Philippe d’Orléans, the press and the army: the shaping of the political identity of Louis XIV’s brother in the Gazette de France

This study delves into the shaping of the political identity of Philippe d’Orléans, Louis XIV’s brother, by investigating its official constructed image in the main French newspaper of the time and voice of the monarchy, the Gazette de France. It focuses on Philippe d’Orléans’s military activities and analyses the tensions between reality and official discourse. Considering the essentialisation of appearances characteristic of the court society, it argues that Monsieur’s depiction is complex and double-edged. On the one hand, Monsieur, due to his rank, occupies a central place in the Gazette and reinforces the magnificence of the monarchy. On the other hand, his presence in military news declines over time following his military exploits during the French-Dutch War (1672–1678). The article concludes that the representation of Monsieur was helpful in spreading a favourable image of the louisquatorzian regime by means of the depiction of family concord.