Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723.

After Louis XV became an adult, Philippe stepped down from his position as the regent on February 15, 1723.Philippe I was informed by Louis XIV that a marriage between Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, and a foreign princess would not likely happen due to the constant wars between France and other major powers in Europe.

At the time of his birth, he was bestowed upon with the title Duke of Chartres.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Philippe_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans_in_armour_by_Jean-Baptiste_Santerre.png

Even Louis XIV believed some of these speculations. However, Louis XIV had ensured that the effective power remained with his own two legitimized natural sons to stop Philippe from taking down the system of complete royal despotism.If Louis XV had passed away, the legitimized princes had the power to turn down Duke of Orléans’ right to the throne and pass it to King Philip V of Spain, who was the son of the Grand Dauphin Louis.To establish his influence as the regent and promote his own dynastic aspirations, Philippe convinced the Parlement (high court of justice) of Paris to invalidate Louis XIV’s will in September 1715.He subsequently introduced the unorthodox system of conciliar government. The period of his rule became known as "the Regency".

The cousins exchanged wedding vows on February 18, 1692, at the chapel of the Palace of Versailles.The couple had eight children together: Marie Isabella d'Orléans (1693-1694); Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans (1695-1719); Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans, Abbess of Chelles (1698-1743); Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (1700-1761); Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans (1703-1752); Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans (1709-1742); Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans (1714-1734); and Louise Diane d'Orléans (1716-1736).Philippe fathered a number of illegitimate children with several women. The fifth child and only son out of eight children, Orléans was still not married at the death of his father. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philippe_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans,_Duke_of_Chartres_by_Nicolas_de_Largilli%C3%A8re.jpg The latter directly affected Elizabeth and the children, and they often had to live entirely on the king’s charity.At the time of his birth, Philippe received the title Duke of Chartres. In 1676, his older brother, the Duke of Valois, died, which made Philippe the heir to his father’s seat and the House of Orléans.Philippe was raised at his father’s “private” court hosted at Saint-Cloud. He acknowledged four of them: N, bâtarde d'Orléans (1688-unknown); Charles de Saint-Albin, dit l'Abbé d'Orléans, Archbishop of Cambrai (1698-1764, legitimized in 1706); Jean Philippe, dit le Chevalier d'Orléans (1702-1748); and Philippe Angélique de Froissy (1702-1785).Two of his most prominent mistresses were Marie-Thérèse de Parabère and actress Christine Antoinette Charlotte Desmares. These kingdoms launched a war against Spain in 1719 and compelled Philip to give up his claims and acknowledge Philippe as Louis XV’s heir.Philippe was forced to deal with severe fiscal issues that had been caused by Louis XIV’s unrelenting military escapades. Philippe married twice and had three children. His homosexual lifestyle was occasionally awkward for Louis.

In September 1715, he was appointed the regent of France for Louis XV and served as such until Louis came of age in February 1723.

Later, he travelled to Spain and participated in the Battle of Almansa in 1707, helping the French royal house strengthen its position in the country.Following the death of his father in June 1701, Philippe became the Duke of Orléans, Anjou, Montpensier and Nemours, as well as the Prince of Joinville. He was credited with the victory of the French at the battle of Kassel in 1677. Duke of Orleans (Louis Philippe II) 1747–1793.

He had a brother, Alexandre Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Valois, and a sister, Élisabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Lorraine.He also had two older half-sisters, Marie Louise d'Orléans and Anne Marie d'Orléans.

As a military commander, he distinguished himself against the British, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish forces. Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, was a French royal who became the regent of the kingdom in 1715.