Prince Michel was born in Morocco and raised in exile as one of the eleven children of the Comte de Paris. His family re-patriated to France in 1950 after the law of banishment against former French dynasties was repealed. Prince Michel earned a university degree studying mathematics, chemistry, and physics,
Family
He was datingPrincess Irene of Greece and Denmark when he met Béatrice Marie Pasquier de Franclieu, whom he married on 18 November 1967 in Casablanca, Morocco, without his father's consent. The bride was born Béatrice Marie Guillemine Huguette in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 24 October 1941, a daughter of Bruno Pasquier de Franclieu of a noble family, and his wife, Jacqueline Térisse. The marriage was not regarded as dynastic, and Prince Michel's wife and children were not initially given traditional Orléanist royal titles. On 10 December 1976, Béatrice was allowed by her father-in-law to share ad personam her husband's style, viz., "Her Royal Highness Princess Michel of Orléans, comtesse d'Evreux". Subsequent to the accession as head of the House of Orléans and pretender by his brother Prince Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France in 1999, his wife and children were recognized as fully dynastic members of the royal house with commensurate styles and titles. The family lived in Morocco, Germany, and England. Their children attained adulthood in Spain. According to the prince's wife, her work as a fashion consultant for Women's Wear Daily and Dior, combined with her husband's lack of a career, imposed strains upon the marriage. Michel and Beatrice were separated in 1994 and he left their home, although there were then no plans to terminate the marriage. The Court of Appeal of Paris pronounced finally an order for divorce on 28 November 2012. They had four children:
Princess Adélaïde Jeanne Marie d'Orléans, a goddaughter of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, married in 2002 to Pierre-Louis Étienne Marcel Éric Dailly. They have children.
Prince François Charles Frédéric Bruno Marie d'Orléans, Count of Dreux, married 27 July 2014 in the Basilica of St. Jacob in Straubing, Germany to Theresa von Einsiedel. Born 17 January 1984 in Munich, she is the fourth of seven children of Curt-Hildebrand von Einsiedel by his wife, née Princess Amelie von Urach.
On 29 April 2017, in Paris, Évreux entered a civil marriage with Bárbara de Posch-Pastor, daughter of Erich Edler von Posch-Pastor and his wife, Doña Silvia Rodríguez de Rivas y Díaz de Erazo. As head of the Orleanist House of France, the Count of Paris has recognized his brother's second marriage as dynastic and Barbara as Her Royal Highness the "Countess of Evreux", while affirming that his former sister-in-law is now "Princess Béatrice d'Orléans" and retains the style of Royal Highness.
