Louis Philippe I - The PENULTIMATE Monarch Of France

Louis-Philippe I of France was born in the Palais-Royal in Paris on October 6, 1773 to Louis-Philippe, Duc de Chartres, and Louise-Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon. He was a descendant of Philippe d'Orléans, brother of Louis XIV, and of the regent Philippe II d'Orléans. Louis-Philippe was baptized on May 12, 1779. Like his father, the Duc d'Orléans, also known as Philippe Égalité, the young Louis-Philippe was a supporter of the French Revolution. Louis-Philippe joined the Jacobin club under the influence of his governess, Stéphanie Félicité, the Comtesse de Genly. During the French Revolutionary Wars, Louis-Philippe joined the Revolutionary Army and he took part in the battles of Valmy, Gemap, and Néruynden under the command of Charles-François Dumouriez. In 1793, Louis-Philippe tried to persuade his father not to participate in the trial against Louis XVI. His father, however, did not only participate, but voted in favor of the execution of the king, a decision that would haunt Louis-Philippe for the rest of his life. In April 1793, Louis-Philippe allied himself with his enemies and was accused of conspiring against his country, forcing him to flee and live under a false identity so as not to be recognized. As a result of his betrayal, his father and his two brothers, Louis-Charles and Antoine-Philippe, were imprisoned in the Fort Saint-Jean in Marseille. Following these events, Louis-Philippe had to live a life in exile for over 20 years. As his father had voted in favor of the execution of Louis XVI, the royalist emigrants wanted nothing to do with Louis-Philippe. In order to survive, Louis-Philippe found work as a teacher in a school in Reichenau, Switzerland. On November 6, 1793, Louis-Philippe's father was executed and Louis-Philippe inherited the title of Duc d'Orléans, which strengthened his dynastic ambitions. In 1796, the two younger brothers of Louis-Philippe, Louis-Charles and Antoine-Philippe, were released on the condition that they'd emigrate to the United States. Louis-Philippe joined his brothers to Philadelphia. In 1800, Louis-Philippe and his brothers returned to Europe and settled in England. Between 1804 and 1814, during the Napoleonic period, Louis-Philippe reconciled the House of Orléans with Louis XVIII, the exiled French king. In 1809, he moved to Sicily and married Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily, daughter of King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Maria Carolina of Austria. The couple settled in the Orléans Palace in Palermo and had 10 children together. Ferdinand-Philippe, who married the Duchess Hélène of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Louise-Marie, who married King Leopold I of Belgium, Marie, who married Duke Alexander of Württemberg, Louis, who married Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Françoise-Louise-Caroline, who died at the age of two, Clémentine, who married Auguste of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, François, who married Francisca of Brazil, Charles, who died at the age of eight, Henri, who married Carolina Augusta of the two Sicilies, and Antoine, who married Louisa Fernanda, the Duchess of Montpensier. When Louis XVIII was restored to the throne in 1814, Louis-Philippe returned to France, where he recovered some property and joined the liberal opposition. After the death of Louis XVIII, Charles X granted Louis-Philippe the rank of Royal Highness. In July 1830 a rebellion took place which overthrew the new monarchy. After a revision of the constitution, Louis-Philippe was proclaimed king through the French National Assembly and gained support from the upper bourgeoisie. Regarded as a constitutional monarchy, his reign favoured the bourgeoisie at a time when the French nation was beginning the process of the industrial revolution. His reign represents the golden age of the French bourgeoisie, years in which liberal and nationalist principles triumphed. But the democratic appearance of the new government gradually disappeared and the regime hardened in order to repress republican opposition and the growing unease of the working classes. Louis-Philippe faced several rebellions favouring the return of the Bourbons and the Republicans, including Bonapartists, led by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the future Napoleon III. Due to the various attempts on his life, Louis-Philippe had to apply severe measures restricting liberties. Industrialization and urban growth gave new characteristics to the republican movement and the economic crisis of 1846 precipitated the revolution of 1848. After 17 years of reign, the king was forced to abdicate on February 24, 1848, in favour of his grandson Philippe d'Orléans. Considering the fate of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, Louis-Philippe fled Paris travelling in a commoner's carriage under the name of Mr. Smith. The deposed king embarked a liner bound for England on March 2, 1848. Meanwhile, the revolutionaries refused to recognize Louis-Philippe's grandson Philippe as successor to the throne and they proclaimed the Second French Republic. During elections that followed, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was elected president. In 1851 he declared himself president for life and within a year proclaimed himself Emperor Napoléon III and restored the concept of a Napoleonic Empire. Louis-Philippe lived out a remainder of his life with his family in Clermont Castle in Surrey, a residence provided to him by Queen Victoria of England. The last king of the French, Louis-Philippe I, died there on August 28, 1850, and was buried in the church of Saint Charles Borromeo in Surrey. In 1876 his remains and the remains of his wife Maria Amalia were transferred to the crypt of the House of Orléans, which was built in 1816 by Louis-Philippe's mother. Thank you for watching.