Upon the death of his father on 8 September 1894, Philippe became the Orléanist claimant to the French throne.
 He was known to monarchists as Philippe VIII.
 He was an active claimant, regularly issuing manifestos.
In October 1895, Philippe was named as co-respondent in the divorce case of Woolston v. Woolston.

Unlike his great grandfather, Louis Philippe I, Philippe claimed grand mastership of the Order of the Holy Spirit as intrinsic to his dynastic claim to the throne, and sometimes wore the breast star of the order.

On 5 November 1896, in Vienna, Philippe married Archduchess Maria Dorothea of Austria (1867–1932), a daughter of Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria, Palatine of Hungary, and granddaughter of Princess Clémentine of Orléans, as well as a niece of Marie Henriette of Austria, Queen Consort of the Belgians.
There were no children from this marriage.
 The couple were poorly matched and after several years they lived apart.

While travelling in Geneva in 1898, Philippe narrowly missed being assassinated by an anarchist, who vowed to kill the next member of a royal family that he saw.
The victim would turn out to be the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, stabbed to death on the quayside.

Philippe continued to reside in England until 1900, when he moved his primary residence to Belgium.
He was an active yachtsman and explored parts of the western coast of Greenland in 1905 during his Duke of Orléans Arctic Expedition.
In 1907 he sailed in the Kara Sea north of Siberia, and in 1909 went even further north into the Arctic Ocean.
He made a short film, Jaripeo y fiestas en Jalapa ("Jaripeo and Festivals in Jalapa"), during a trip to Mexico in 1910.

In 1914, Philippe and his wife Maria Dorothea were legally separated.
She subsequently lived in Hungary.

At the outbreak of the First World War, Philippe again tried unsuccessfully to join the French army.
He was also refused permission to serve in the Belgian army and instead returned to the United Kingdom.
A plan to join the Italian army was prevented by a serious accident in which he was knocked down by a bus.

In 1926, Philippe died of pneumonia at the Palais d'Orléans in Palermo, Sicily.
Having no legitimate issue, he was succeeded as pretender to the throne of France by his cousin Jean, Duke of Guise.
Upon the death of his father on 8 September 1894, Philippe became the Orléanist claimant to the French throne.  He was known to monarchists as Philippe VIII.  He was an active claimant, regularly issuing manifestos. In October 1895, Philippe was named as co-respondent in the divorce case of Woolston v. Woolston.
Unlike his great grandfather, Louis Philippe I, Philippe claimed grand mastership of the Order of the Holy Spirit as intrinsic to his dynastic claim to the throne, and sometimes wore the breast star of the order.
On 5 November 1896, in Vienna, Philippe married Archduchess Maria Dorothea of Austria (1867–1932), a daughter of Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria, Palatine of Hungary, and granddaughter of Princess Clémentine of Orléans, as well as a niece of Marie Henriette of Austria, Queen Consort of the Belgians. There were no children from this marriage.  The couple were poorly matched and after several years they lived apart.
While travelling in Geneva in 1898, Philippe narrowly missed being assassinated by an anarchist, who vowed to kill the next member of a royal family that he saw. The victim would turn out to be the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, stabbed to death on the quayside.
Philippe continued to reside in England until 1900, when he moved his primary residence to Belgium. He was an active yachtsman and explored parts of the western coast of Greenland in 1905 during his Duke of Orléans Arctic Expedition. In 1907 he sailed in the Kara Sea north of Siberia, and in 1909 went even further north into the Arctic Ocean. He made a short film, Jaripeo y fiestas en Jalapa ("Jaripeo and Festivals in Jalapa"), during a trip to Mexico in 1910.
In 1914, Philippe and his wife Maria Dorothea were legally separated. She subsequently lived in Hungary.
At the outbreak of the First World War, Philippe again tried unsuccessfully to join the French army. He was also refused permission to serve in the Belgian army and instead returned to the United Kingdom. A plan to join the Italian army was prevented by a serious accident in which he was knocked down by a bus.
In 1926, Philippe died of pneumonia at the Palais d'Orléans in Palermo, Sicily. Having no legitimate issue, he was succeeded as pretender to the throne of France by his cousin Jean, Duke of Guise.
Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926)