philippe Charles with his first cousin
le Grand Dauphin. At the end of the year, Philippe Charles himself succumbed and died at the
Palais Royal in Paris, the grace and favour residence of his parents. He was buried at the
Royal Basilica of Saint Denis, outside Paris. ==Ancestors==