Charles X of France
Encyclopedia
- "Charles X" redirects here. For the King of Sweden, see Charles X Gustav of SwedenCharles X Gustav of SwedenCharles X Gustav also Carl Gustav, was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's death he also succeeded him as Pfalzgraf. He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who...
, for the Catholic claimant of 1589, see Charles, Cardinal de BourbonCharles, Cardinal de BourbonCharles de Bourbon was a French cardinal. The Catholic League considered him the rightful King of France after the death of Henry III of France in 1589.-Biography:...
.
Charles X (Charles Philippe; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was known for most of his life as the Comte
Comte
Comte is a title of Catalan, Occitan and French nobility. In the English language, the title is equivalent to count, a rank in several European nobilities. The corresponding rank in England is earl...
d'Artois
Artois
Artois is a former province of northern France. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras , Saint-Omer, Lens and Béthune.-Location:...
before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him. His rule of almost six years ended in the July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
of 1830, which frustrated his attempts to keep the crown in the senior branch of the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
and resulted in the election of Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, as King of the French. Exiled once again, Charles died in Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
, then part of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
.
Childhood and adolescence
Charles Philippe of France was born in 1757, the youngest son of the Dauphin Louis and his wife, the Dauphine Marie Josèphe, at the Palace of VersaillesPalace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. Charles was created "Count of Artois" at birth by his grandfather, the reigning King Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
. As the youngest male in the family, Charles seemed unlikely ever to become king. His eldest brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, died unexpectedly in 1761, which moved Charles up one place in the line of succession. He was raised by Madame de Marsan
Madame de Marsan
Marie Louise de Rohan , also known as Madame de Marsan, was the governess of Louis XVI of France and his siblings.-Biography:...
, the Governess of the Children of France
Governess of the Children of France
In France, the Governess of the Children of France , was charged with the education of the children and grand children of the monarch. The holder of the office was taken from the highest ranking nobility of France...
.
At the death of his father in 1765, Charles's oldest surviving brother, Louis Auguste
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, became the new Dauphin (the heir-apparent to the French throne). Their mother Marie Josèphe, who never recovered from the loss of her husband, died in March 1767 from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. This left Charles an orphan at the age of nine, along with his siblings Louis Auguste, Louis Stanislas, Count of Provence
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
, Clotilde ("Madame Clotilde"), and Élisabeth, ("Madame Élisabeth").
Louis XV fell ill on 27 April 1774 and died on 10 May of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
at the age of 64. His grandson Louis-Auguste succeeded him as King Louis XVI of France. The king, his brothers and Marie Antoinette became fellows of the masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
Trois Frères à l'Orient de Versailles.
Marriage and private life
In November 1773, Charles married Marie Thérèse of SavoyPrincess Marie Thérèse of Savoy
Maria Theresa of Savoy was a princess of Savoy by birth and the wife of Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, grandson of Louis XV...
. The marriage, unlike that of Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste, was consummated almost immediately.
In 1775, Marie Thérèse gave birth to a boy, Louis Antoine, who was created Duke of Angoulême by Louis XVI. Louis-Antoine was the first of the next generation of Bourbons, as the King and the Count of Provence had not fathered any children yet, causing the Parisian libellistes (pamphleteers who published scandalous leaflets about important figures in court and politics) to lampoon Louis XVI's alleged impotence. Three years later, in 1778, Charles's second son, Charles Ferdinand, was born and was given the title of a Duke of Berry. In the same year Queen Marie Antoinette gave birth to her first child, Marie Thérèse, quelling all rumours that she could not bear children.
Charles was thought of as the most attractive in his family, bearing a strong resemblance to his grandfather, Louis XV. As his wife was considered quite ugly by most contemporaries, he looked for company elsewhere. Accordingly, his extramarital affairs became numerous. According to the Count of Hezecques, "few beauties were cruel to him." Later, he embarked upon a life-long love affair with the beautiful Louise de Polastron (1764–1804), the sister-in-law of Marie Antoinette's closest companion, the Duchess of Polignac.
Charles also struck up a firm friendship with his sister-in-law, Queen Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, whom he had first met at her arrival in France in April 1770 when he was twelve. The closeness of the relationship was such that he was falsely accused by Parisian rumour mongers of having seduced Marie Antoinette. As part of Marie Antoinette's social set, Charles often appeared opposite her in the private theatre of her favourite royal retreat, the Petit Trianon
Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon is a small château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France.-Design and construction:...
. They were both said to be very talented amateur actors; with Marie Antoinette playing milkmaids, shepherdesses and country ladies, and Charles playing lovers, valets and farmers.
A famous story concerning the two involves the construction of the Château de Bagatelle
Château de Bagatelle
The Château de Bagatelle is a small neoclassical château with a French landscape garden in the Bois de Boulogne in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris...
. In 1775, Charles purchased a small hunting lodge
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
in the Bois de Boulogne
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine...
. He soon had the existing house torn down with plans to rebuild. Marie Antoinette wagered her brother-in-law that the new château could not be completed within three months. Charles engaged the neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
architect François-Joseph Bélanger
François-Joseph Bélanger
François-Joseph Bélanger was a French architect and decorator working in the Neoclassic style.Born in Paris, he studied at the Académie Royale d'Architecture where he worked under Julien-David Le Roy and Pierre Contant d'Ivry, but did not win the coveted Prix de Rome that would have sent him to...
to design the building. He won his bet, with Bélanger completing the house in sixty-three days. It is estimated that the project, which came to include manicured gardens, cost over two million livres. Throughout the 1770s, Charles spent lavishly. He accumulated enormous debts, totalling 21 million livres. In the 1780s, King Louis XVI paid off the debts of both his brothers, the Counts of Provence and Artois.
Also around 1775, Louis Philippe d'Orléans
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror...
, the future Duke of Orléans, schemed to create a rift between the King and his youngest brother. Louis Philippe introduced Charles to gambling and the brothels at the Palais-Royal, the ancestral home of Louis Philippe's family. Louis Philippe wanted Charles to catch a venereal disease, and either die as a result or become sterile, thereby increasing his own chances of one day gaining the throne of France. As first prince of the blood
Prince du Sang
A prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
, Louis Philippe would have been fourth in line to the throne after the Counts of Provence, Artois and Angoulême, as Charles was the only member of his family to produce any children so far.
In 1781, Charles acted as a proxy for the Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
at the christening of his godson, the Dauphin Louis Joseph.
Crisis and Revolution
Charles's political awakening started with the first great crisis of the monarchy in 1786, when it became apparent that the kingdom was bankrupt from previous military endeavours (in particular the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
and the American War of Independence) and needed fiscal reform to survive. Charles supported the removal of the aristocracy's financial privileges, but was opposed to any reduction in the social privileges enjoyed by either the Church or the nobility. He believed that France's finances should be reformed without the monarchy being overthrown. In his own words, it was "time for repair, not demolition."
King Louis XVI eventually convened the Estates General
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
, which had not been assembled for over 150 years, to meet in May 1789 to ratify financial reforms. Along with his sister "Madame Élisabeth", Charles was the most conservative member of the family and opposed the demands of the Third Estate (representing the commoners) to increase their voting power. This prompted criticism from his brother, who accused him of being "plus royaliste que le roi" ("more royalist than the King"). In June 1789, the represetatives of the Third Estate declared themselves a National Assembly
National Assembly (French Revolution)
During the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...
intent on providing France with a new constitution.
In conjunction with the Baron de Breteuil, Charles had political alliances arranged to depose the liberal minister of finance, Jacques Necker
Jacques Necker
Jacques Necker was a French statesman of Swiss birth and finance minister of Louis XVI, a post he held in the lead-up to the French Revolution in 1789.-Early life:...
. These plans backfired when Charles attempted to secure Necker's dismissal on 11 July without Breteuil's knowledge, much earlier than they had originally intended. It was the beginning of a decline in his political alliance with Breteuil, which ended in mutual loathing.
Necker's dismissal provoked the storming of the Bastille
Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris on the morning of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint...
on 14 July. At the insistence of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Charles and his family left France three days later, on 17 July, along with several other courtiers, including Madame de Polignac, the Queen’s favourite.
Life in exile
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
, Marie Thérèse's native country, where they were joined by some members of the Condé family.
Meanwhile in Paris, Louis XVI was struggling with the National Assembly, which was committed to radical reforms and had enacted the Constitution of 1791
French Constitution of 1791
The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution of France. One of the basic precepts of the revolution was adopting constitutionality and establishing popular sovereignty, following the steps of the United States of America...
. In March 1791, the Assembly also enacted a regency bill which provided for the case of the King's premature death. While his heir Louis-Charles
Louis XVII of France
Louis XVII , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette...
was still a minor, the Count of Provence
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
, the Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror...
or, if either was unavailable, someone chosen by election should become regent, completely passing over the rights of Charles who, in the royal lineage, stood between the Count of Provence and the Duke of Orléans.
Charles meanwhile left Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and moved to Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
, where his uncle, Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony
Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony
Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony was a German prince from the House of Wettin and the Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1768 until 1803, the Prince-Bishop of Freising from 1763 until 1768, the Prince-Bishop of Regensburg from 1763 until 1769, and the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg from 1768 until...
was the incumbent Archbishop-Elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
. Charles prepared for a counter-revolutionary invasion of France, but after a letter by Marie Antoinette postponed it to after the royal family had escaped France. After the attempted flight
Flight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution...
was stopped at Varennes, Charles moved on to Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, where he, the recently escaped Count of Provence and the Princes of Condé jointly declared their intention to invade France. The Count of Provence was sending dispatches to various European sovereigns for assistance, while Charles set up a court-in-exile in the Electorate of Trier. On 25 August, the rulers of Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
issued the Declaration of Pillnitz
Declaration of Pillnitz
The Declaration of Pillnitz was a statement issued on 27 August 1791 at Pillnitz Castle near Dresden by the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and Frederick William II of Prussia...
, which called on other European powers to intervene in France.
On New Year's Day 1792, the National Assembly declared all emigrants traitors, repudiated their titles and confiscated their lands. This measure was followed by the suspension and eventually the abolition of the monarchy in September 1792. The royal family was imprisoned in the Temple
Temple (Paris)
The Temple was a medieval fortress in Paris, located in what is now the IIIe arrondissement. It was built by the Knights Templar from the 12th century, as their European headquarters. In the 13th century it replaced earlier works of the Vieille Temple in Le Marais...
, and eventually put to death or, as in the case of the young Dauphin
Louis XVII of France
Louis XVII , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette...
died of illnesses and neglect.
When the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
broke out in 1792, Charles escaped to Great Britain, where King George III of Great Britain gave him a generous allowance. Charles lived in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and London with his mistress Louise de Polastron His older brother, dubbed Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
after the death of his nephew in June 1795, relocated to Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
and then to Jelgava Palace
Jelgava Palace
Jelgava Palace or Mitava Palace is the largest Baroque style palace in the Baltic states. It was built in the 18th century based on the design of Bartolomeo Rastrelli as a residence for the Dukes of Courland in their capital - Mitava , Latvia...
, Mitau, where Charles's son, Louis Antoine, married Louis XVI's only surviving child, Marie Thérèse on 10 June 1799. In 1802, Charles supported his brother with several thousand pounds. In 1807, Louis XVIII moved to Great Britain.
The Bourbon Restoration
In January 1814, Charles covertly left his home in London to join the Coalition forcesWar of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
in southern France. Louis XVIII, by then wheelchair-bound, supplied Charles with letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
creating him Lieutenant General of the Kingdom. On 31 March, the Allies captured Paris. A week later Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
abdicated. The Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
declared Louis XVIII restored. Charles arrived in the capital on 12 April and acted as Lieutenant General of the Kingdom until Louis XVIII arrived from England. During his brief tenure as regent, Charles created an ultra-royalist secret police, that reported directly back to him without Louis XVIII's knowledge. It operated for over five years.
Louis XVIII was greeted with great rejoicing from the Parisians and proceeded to occupy the Tuileries Palace
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
. His brother, the Count of Artois, lived in the Pavillon de Mars, the Duke of Angoulême in the Pavillon de Flore, which overlooked the River Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
. The Duchess of Angoulême fainted upon arriving at the palace, as it brought back terrible memories of her family's incarceration there, and of the storming of the palace and the massacre of the Swiss Guards on 10 August 1792.
Following the advice of the occupying allied army, Louis XVIII drafted a liberal constitution, the Charter of 1814
Charter of 1814
The French Charter of 1814 was a constitution granted by King Louis XVIII of France shortly after his restoration. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form before he was restored. It guaranteed many of the rights that most other countries in western Europe had...
, which entailed a bicameral legislature, an electorate of 90,000 men and freedom of religion.
After the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, Napoleon's brief return to power in 1815, the White Terror
Second White Terror
The second White Terror occurred in 1815. Following the return of King Louis XVIII of France to power, people suspected of having ties with the governments of the French Revolution or of Napoleon suffered arrest and execution....
swept across France, when 80,000 Napoleonic officials and generals were removed from their positions and some even killed, most notably the Marshalls Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
, who was executed for treason, and Brune
Guillaume Marie Anne Brune
Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, 1st Comte Brune was a French soldier and political figure who rose to Marshal of France....
, who was murdered.
The King's brother and heir
While the King retained the liberal charter, Charles patronised members of the ultra-royalists in parliament, such as Jules de Polignac, the writer François-René de ChateaubriandFrançois-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian. He is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature.-Early life and exile:...
and Jean-Baptiste de Villèle and on several occasions, Charles voiced his disapproval of his brother's liberal ministries and threatened to leave the country unless Louis XVIII dismissed them. Louis, in turn, feared his brother's and heir-presumptive's ultra-royalist
Ultra-royalist
Ultra-Royalists or simply Ultras were a reactionary faction which sat in the French parliament from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration...
tendencies would send the family into exile once more.
On 14 February 1820, Charles's younger son, the Duke of Berry, was assassinated at the Paris Opera
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
. This loss not only devastated the family but also put the continuation of the Bourbon dynasty in jeopardy, as the Duke of Angoulême's marriage had not produced any children. Parliament debated the abolition of the Salic law
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
, which excluded females from the succession and was long held inviolable. However, the Duke of Berry's widow, Caroline of Naples and Sicily
Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily
Caroline of Naples and Sicily was the daughter of the future King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his first wife, Maria Clementina of Austria.-Life:...
, was found to be pregnant and on 29 September 1820 gave birth to a son, Henri, Duke of Bordeaux
Henri, comte de Chambord
Henri, comte de Chambord was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Henry V, although he was never officially proclaimed as such...
. His birth was hailed as "godgiven" and the people of France bought him the Château de Chambord
Château de Chambord
The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures.The building, which was never...
in celebration of his birth.As a result his granduncle, Louis XVIII, added the title Count de Chambord hence Henry Count of Chambord the name by which he is usually known.
Reign
Internal policies
Louis XVIII's health had been worsening since the beginning of 1824. Suffering from both dry and wet gangreneGangrene
Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...
in his legs and spine, he died on 16 September of that year. His brother succeeded him to the throne as King Charles X of France.
In his first act as King, Charles attempted to unify the House of Bourbon by granting the style of Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
to his cousins of the House of Orléans
House of Orleans
Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...
, who had been deprived of this by Louis XVIII because of the former Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror...
' role in the death of Louis XVI.
In the first few months of his reign, Charles's government passed a series of laws that bolstered the power of the nobility and clergy. Charles gave his Prime Minister, Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, lists of laws that he wanted ratified every time he opened parliament. In April 1825, the government approved legislation, proposed by Louis XVIII but implemented only after his death, that paid an indemnity
Indemnity
An indemnity is a sum paid by A to B by way of compensation for a particular loss suffered by B. The indemnitor may or may not be responsible for the loss suffered by the indemnitee...
to nobles whose estates had been confiscated
Biens nationaux
Biens nationaux, or "national property", was a concept in French history. During the French Revolution, the possessions of the Roman Catholic Church were declared national property by the decree of November 2, 1789. These were sold to resolve the financial crisis that caused the Revolution...
during the Revolution. The law gave government bonds to those who had lost their lands, in exchange for their renunciation of their ownership, costing the state approximately 988 million francs. In the same month, the Anti-Sacrilege Act
Anti-Sacrilege Act
The Anti-Sacrilege Act was a French law against blasphemy and sacrilege passed in January 1825 under King Charles X. The law was never applied and was later revoked at the beginning of the July monarchy under King Louis-Philippe.-The draft bill:In April 1824, King Louis XVIII's government, headed...
was passed. Charles's government attempted to re-establish male only primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
for families paying over 300 francs in tax, but the measure was voted down in the Chamber of Deputies.
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
, the traditional site of consecration of French Kings which however had been unused since 1775 as Louis XVIII had foregone the ceremony to avoid controversy.
That Charles was not a popular ruler became apparent in April 1827, when chaos ensued during the King's review of the National Guard
National Guard (France)
The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...
. In retaliation, the National Guard was disbanded but, as its members were not disarmed, it remained a potential threat.
After losing his parliamentary majority in a general election in November 1827, Charles dismissed Prime Minister Villèle on 5 January 1828 and appointed Jean-Baptise de Martignac
Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac
Jean-Baptiste Sylvère Gay, vicomte de Martignac was a moderate royalist French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration 1814–30 under King Charles X....
, a man the King disliked and thought of only as provisional. On 5 August 1829, Charles dismissed Martignac and appointed Jules de Polignac, who, however, lost his majority in parliament at the end of August, when the Chateaubriand faction defected. To stay in power, Polignac would not recall the Chambers until March 1830.
Conquest of Algeria
On 31 January 1830, the Polignac government decided to send a military expedition to AlgeriaAlgeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
to put an end to the threat the Algerian pirates posed to Mediterranean trade and also increase the government's popularity by a victory. The reason given for the war was that the viceroy of Algeria, angry about French failure to pay its debts stemming from Napoleon's invasion of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, had struck the French ambassador with the handle of his fly swat. French troops invaded Algiers on 5 July
Invasion of Algiers in 1830
The Invasion of Algiers in 1830 was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by Charles X, invaded and conquered the Ottoman Regency of Algiers...
.
The July Revolution
Elections were held on 23 June, but did not produce a majority favorable to the government. Therefore, on 6 July, the King and his ministers decided to suspend the constitution, as provided for by Article 14 of the Charter in case of an emergency, and on 25 July, from his residence in Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...
, issued four ordinances
July Ordinances
July Ordinances, also known as the Four Ordinances of Saint-Cloud, were a series of decrees set forth by Charles X and Jules Armand de Polignac, the chief minister, in July 1830....
, known as Ordonnances de Saint-Cloud, which censored the press, dissolved the newly elected chamber, altered the electoral system and called for elections in September.
When the official government newspaper, Le Moniteur Universel
Le Moniteur Universel
Le Moniteur Universel was a French newspaper founded in Paris on November 24, 1789 under the title Gazette Nationale ou Le Moniteur Universal by Charles-Joseph Panckoucke, and which ceased publication on June 30, 1901...
, published the ordinances on Monday, 26 July, Adolphe Thiers
Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French politician and historian. was a prime minister under King Louis-Philippe of France. Following the overthrow of the Second Empire he again came to prominence as the French leader who suppressed the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871...
, journalist at the opposition paper Le National, published a call to revolt, which was signed by forty-three journalists:
The legal regime has been interrupted: that of force has begun... Obedience ceases to be a duty!
In the evening, crowds assembled in the gardens of the Palais-Royal, shouting "Down with the Bourbons!" and "Vive la Charte". As the police closed off the gardens during the nights, the crowd re-grouped in a nearby street, where they shattered the street lamps.
The next morning, 27 July, police raided and shut down the newspapers that continued to publish (including Le National). When the protesters, who had re-entered the Palais-Royal gardens, heard of this, they attacked soldiers with missiles, prompting them to shoot. By the evening, the city was dominated by violence and shops were looted.
On 28 July, the rioters began to erect barricades in streets. Marshal Marmont, who had been called in the day before to remedy the situation, took the offensive against the rioters, but some of his men defected to the rioters and by the afternoon he had to retreat to the Tuileries Palace.
Jacques Laffitte
Jacques Laffitte was a French banker and politician.-Biography:Laffitte was born at Bayonne, one of the ten children of a carpenter....
's house and decided that Louis Philippe d'Orléans should take the throne from King Charles. They printed posters endorsing Louis Philippe and distributed them throughout the city. By the end of the day, the government's authority was trampled.
A few minutes after midnight in the early hour of 31 July, warned by General Gresseau that Parisians were scheming to attack the residence, Charles X decided to leave Saint-Cloud and seek refuge in Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
with his family, and the Court, with the exception of the duc d’Angoulême who stayed behind with the troops, and the duchesse d’Angoulême, who was taking the waters at Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
. Meanwhile in Paris, Louis Philippe assumed the post of Lieutenant General of the Kingdom.
The road to Versailles was filled with disorganized troops and deserters. The Marquis de Vérac, governor of the Palace of Versailles, came to meet the king before the royal cortège entered the town, to tell him that the palace was not safe, as the Versailles national guards wearing the tricolor were occupying the Place d'Armes. Charles X then gave the order to go to Trianon
Grand Trianon
The Grand Trianon was built in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles at the request of Louis XIV, as a retreat for the King and his maîtresse en titre of the time, the marquise de Montespan, and as a place where the King and invited guests could take light meals away from the strict...
. It was five in the morning.
Later on in the day, after the arrival of the Duke of Angoulême who had left Saint-Cloud with his troops, Charles X ordered the departure for Rambouillet
Château de Rambouillet
The château de Rambouillet is a castle in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the Île-de-France region in northern France, southwest of Paris...
where they arrived shortly before midnight. In the morning of 1 August, the duchesse d’Angoulême, who had rushed from Vichy after learning of the events, arrived at Rambouillet.
The following day, 2 August, bypassing his son the Dauphin, Charles X abdicated in favor of his grandson, Henri, Duke of Bordeaux
Henri, comte de Chambord
Henri, comte de Chambord was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Henry V, although he was never officially proclaimed as such...
, who was not yet ten years old. At first, the Duke of Angoulême refused to countersign the document by which he was made to renounce his rights to the throne of France. According to the Duchess of Maillé, “there was a strong altercation between the father and the son. We could hear their voices in the next room.” Finally, after twenty minutes, the Duke of Angoulême reluctantly countersigned the (following) document.
“My cousin, I am too deeply pained by the ills that afflict or could threaten my people for not having found the means to avoid them. Therefore, I have taken the resolution to abdicate the crown in favor of my grandson, the Duke of Bordeaux. The Dauphin, who shares my feelings, also renounces his rights in favor of his nephew. Therefore, you will have, within your power as Lieutenant General of the Kingdom, to proclaim the accession of Henri V to the throne. Furthermore, you will take all the measures that concern you in order to set up the forms of government during the new king’s minority. Here, I only want my dispositions to be known: it is a means to avoid further ills. You will communicate my intentions to the diplomatic corps, and you will let me know as soon as possible the proclamation by which my grandson will be recognised as king under the name of Henri V.”
Louis Philippe ignored the document and on 9 August had himself proclaimed King of the French by the members of the Chamber.
Second exile and death
When it became apparent that a mob of 14,000 people was preparing to attack, the royal family was forced to leave Rambouillet and, on 16 August, embarked on packet steamers provided by Louis Philippe, to the United Kingdom. Informed by the British Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, that they needed to arrive in England as private citizens, all adopted pseudonyms, with Charles X assuming the name of a "Count of Ponthieu". The Bourbons were greeted coldly by the English, who upon their arrival mockingly waved the newly adopted tri-colour flags at them.Charles X was quickly followed to Britain by his creditors, who had lent him vast sums during his first exile and were yet to be paid back in full. However, the family could use money Charles's wife had stocked away in London.
The Bourbons were allowed to reside in Lulworth Castle
Lulworth Castle
Lulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, situated south of Wool, is an early 17th century mock castle. The stone building has now been re-built as a museum....
in Dorset, but quickly moved to Holyrood Palace
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...
in Edinburgh, where the Duchess of Berry also lived at Regent Terrace
Regent Terrace
Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the tail of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1995.- Houses :...
Charles's relationship with his daughter-in-law proved uneasy, as the Duchess claimed the regency for her son, Henri, whom the abdications of Rambouillet had left the legitimist pretender to the French throne. Charles at first denied her demands, but in December acquiesced, and only once she had landed in France. Soon afterwards, the Duchess by way of the Netherlands, Prussia and Austria made her way to her Italian relatives. Finding little support there, she arrived in Marseilles in April, made her way to the Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
, where she tried to instigate an uprising against the new regime, and was imprisoned, much to the embarrassment of her father-in-law. He was further dismayed when after her release the Duchess married the Count of Lucchesi Palli, a minor Neapolitan noble. As a result of this morganatic match, Charles banned her from seeing her children.
On the invitation of Emperor Francis I of Austria
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
, the Bourbons moved to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in winter 1832/33 and were given lodging at the Hradschin Palace
Prague Castle
Prague Castle is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here...
by the Emperor. In September 1833, Bourbon legitimists gathered in Prague to celebrate the Duke of Bordeaux's thirteenth birthday. They expected grand celebrations but Charles X merely proclaimed his grandson's majority. On the same day, after much cajoling by Chateaubriand, Charles agreed to a meeting with his daughter-in-law, which took place in Leoben
Leoben
Leoben is a Styrian city in central Austria, located by the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial center and hosts the University of Leoben which specialises in mining...
on 13 October 1833. The children of the Duchess refused to meet with her after they had learnt of her second marriage. Charles refused the various demands by the Duchess, but after protests from his other daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Angoulême, gave in again. In the summer of 1834, he again allowed the Duchess of Berry to see her children.
Upon the death of Emperor Francis in March 1835, the Bourbons left Prague Castle as the new Emperor Ferdinand
Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary and Bohemia , as well as associated dominions from the death of his father, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848.He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child...
wished to use it for his coronation. The Bourbons first moved to Teplitz, but as Ferdinand wanted to use Prague Castle on a more permanent basis, they purchased Kirchberg Castle. Moving there was postponed due to an outbreak of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
in the locality. In the meantime, Charles left for the warmer climate on Austria's Mediterranean coast in October 1835. Upon his arrival at Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
he caught cholera and died on 6 November 1836. The townspeople draped their windows in black to mourn him. Charles was interred in the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady, in the Franciscan Kostanjevica Monastery
Kostanjevica Monastery
Kostanjevica Monastery is a Franciscan monastery in Pristava near Nova Gorica, Slovenia. The locals frequently refer to it simply as Kapela ....
(now in Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica ; 21,082 ; 31,000 ) is a town and a municipality in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy...
, Slovenia).
Ici repose très haut et très puissant excellent prince Charles X de nom roi, par la grâce de Dieu, de France et de Navarre
("Here lies very high and powerful excellent prince Charles X by name king, by the grace of God, of France and of Navarre")
Ancestry
Marriage and issue
Charles X married Princess Maria Teresa of SavoyPrincess Marie Thérèse of Savoy
Maria Theresa of Savoy was a princess of Savoy by birth and the wife of Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, grandson of Louis XV...
, the daughter of Victor Amadeus III, King of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III was King of Sardinia from 1773 until his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until declaring war on revolutionary France in 1792...
and Maria Antonietta of Spain
Maria Antonietta of Spain
Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain was an Infanta of Spain and the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese. She was the wife of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia whom she married in 1750...
, on 16 November 1773.
The couple had four children:
- Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (6 August 1775 – 3 June 1844) Louis Antoine d'Artois
- SophieSophie d'ArtoisSophie d'Artois was a French princess of the House of Bourbon.-Biography:Sophie d'Artois was born at the Palace of Versailles during the reign of her paternal uncle, Louis XVI. Her father was Charles Philippe de France, known as the comte d'Artois...
(5 August 1776 – 5 December 1783) Sophie d'Artois - Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 13 February 1820) Charles Ferdinand d'Artois
- Marie Thérèse (1783) Marie Thérèse d'Artois
External links
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