Louis XVIII of France

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Louis XVIII
King of France and Navarre
Louis XVIII in coronation robes, by Baron Gros.
Reign	De jure 8 June 1795 – 16 September 1824 De facto 6 April 1814 – 20 March 1815; then 8 July 1815 – 16 September 1824
Predecessor	De facto Napoleon II De jure Louis XVII
Successor	De jure Charles X
Spouse	Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy
Full name
Louis-Stanislas-Xavier de France
Father	Louis, Dauphin of France
Mother	Marie-Josèphe of Saxony
Born	17 November 1755(1755-11-17) Palace of Versailles, France
Died	16 September 1824 (aged 68) Paris, France
Burial	Saint Denis Basilica, France

Louis XVIII (Versailles, 17 November 1755 – Paris 16 September 1824), Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was King of France and Navarre from 1814, to 1824, bar one interruption, in the form of the Hundred Days in 1815. Louis XVIII spent 23 years in exile from 1791 to 1814, due to the French Revolution, and again in 1815, upon the return of Napoleon Bonaparte from Elba, and in the process, living in many foreign countries, such as: Prussia, United Kingdom and Russia^[1] The French monarchy was abolished on September 21, 1792.^[2] This act deposed the King Louis XVI, Louis XVIII's oldest brother, who was later executed in January 1793 by the newly established French Republic.^[3] Louis XVIII succeeded his nephew, Louis XVII, as titular King, when the latter died in prison, in June 1795.^[4]

Louis XVIII was restored to his rightful place atop the throne of France in 1814, when the coalition armies captured Paris from Napoleon Bonaparte. Louis XVIII ruled as King for slightly less than a decade, during the Bourbon Restoration period. The Bourbon Restoration was a constitutional monarchy (unlike the ancien régime, which was absolute), Louis XVIII's potential prerogative was reduced substantially by the Charter of 1814 (the new constitution of France). Louis had no children, and therefore the crown passed to his younger brother, Charles, comte d’Artois upon his death.^[5] Louis XVIII was the last French monarch to die while reigning.

[edit] Early life

Louis Stanislas in his youth, by Louis-Michel van Loo.

The comte de Provence, and his brother, Louis Auguste, duc de Berry, depicted in 1757 by François-Hubert Drouais

Louis Stanislas Xavier^[6] was born on 17 November 1755 in the Palace of Versailles, the son of Louis, Dauphin of France, and his wife, Marie-Josèphe of Saxony. Louis Stanislas was the grandson of the reigning King Louis XV, and as such, a Petit-fils de France. Louis Stanislas was christened Louis Stanislas Xavier six years after his birth, in accordance with Bourbon family tradition, being nameless before his baptism. The name Louis was bestowed because it was typical of a Prince of France, Stanislas after his great-grandfather King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland, and Xavier for Saint Francis Xavier. Marie-Josèphe of Saxony's family held Francis Xavier as one of their patron saints.^[7]

At the epoch of his birth, Louis Stanislas was fourth in line to the throne of France, behind his father the Dauphin (Dauphin is akin to a crown prince), and his two elder brothers, Louis Joseph Xavier, duc de Bourgogne, and Louis Auguste, duc de Berry. The former died after a horrific illness in 1761, leaving Louis Auguste as heir-apparent in the next generation that is until the Dauphin's premature death in 1765. Louis Auguste was propelled to first-in-line to the throne. The Dauphin's death caused Louis Stanislas to climb the ladder of succession also, and he was elevated to second-in-line.^[8] Louis Stanislas was accorded the courtesy style Monsieur, a style traditionally bestowed upon the second son of a king of France^[9].

Louis Stanislas found comfort in his governess the Comtesse de Marsan. Louis Stanislas was Marsans' favourite out of all her charges, i.e. out of all his brothers and sisters.^[10] Louis Stanislas lost his beloved governess when he turned 7. This was generally acknowledged as the end of infancy, and the beginning of boyhood. Women could not govern a boy after they attained that age, and her role was assumed by a male. Louis Stanislas’ governor was the Duc de la Vauguyon, the Dauphin’s friend. Louis Stanislas was an intelligent boy. He excelled in Classics and Literature. Louis Stanislas’ education was of the same quality and consistency of his older brother, Louis Auguste, despite the fact that Louis Auguste was heir, and Louis Stanislas was not.^[10] Louis Stanislas’ education was quite religious in nature, several of his teachers being ecclesiasts. Vauguyon drilled into young Louis Stanislas and his brothers the way he thought princes should be “know how to withdraw themselves ...to like to work... to know how to reason correctly”. In April 1771, Louis Stanislas’ education was formally concluded, and his own independent household was established.^[11] The household in question astounded contemporaries with its extravagance. In 1773, the servants summed up to 390^[12] In the same month as his household was founded, Louis was granted several titles by his grandfather, Louis XV; Duc d'Anjou, Comte de Maine, Comte de Perche and Comte de Senoches.^[13]

On May 14, 1771, Louis Stanislas married Princess Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, the daughter of the Duke of Sardinia, future king Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia. A luxurious ball followed the wedding on May 20.^[14] The new comtesse de Provence (Louis bore "comte de Provence" as a courtesy title) was considered to be ugly, ignorant of the court at Versailles, and tedious. Provence was repulsed by his new wife, as was his brother the comte d'Artois, who also married a Savoyard princess. The marriage remained unconsummated due to Provence's alleged impotence (according to Antonia Fraser) or his unwillingness to sleep with his wife due to her poor personal hygiene. She never brushed her teeth, plucked her eyebrows, or used any pefumes.^[15]. At the time of the marriage, Provence was obese and waddled instead of walked. He took no exercise and continued to eat gargantuan amounts of food^[16]. Despite the fact that Louis Stanislas was not enfatuated with his wife, he boasted that he and his wife enjoyed vigorous conjugal relations, such declarations were regarded in low esteem by courtiers at Versailles. Louis Stanislas proclaimed his wife to be pregnant also, just to spite Louis Auguste and his wife Marie Antoinette of Austria, who were still to consummate their marriage.^[17] The Dauphin and Louis Stanislas did not enjoy a harmonious relationship, and were often getting embroiled in quarrels,^[18] as where their wives.^[10] Louis Stanislas impregnated his wife in 1774, conquering his aversion to Marie Jospehine. Unfortunately, the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.^[19]

On 27 April 1774, Louis XV fell ill after having contracted smallpox and died the following May 4^[20].

[edit] At his brother’s court

Louis Stanislas,comte de Provence, during the reign of Louis XVI of France

The Dauphin, Louis Auguste succeeded his grandfather as King Louis XVI.^[21] Louis Stanislas longed for political influence. He attempted to gain admittance to the King’s council in 1774, ultimately failing. Louis Stanislas was left in political limbo, that he called “a gap in my political life of 12 years”.^[22] Louis XVI granted Louis Stanislas revenues from the Duchy of Alençon in December 1774. The duchy was given to enhance Louis Stanislas' prestige, although, his appanage turned over only 300,000 livres (livres were the currency of France from Charlemagne, to the Revolution) per annum, this figure was of a much lower magnitude than what it used to be in the fourteenth century at its peak.^[23] Louis Stanislas embarked on a tour of France in the same year. He peregrinated with his sister, Madame Clothilde to meet her bridegroom Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont, heir to the throne of Sardinia, at Chambéry. Louis Stanislas visited Lyon. Louis Stanislas visited his spinster aunts, Madame Adélaïde and Madame Victoire, while they were enjoying the waters at Vichy, in 1775.^[24] Louis Stanislas took far more tours around France than anyone else in the Royal Family, who rarely left Île-de-France, albeit the four provinvial tours that Louis Stanislas took before the year 1791 form a total ,in duration, of three months.^[25]

On 5 May 1778, Dr. Lassonne, confirmed Marie Antoinette's pregnancy.^[26] On 19 December 1778, the Queen gave birth to a daughter, who was named Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de France, and given the honorific title Madame Royale. The birth of a girl came as a relief to the comte de Provence who kept his position as heir to Louis XVI because Salic Law excluded women from the accession to the throne of France.^[27][28] Provence spread rumours that King Louis wasn’t actually the child’s father.^[29] At the child's christening the Comte subtly disputed Marie Thérèse's paternity.^[28] Provence was not heir to the throne much longer. He was dislodged from the position when Marie Antoinette gave birth to a long wished for son, Louis Joseph, on 22 October 1781. Louis Stnaislas and his youngest brother, the comte d’Artois, served as godfathers by proxy for the Holy Roman Emperor, the Queen’s brother.^[30] In 1780, a new lady entered the service of Marie Josephine, Madame de Balbi. Comtemporaries judged Balbi to be a witty and amusing lady, though also poorly educated and, some thought rude. Louis Stanislas soon fell for Balbi, and Louis Stanislas installed her as his mistress^[31] Marie Josephine's and Louis Stanislas' already miniscule affection for each other cooled at the entrance of Balbi, the former despised her.^[32] Louis Stanislas comissioned a pavilion for Balbi to inhabit, near the Pièce d’Eau des Suisses at Versailles.^[33]

Provence lived a quiet and sedentary lifestyle at this juncture, not having a great deal to do since his self-proclaimed political exclusion in 1774. Louis Stanislas kept himself occupied with his vast library of over 11,000 books at Balbi’s pavilion. There he read, for several hours each morning.^[34] Provence wracked up astronomical debts, and he asked Louis XVI to pay for his debt of 10 million livres in the early 1780s, Louis XVI obliged.^[35] Louis Stanislas slid further down the line of succession when Marie Antoinette gave birth to her second son, Louis Charles, in March 1785.^[36]

An Assembly of Notables (the members consisted of magistrates, mayors, nobles and clergy) was convened in February 1787, to ratify the financial reforms sought by the Controller-General of Finance Charles Alexandre de Calonne. This provided Provence the opportunity he had long been waiting for, to establish himself in politics. Provence, abhorred the radical reforms proposed by Calonne.^[37] The reforms envisioned a new land tax^[38], and new elected provincial assemblies that would have a say in local taxation.^[39] Calonne's proposition was rejected outright by the notables, and Louis XVI dismissed him as a result. The Archbishop of Toulouse, Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne acquired Calonne's ministry. Brienne attempted to salvage Calonne’s reforms, but ultimately failed to convince the notables to approve them. A frustrated Louis XVI dissolved the assembly .^[40]

Brienne's reforms where submitted to the Parlement de Paris instead (a parlement was responsible for the ratification of the King’s edicts. Each province had its own parlement, the parlement de Paris was the most significant of all), in the hope that they would be registered. The Parlement de Paris refused to accept Brienne’s proposals, and they pronounced that any new taxation should have to be approved by an Estates-General (the nominal parliament of France). Louis XVI and Brienne took a hostile stance against the parlement’s rejection, and Louis XVI had to implement a Lit de justice (a Lit de Justice automatically registered an edict in the Parlement de Paris) to ratify the desired reforms. On the following May 8, Jean-Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil and Goislard de Montsabert, two of the leading members of the Parlement de Paris were arrested. There was rioting in Brittany, Provence, Burgundy and Béarn in reaction to their arrest. This unrest was engineered by local magistrates and nobles, who enticed the people to revolt against the Lit de Justice which was quite unfavourable to the nobles and magistrates. The clergy joined the provincial cause too, and they condemned Brienne’s reformed taxation system. Brienne conceded defeat in July, and agreed to calling the Estates-General to meet in 1789. Brienne resigned from his post in August, and was replaced by Swiss magnate Jacques Necker.^[41]

In November 1788, a second Assembly of Notables was convened by Jacques Necker, to consider the composition of the forthcoming Estates-General.^[42] The Parlement of Paris recommended that the Estates should be the same as they were the last time they were assembled in 1614 (this would mean that the clergy and nobility would have more representation than the Third Estate).^[43] The notables rejected the “double representation" proposal. Louis Stanislas was the only notable to vote for the increase in the size of the Third Estate.^[44] Necker disregarded the notables' judgement, and convinced Louis XVI to grant the extra representation, Louis duly obliged on December 27.^[45]

[edit] The outbreak of the French Revolution

The Estates-General were convened, in May 1789, to ratify financial reforms.^[46] Louis Stanislas favoured a stalwart position against the Third Estate and its demands of reformed taxation. On 17 June the Third Estate declared itself a National Assembly, an Assembly not of the Estates, but of the People.

Louis Stanislas urged the King to act strongly against the declaration, while the King’s popular minister, Jacques Necker intended to compromise with the new assembly. Louis XVI was characteristically indecisive. On 9 July, the assembly declared itself a National Constituent Assembly, that would give France a Constitution. On 11 July, Louis XVI dismissed Jacques Necker, which led to widespread rioting across Paris. On 12 July, the charge with sabers of Charles-Eugène de Lorraine, prince de Lambesc's cavalry regiment, the Royal-Allemand, on a crowd gathered at the Tuileries gardens, sparked the Storming of the Bastille two days later^[47][48].

On 16 July, the comte d’Artois, left France with his wife, and children, along with many other courtiers.^[49] Artois and his family took up residence in Turin, the capital city of his father-in-law’s Kingdom of Sardinia, with the Condé family.^[50]

Louis Stanislas decided to stay at Versailles.^[51] When the Royal Family plotted to abscond from Versailles to Metz, Louis Stanislas advised the King not to leave, which the latter duly agreed to.^[52]

The Royal Family was ripped away from their Palace of Versailles after The Women's March on Versailles on October 5 1789.^[53] The Comte and his wife lodged in the Luxembourg Palace, while the rest of the royal family stayed in the Tuileries Palace.^[54] In March 1791, the National Assembly created a law outlining the regency of Louis Charles in case of his father’s death while he was still too young to reign. The law created the potential regency as follows; Louis Charles’ nearest male relative in France (presently the Comte de Provence), after him, the regency would be given to the Duc d’Orléans, and if he were unavailable, the regency would go to election.^[55]

The Comte de Provence and his wife escaped to the Austrian Netherlands in conjunction with the royal family’s failed Flight to Varennes.^[56]

[edit] Exile

[edit] The early years

When the Comte de Provence arrived in the Low Countries, he proclaimed himself de facto regent of France. Provence was exploiting a document that he and Louis XVI wrote^[57] before the latter’s failed escape to Varennes. The document gave Provence the regency in the event of his brother’s death, or inability to perform his role as King. Provence would join the other princes-in-exile at Coblenz soon after his escape. It was here that the Comte d’Artois, the Condés and the Comte de Provence, proclaimed that their objective was to invade France. Louis XVI was greatly annoyed by his brothers' behaviour. The Comte de Provence sent emissaries to various European courts asking for financial aid, soldiers, and munition. The Comte d’Artois secured a castle for the court in exile in the Electorate of Trier, where their maternal uncle, Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, was the Archbishop-Elector. Provence’s rallying bore fruit, when the rulers of Prussia and Austria gathered at Dresden. They released the Declaration of Pillnitz in August 1791. This urged Europe to intervene in France, if Louis XVI or his family were threatened. Provence’s endorsement of the declaration was not well received back in France, by the people, or by Louis XVI.^[58]

In January 1792, the Legislative Assembly, declared that all the émigrés, were traitors to France. Their property and titles were confiscated.^[59] The monarchy of France, was abolished, by the National Convention, on 21 September 1792.^[60]

Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. This left his young son, Louis Charles, as titular King Louis XVII of France. The princes-in-exile proclaimed Louis Charles "King Louis XVII". Provence, now unilaterally declared himself regent for his nephew, who was too young to assume the headship of the House of Bourbon.(since the French monarchy had been abolished several months, Louis XVII, never actually ruled, and any claim to regency, would only have been nominal.)^[61]

Young Louis XVII’s fictional rule did not last long as he died in June 1795, survived by his sister, Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France. On June 16, the princes-in-exile declared the Comte de Provence "King Louis XVIII". The new King accepted their declaration soon after.^[62] Louis XVIII busied himself drafting a manifesto in response to Louis XVII’s death. The manifesto, known as “The Declaration of Verona” (named after the city where Louis was currently living) was Louis XVIII attempt to introduce the French people to his politics (after all, he had just been declared King by the exiles). The Declaration of Verona beckoned France back into the arms of the monarchy, “which for fourteen centuries was the glory of France” according to the document.^[63]

Louis XVIII negotiated Marie-Thérèse’s release from her Parisian prison in 1795. Louis XVIII desperately wanted Marie-Thérèse to marry her first cousin, Louis Antoine, Duc d’ Angoulême. Louis XVIII deceived his niece by telling her that her parent’s last wishes were for her to marry Louis Antoine. Marie-Thérèse duly agreed to her uncle-king’s wishes. ^[64]

Louis XVIII was forced to abandon Verona, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Republic of Venice.^[65]

[edit] 1796 - 1807

Jelgava Palace, Louis XVIII's home from 1798 - 1801, 1804 - 1807.

Louis XVIII had been vying for the custody of his niece, Marie Thérèse, since her release from prison in December 1795. Success came to Louis’ enterprise when Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, agreed to relinquish custody of Marie-Thérèse in 1796. Marie-Thérèse had been staying in Vienna with her Habsburg relatives since January 1796.^[65] Louis XVIII moved to Blankenburg in Prussia after his departure from Verona. He lived in a modest two bedroom apartment over a shop.^[66] Louis XVIII was forced to leave Blankenberg when King Frederick William II of Prussia died. In light of this, Marie-Thérèse decided to wait a while longer before re-uniting with her uncle.^[67]

In 1798, Emperor Paul I of Russia offered to Louis the use of Jelgava Palace in Courland (now Latvia). Paul I also guaranteed Louis’ safety and bestowed upon him a generous pension.^[66] Though, the Emperor later disregarded Louis’ allowance.^[68] Marie-Thérèse finally joined Louis XVIII at Jelgava in 1799.^[69] In the Winter of 1798–1799, Louis XVIII, wrote a biography on Marie Antoinette, "Réflexions Historiques sur Marie Antoinette". King Louis attempted to recreate the court life of Versailles at Jelgava. Many old courtiers lived at Jelgava and Louis re-established all the court ceremonies such as the lever and coucher. These ceremonies were for waking and bedding respectively.^[70]

Marie-Thérèse married her cousin Louis Antoine on June 9 1799, at Jelgava Palace. Louis XVIII ordered his wife to attend the marriage proceedings in Courland without her long time friend (and rumourded lover) Madame de Gourbillon. Queen Marie Joséphine lived apart from her husband in Schleswig Holstein. Louis XVIII was trying desperately to display to the world a united family front. The Queen refused to leave her friend behind and drama ensued, rivalling the wedding in notability.^[71] Louis XVIII knew that his nephew Louis Antoine, was not compatible with Marie-Thérèse. Despite this, he still rallied for their marriage. Their marriage proved to be quite unhappy and produced no children.^[72]

Louis XVIII attempted to strike up a correspondence with Napoleon Bonaparte (First Consul of France) in 1800. Louis XVIII beseeched Bonaparte to restore the Bourbons to their throne. Bonaparte was immune to Louis XVIII’s cries, and went about consolidating his position as ruler of France.^[73]

Louis XVIII encouraged his niece to write her memoirs, as he wished them to be used as Bourbon propaganda. Louis used the diaries of Louis XVI' final attendants in the same way, in 1796 and 1803.^[70] In January 1801, Emperor Paul I told Louis XVIII that he could no longer live in Russia. The court at Jelgava was so low on funds that they had to auction some of their possessions to afford the journey out of Russia. Marie-Thérèse even sold a diamond necklace that the Emperor Paul had given her as a wedding gift.^[68]

Marie-Thérèse convinced Queen Louise of Prussia to give her family refuge in Prussian territory. Louise consented, but the Bourbons were forced to assume pseudonyms, with Louis XVIII, becoming the Comte d’Isle (named after his estate in Languedoc) Louis XVIII and his family assumed residence in Warsaw, after an arduous peregrination from Jelgava.^[74] It was very soon after their arrival that they learned of the death of Paul I. Louis hoped that his successor, Alexander I of Russia, would repudiate his father’s banishment of the Bourbons. Louis XVIII intended to set off to the Neapolitan court of the King of Naples. The Comte d’Artois asked Louis to send his son, Louis Antoine, and daughter-in-law, Marie Thérèse, to him in Edinburgh. Louis was distressed by Artois’ request, as Louis Antoine and his wife were all that he had, while Charles had an allowance from King George III of Great Britain. Louis XVIII’s court in exile was being spied on by French police.^[75] Louis greatly valued his nieces advice.^[76] The court-in-exile was being financed by interest owed from Francis II on valuables his aunt, Marie Antoinette, had removed from France. The Comte d’Artois in England also sent money. They had to cut their expenses significantly.^[77]

In 1803, Napoleon tried to force Louis XVIII to renounce his right to the throne of France, which Louis refused to agree to.^[78] In May 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of the French. Louis XVIII, and his nephew, Louis Antoine, departed for Sweden in July for a Bourbon family conference. Here, the Comte d’Artois, Louis XVIII, and Louis Antoine issued a statement condemning Napoleon’s decision to declare himself emperor.^[79] The King of Prussia issued a proclamation saying that Louis XVIII would have to leave Prussian territory, which meant leaving Warsaw. Alexander I of Russia invited Louis XVIII, to resume residence in Jelgava. Louis XVIII had to live under less generous conditions than that enjoyed under Paul I. Louis XVIII intended to disembark to England, as soon as possible.^[80]

Louis XVIII created another policy in 1805. This new declaration was far more liberal than his earlier ones. It repudiated Louis’ Declaration of Verona, promised to abolish conscription, keep Napoleon I’s administrative and judicial system, reduce taxes, eliminate political prisons, and guarantee amnesty to everyone who didn’t oppose a Bourbon Restoration. The opinions expressed in the declaration were largely those of the Comte d’Avaray (Louis’ best friend in exile). ^[81]

Louis XVIII was forced once again to leave Jelgava when Alexander of Russiainformed him that his safety could not be guaranteed on continental Europe. In July 1807, Louis boarded a Swedish frigate to Stockholm, bringing with him only Louis Antoine d'Angoulême. Louis did not stay in Sweden for long, and arrived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, in November 1807. Louis took up residence in Gosfield Hall, leased to him by the Marquess of Buckingham^[82]

[edit] England

Hartwell House, Louis XVIII's court-in-exile from 1808 until his restoration.

Louis Antoine, fetched his wife and the Queen, Marie Josephine, from the continent in 1808. Louis’ tenure at Gosfield Hall did not last long, and he moved to Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire. The King paid £500 for rent each year to the proprietor, Sir George Lee. The Comte d’Artois did not join the court-in-exile in Hartwell and continued his frivolous life in London. Hartwell, housed over 100 courtiers.^[83]

Louis' closest friend, the Comte d'Avaray left Hartwell for Madeira in 1809, and died there in 1811. Louis replaced Avaray with the Comte de Blacas. Louis XVIII’s wife, Queen Marie Joséphine, died on November 13, 1810.^[84] That same winter, Louis was suffering from a horrific case of gout, he was immobilised in a wheel chair.^[85]The Prince Regent of the United Kingdom was very charitable to the exiled Bourbons. He granted them permanent asylum, and gave them extremely generous allowances.^[86] Louis XVIII, suffered from gout intermittently while at Hartwell.^[87]

Napoleon I embarked on an invasion of Russia in 1812. This war would prove to be the turning point in his fortunes. The expedition failed miserably, and Napoleon was forced to retreat with an army in tatters.

Louis XVIII issued yet another declaration, while at Hartwell in 1813. "The Declaration of Hartwell" was more liberal than his "Declaration of 1805". The declaration bellowed that everyone who served Napoleon or the Republic were free of repercussions for their acts, and that the original owners of the Biens nationaux (lands confiscated from the nobles and clergy during the interregnum) were to be compensated for their losses.^[88]

Allied troops captured Paris on March 31, 1814.^[89] Louis, at the brink of restoration was unable to walk, and ergo, Louis sent the Comte d’Artois to France in January 1814. Louis XVIII issued letters patent appointing Artois Lieutenant General of the Kingdom in the event of the Bourbons being restored. Napoleon I abdicated on April 6, and that day, his senate invited the Bourbons to re-assume the throne of France.^[90]

[edit] Bourbon Restoration

"Allégorie du retour des Bourbons le 24 avril 1814 : Louis XVIII relevant la France de ses ruines.." by Crépin Louis-Philippe

[edit] Restoration I

The Comte d’Artois ruled as Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom, until his brother’s arrival in Paris, on May 3. The King put himself on display to his subjects upon his return, by creating a procession through the city. He took up residence in the Tuileries Palace the same day. The King’s niece, the Duchesse d’Angoulême, fainted at the sight of the Tuileries.^[91]

Napoleon's senate called Louis XVIII to the throne on the condition that he would accept the senate’s new constitution. The new constitution entailed the recognition of the Republic and the Empire, a bi-cameral parliament elected every year and the tri-colour flag of the aforementioned regimes.^[92] Louis XVIII opposed the senate’s constitution, and stated he “disbands the current senate in all the crimes of Bonaparte and appeals to the French people”. The constitution was not well received by the public. The senatorial constitution was burned in a theatre in royalist Bordeaux. The Municipal Council of Lyon voted for a speech defaming the senate.^[93] Louis' answer to the senatorial constitution was the “Declaration of Saint-Ouen”. This brief document envisaged freedom of press, a bi-cameral legislature with control over tax and the vexed Biens Nationaux were to stay in their current owner’s possession.^[94]

The armies occupying Paris demanded that Louis XVIII implement a constitution.^[95] The Charter of 1814 that Louis created entailed all that Saint-Ouen wished for and more: Freedom of Religion, a legislature composed of the Chamber of Deputies^[96] and the Chamber of Peers^[97], the press would enjoy a degree of freedom, the biens nationaux^[98], would remain in the hands of their current owners.^[99] The constitution had 76 articles. Taxation would be voted on by the chambers.

Catholocism was the official religion of France. To be eligible for election to the Chamber of Deputies, one had to pay over 1,000 francs every year in tax, and be over the age of forty. The King appointed peers to the Chamber of Peers on a hereditary basis or for life at his discretion. The deputies were elected every five years. A fifth of the deputies were to be elected each year.^[100] There were 90,000 people eligible to vote.^[101]

Louis XVIII signed the Treaty of Paris on 30 May 1814. The treaty gave France her 1792 borders, which extended east of the Rhine. She had to pay no war indemnity and the occupying armies of the Sixth Coalition withdrew instantly from French soil. These generous terms would be reversed in the next Treaty of Paris after the Hundred Days (Napoleon's return to France in 1815).^[102]

It did not take Louis XVIII long to go back on one of his many promises. Louis XVIII and his Controller-General of Finance Baron Louis were determined not to let the exchequer fall into deficit (there was a 75 million franc debt inherited from Napoleon I), and took fiscal measures to ensure this. Louis XVIII assured the French that the unpopular tax on tobacco, wine and salt would be abolished when he was restored, but he failed to do so, and this led to rioting in Bordeaux. Expenditure on the army was slashed in budget 1815. In 1814, the military accounted for 55% of government spending.^[103]

Louis XVIII admitted the Comte d'Artois, and his nephews, the Duc d'Angoulême and the Duc de Berri into the King's council in May 1814, upon its establishment. The council was informally headed by the Prince de Talleyrand.^[104] Louis XVIII took a huge interest in the goings on of the Congress of Vienna (set up to redraw the map of Europe after Napoleon's demise). Talleyrand represented France at the proceedings. Louis was horrified by Prussia’s intention to annexe the Kingdom of Saxony. Louis, despite his obvious personal attachment to Saxony (his mother was a Saxon princess), was also concerned that Prussia would dominate Germany. Louis XVIII, wished the Duchy of Parma to be restored to the Parmese Bourbons, and not Empress Marie Louise of France, as was being suggested by the allies.^[105] Louis also protested the allies’ inaction in Naples, where he wanted the Napoleonic usurper Joachim Murat removed in favour of the Neapolitan Bourbons, who had ruled for centuries. Austria on behalf of the allies agreed to send a force to the Two Sicilies to depose Marat in February 1815, when it became apparent that Marat corresponded with Napoleon I, which was explicitly forbidden by a recent treaty. Marat never actually wrote to Napoleon, but Louis, hell-bent on restoring the Neapolitan Bourbons at any cost forged the correspondence. King Louis subsidised the Austrian expedition with 25 million francs. ^[106]

Louis XVIII succeeded in getting the Neapolitan Bourbons restored immediately. Parma was bestowed upon Empress Marie Louise for life, and the Parmese Bourbons were given the Duchy of Lucca until Marie Louise died.

[edit] Hundred Days

Napoleon I in coronation robes

On 26 February 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped his island prison of Elba and embarked for France. Bonaparte arrived with about 1,000 troops near Cannes on March 1. Louis XVIII was not particularly worried by Bonaparte's excursion, as such small numbers if troops could be easily crushed. There was a major underlying problem for the Bourbons, Louis XVIII had failed to purge the military of its Bonapartist troops. This led to mass desertions from the Bourbon amries, over to Bonaparte's. The King could not join the campaign against Napoleon in the south of France because he was suffering from another case of gout.^[107] Marshall Soult, the Minister of War dispatched Louis Philippe d'Orléans, the Comte d'Artois and Marshall MacDonald to apprehend Napoleon.^[108]

Louis XVIII’s underestimation of Bonaparte proved fatal. On March 19, the army stationed outside Paris defected to Bonaparte, leaving Paris vulnerable to attack.^[109] Louis XVIII quit the capital with a small escort at midnight on the 19th. Louis decided to go first to Lille, and then crossed the border into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and stayed in Ghent.^[110] The powers, most prominently Alexander I of Russia, were debating that if they crushed the French Empire for a second time, that the First Prince of the Blood Louis Philippe d’Orléans should be proclaimed king, instead of Louis XVIII.^[111]

Napoleon did not rule France again for very long, and suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo, on June 15. The powers came to the consensus that Louis XVIII should be restored for a second time to the throne of France.^[112]

[edit] 1815 – 1824

The Royal Family, (from left to right) Charles, Comte d'Artois, Louis XVIII, Marie Caroline, Duchesse de Berry, Marie Thérèse, Duchesse d'Angoulême, Louis Antoine, Duc d'Angoulême and Charles Ferdinand, Duc de Berry.

Louis XVIII, in coronation robes.

Louis XVIII returned to France promptly after Napoleon’s final defeat, "in the baggage train of the enemy".^[113] Anti-Napoleonic sentiment was high, and this was prominently displayed in the White Terror. The White Terror purged all important Napoleonic officials from government, and the execution of others. The people of France committed barbarous acts against some of these officials. Guillaume Marie Anne Brune's (a Napoleonic marshall) body was sliced into pieces and thrown into a river. Louis XVIII deplored such illegal acts, but vehemently supported the Terror in its legal form..^[114]

In November 1815, Louis XVIII’s government had to sign another Treaty of Paris ending Napoleon’s hundred days. The previous treaty had been quite favourable to France, but this one took a hard-line. France’s borders were retracted to their extent in the 1790. France had to pay for an army to occupy her, for at least five years. This cost 150 million francs per year. France also had to pay a war indemnity of 700 million francs.^[115]

Louis XVIII chose many centrist cabinets, as he wanted to appease the populace. Much to the dismay of his brother, the ultra-royalist, Comte d’Artois,^[116] King Louis always dreaded the day he would die, he believed that his brother, and heir, Artois, would abandon Louis’ centrist government and implement an ultra royalist autocracy, which would not bring favourable results.^[117]

In 1818, the Chambers passed a military law, which increased the size of the army by over 100,000. In October of the same year, Louis XVIII’s foreign minister, the Duc de Richelieu, succeeded in convincing the powers to withdraw their armies early, in exchange for a sum of over 200 million francs.^[118]

Louis XVIII disliked his relative, the First Prince of the Blood, Louis-Philippe d'Orléans. He took many an opportunity to snub him.^[119] Louis' nephew, the Duc de Berry, was assassinated at the Paris Opera, on February 14, 1820. The royal family was deeply grief-stricken.^[120]

Berry was the only member of the family, thought to be able to conceive children. Berry’s wife gave birth to a posthumous son, in September, Henri, Duc de Bordeaux.^[120] Although, for a time the future of the Bourbons was in doubt. The Chamber of Deputies proposed abolishing salic law to allow the King’s niece, Marie Thérèse, Duchesse d’Angoulême to ascend the throne.^[121] On June 12, 1820, the Chambers ratified legislation that increased the number of Deputies from 258 to 430. The extra deputies were to be elected by the wealthiest quarter of the population in each department. They now effectively had two votes.^[122] Around the same time as the “law of the two votes”, Louis XVIII began to get visits every Wednesday from a lady named Zoé Talon, comtesse du Cayla. The King told nobody to disturb him while he was with her. It was rumoured that King Louis, inhaled snuff off her breasts.^[123] In 1823, France embarked on a military intervention in Spain, where a revolt had occurred against the King Ferdinand VII. France succeeded in crushing the rebellion.^[124] The King's nephew, Louis Antoine, Duc d’Angoulême, headed the venture^[125]

[edit] Death

Louis XVIII's grave

Louis XVIII's health began to fail in spring 1824, having never been particularly good his whole life. He was suffering from obesity and gangrene. Louis XVIII died on September 16, 1824, surrounded by the extended royal family and some government officials. Louis XVIII was succeeded by his youngest brother, the Comte d’Artois, as King Charles X.^[126]

Louis XVIII was the only French monarch of the 19th century to die while still ruling. Louis XVIII was interred at the Basilica of St Denis, the necropolis of French monarchs.

[edit] Ancestors

[edit] See also

• Bourbon Restoration
• French Revolution
• Charles X
• Charter of 1814
• Jelgava Palace
• Louis XVI

[edit] In fiction

The Comte de Provence was portrayed by Sebastian Armesto in the 2006 film Marie Antoinette, a biographical film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, based on the book, Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Lady Antonia Fraser. In the 1970 film Waterloo, Louis XVIII was portrayed by Orson Welles.

[edit] Further reading

• Mansel, Philip. Louis XVIII. Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing, 1999 (paperback, ISBN 0-7509-2217-6).
• Lever, Evelyne, Louis XVIII, Fayard, Paris, 1988. (paperback, ISBN 2-213-7801-01 (French)

[edit] Notes and references

v • d • e House of Bourbon   Henry IV of France Spouse(s) HH Marguerite de Valois  · Lady Marie de' Medici Children Louis XIII  · Elisabeth, Queen of Spain  · Christine Marie, Duchess of Savoy  · Nicholas Henri, Duke of Orléans  · Gaston, Duke of Orléans  · Henriette Marie, Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland Siblings Henri, Duke of Beaumont (1551–1553)  · Louis, Count of Marle (1555–1557)  · Madeleine (1556)  · Catherine, Duchess of Lorraine Illegitimate Children César, Duke of Vendôme  · Catherine Henriette, Duchess of Elbeuf  · Alexandre, Chevalier de Vendôme  · Henri, Duke of Verneuil  · Gabrielle Angelique, Duchess of La Valette and Epernon  · Antoine, Count of Moret · Jeanne Baptiste, Abess of Fontevraud  · Marie Henriette, Abess of Chelles Grandchildren Anne Marie Louise, Duchess of Montpensier  · Marguerite Louise, Grand Duchess of Tuscany  · Élisabeth Marguerite, Duchess of Alençon and Angoulême  · Françoise Madeleine, Duchess of Savoy  · Princess Marie Anne  · Gaston, Duke of Valois  · Louis XIV of France  · Philippe, Duke of Orléans   Louis XIII of France Spouse(s) HRH Infanta Ana Maria Mauricia of Spain*** Children Louis XIV of France  · Philippe I, Duke of Orléans Grandchildren Louis, Dauphin of France  · Princess Anne Élisabeth  · Princess Marie Anne  · Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale  · Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou · Louis François, Duke of Anjou  · Marie Louise, Queen of Spain  · Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois  · Anne Marie, Queen of Sardinia  · Alexandre Louise, Duke of Valois  · Philippe Charles, Duke of Orléans  · Élisabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Lorraine Great grandchildren Louis, Duke of Burgundy  · King Felipe of Spain  · Charles, Duke of Berry  · Louis, Duke of Orléans   Louis XIV of France Spouse(s) HRH Infanta María Teresa of Spain***  · Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon Children Louis, Dauphin of France  · Princess Anne Élisabeth  · Princess Marie Anne  · Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale  · Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou · Louis François, Duke of Anjou Illegitimate Children Charles de Bourbon  · Philippe de Bourbon  · Marie Anne, Princess of Conti  · Louis, Count of Vermandois  · Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine  · Louis César, Count of Vexin  · Louise Françoise, Princess of Condé  · Louise Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Tours  · Françoise Marie, Duchess of Orléans  · Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse  · Louise, Baroness of La Queue Grandchildren Louis, Duke of Burgundy  · King Felipe of Spain  · Charles, Duke of Berry Great grandchildren Louis, Duke of Brittany  · Louis, Duke of Brittany  · Louis XV of France  · Louis I of Spain*  · Felipe of Spain*  · Felipe of Spain*  · Ferdinand VI of Spain*  · Charles III of Spain*  · Francisco of Spain*  · Mariana Víctoria, Queen of Portugal*  · Philip, Duke of Parma*  · Maria Teresa Rafaela, Dauphine of France*  · Luis, Count of Chinchón*  · Maria Antonietta, Queen of Sardinia*  · Louise de Berry  · Charles, Duke of Alençon  · Marie Louise Élisabeth de Berry   Louis XV of France Spouse(s) Maria Carolina Sophia Felicity Leszczyńska Children Marie Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Parma  · Princess Henriette Anne  · Princess Marie Louise  · Louis, Dauphin of France  · Philippe, Duke of Anjou  · Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Louvois  · Princess Victoire  · Sophie Philippine, Duchess of Louvois  · Princess Thérèse Félicité  · Princess Louise Marie Grandchildren Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale  · Princess Marie Zéphyrine  · Louis, Duke of Burgundy  · Xavier, Duke of Aquitaine  · Louis XVI of France  · Louis XVIII of France  · Charles X of France  · Clothilde, Queen of Sardinia  · Princess Élisabeth Illegitimate children included Charles de Vintimille  · Agathe Louise de Saint-Antoine  · Philippe, Duke of Narbonne-Lara  · Louis, Count of Narbonne-Lara   Louis XVI of France Spouse(s) HI&RH Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria** Children Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême  · Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France  · Louis XVII of France  · Princess Sophie Hélène   Louis XVII of France Note Louis had no children; he died aged 10 in 1795. His uncle, future Louis XVIII of France proclaimed himself regent but both titles were disputed. See Bourbon Restoration.   Louis XVIII of France Spouse(s) HRH Princess Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy   Charles X of France Spouse(s) HRH Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy Children Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême  · Sophie, Mademoiselle  · Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry Grandchildren Princess Louise Élisabeth  · Prince Louis  · Louise Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Parma  · Henri, Count of Chambord *also an Infante or Infanta of Spain **also an Archduchess of Austria ***both

v • d • e Pretenders to the French Throne since 1792 Monarchy in Exile (1792–1815) 1792 Louis XVI 1793 Louis XVII 1795 Louis XVIII 1814 1815 Legitimist Pretenders (1830–present) 1830 Charles X 1836 Louis XIX 1844 Henri V 1883 Jean III 1887 Charles XI 1909 Jacques I 1931 Alphonse I 1936 Alphonse II 1941 Jacques II 1975 Alphonse III 1989 Louis XX present Orléanist Pretenders (1848–present) 1848 Louis-Philippe I 1850 Philippe VII (or Louis-Philippe II) 1894 Philippe VIII 1926 Jean III 1940 Henri VI 1999 Henri VII present Bonapartist Prince Imperial (1814–present) 1814 1815 Napoléon I 1821 Napoléon II 1832 Joseph 1844 Louis 1846 Napoléon III (Emperor 1852–1870) 1873 Napoléon IV Eugene 1879 Napoléon V Victor 1926 Napoléon VI Louis 1997 Napoléon VII Charles/Napoléon VIII Jean-Christophe present (disputed) Bonapartist Prince Canino (1832–1924) 1832 Lucien I 1840 Charles 1857 Joseph 1865 Lucien II 1895 Napoléon III Charles 1899 Roland 1924