The last French monarch with the royal title of Louis Philippe ruled the country from 1830 to 1848. He was a representative of one of the lateral branches of the Bourbons. His era is also known in history as the July Monarchy.
Childhood and youth
Louis Philippe was born in Paris in 1773. He received an extensive education, as well as liberal habits and attitudes. His youth was at the beginning of the Great French Revolution. Like his father, the young man joined the Jacobins. He joined the army and participated in several important battles, for example, at the Battle of Valmi in 1792.
Thanks to his noble birth, Louis Philippe received the title of Duke at birth. With the beginning of the revolution, he abandoned him, considering him a relic of the past, and became an ordinary citizen with the names of Egalite. This saved him from the disgrace of the republic, when a decree was issued on the expulsion of all the Bourbons from France. However, then General Charles Dumourier cheated on the government. Louis Philippe also fought under his command, although he did not take part in the conspiracy. Nevertheless, he had to leave the country.
In exile
At first he lived in Switzerland, where he became a teacher. Later he traveled the world: he was in Scandinavia and spent several years in the USA. In 1800, a fugitive representative of the Orleans House settled in the UK, whose government appointed him a pension. This was a frequent occurrence in what was then Europe. All monarchies opposed republican France and defiantly received disgraced citizens of this country.
Bourbon Restoration
After the fall of Napoleon, the Bourbons were restored. King Louis XVIII returned his relative to the court. At the same time, Louis Philippe did not enjoy the confidence of the monarchists. He was not forgotten by his liberal convictions of his youth, when he, along with his father, sided with the republic. Nevertheless, the king returned to the relative the property of his family, which was confiscated during the revolution.
The return of Napoleon, who left Elba, was taken by surprise of the Bourbons. Louis-Philippe was appointed commander of the northern army, but he transferred his post to Mortier, and he went to the UK. When the Hundred Days ended, the aristocrat returned to Paris, where he ended up in the House of Peers. There he publicly opposed the reactionary policies of the king, for which he was expelled from the country for several years. Nevertheless, the exile soon returned to the country. Under Louis, he became significantly wealthy and became an influential political figure. Many oppositionists dissatisfied with the then monarch considered him as a possible candidate for the throne.
The revolution in 1830
When the next unrest began in the capital related to the protest against the Bourbons, Louis Philippe chose to leave and not make any statements. Nevertheless, his many supporters did not sit idle. They organized widespread agitation for the Duke of Orleans. Colorful proclamations and brochures appeared on the streets of Paris that emphasized the merits of Louis Philippe to the country. Deputies and the interim government declared him "viceroy of the kingdom."
Only then did the duke appear in Paris. Having learned about these events, the still legitimate king Charles X wrote a letter to Louis Philippe, in which he agreed to abdicate in case the throne passes to his son. The Duke informed Parliament about this, but did not mention the additional conditions of Bourbon. On August 9, 1830, Louis Philippe 1 accepted the crown that the Chamber of Deputies proposed to him.
King King
Thus began the reign of the “King Citizen." This nickname Louis Philippe, whose biography was very different from past monarchs, received quite deservedly. The main feature of the new political regime was the leadership of the bourgeoisie. This social layer has received all the freedoms and opportunities for its own self-realization.
One of the most famous symbols of the reign of Louis Philippe was the slogan “Get rich!”. This phrase was uttered in 1843 by François Guizot - French Foreign Minister. The appeal was directed to the bourgeoisie, which now could freely earn capital.
A brief biography of Louis Philippe also contains numerous facts that he was distinguished by a love of money. In this, he looked like the very middle class that brought him to power.
The state ceased to intervene in the market economy, which now dominated all of France. This policy was similar to the course adopted in the USA from the very beginning (in general, the American Revolution had a huge impact on the July monarchy). The principle of laissez-faire non-interference of the state in the economic agenda has become fundamental for Louis Philippe and his government.
The revolution in 1848
Every year, Louis Philippe's popularity has fallen. This was due to the reactionary policy against the discontented. Louis Philippe, a photo with which is found in every textbook of French history, eventually abandoned liberal politics and began to infringe on civil rights and freedoms. In addition, corruption reigned in the state apparatus. The last straw for the bourgeoisie was the foreign policy of the king. He joined the Holy Union (it also included Prussia, Russia and Austria). His goal was the return to Europe of the old order that took place before the French Revolution in 1789.
Barricades appeared in Paris after they banned another banquet at which the liberal public gathered to discuss electoral reform. This happened in February 1848. Soon bloodshed began, the guards shot people.
Against this background, the government of the unpopular minister Guizot was the first to resign. On February 24, Louis Philippe abdicated, not wanting to start a civil war. In France, the period of the Second Republic began. Already the former king emigrated to the UK, where he died in 1850.