46 Facts About Charles X

Charles X gained influence within the French court after the assassination of his son Charles X Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, in 1820 and succeeded his brother Louis XVIII in 1824.

Charles X approved the French conquest of Algeria as a way to distract his citizens from domestic problems, and forced Haiti to pay a hefty indemnity in return for lifting a blockade and recognizing Haiti's independence.

Charles X eventually appointed a conservative government under the premiership of Prince Jules de Polignac, who was defeated in the 1830 French legislative election.

Charles X was the last of the French rulers from the senior branch of the House of Bourbon.

Charles X Philippe of France was born in 1757, the youngest son of the Dauphin Louis and his wife, the Dauphine Marie Josephe, at the Palace of Versailles.

Charles X was created Count of Artois at birth by his grandfather, the reigning King Louis XV.

Charles X was raised in early childhood by Madame de Marsan, the Governess of the Children of France.

Three years later, in 1778, Charles X' second son, Charles X Ferdinand, was born and given the title of Duke of Berry.

Charles X was thought of as the most attractive member of his family, bearing a strong resemblance to his grandfather Louis XV.

Charles X's wife was considered quite ugly by most contemporaries, and he looked for company in numerous extramarital affairs.

Marie Antoinette played milkmaids, shepherdesses, and country ladies, whereas Charles X played lovers, valets, and farmers.

In 1775, Charles X purchased a small hunting lodge in the Bois de Boulogne.

Charles X soon had the existing house torn down with plans to rebuild.

Charles X engaged the neoclassical architect Francois-Joseph Belanger to design the building.

Charles X won his bet, with Belanger completing the house in sixty-three days.

In 1781, Charles X acted as a proxy for Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II at the christening of his godson, the Dauphin Louis Joseph.

Charles X'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 and needed fiscal reform to survive.

Charles X supported the removal of the aristocracy's financial privileges, but was opposed to any reduction in the social privileges enjoyed by either the Roman Catholic Church or the nobility.

Charles X believed that France's finances should be reformed without the monarchy being overthrown.

In conjunction with the Baron de Breteuil, Charles X had political alliances arranged to depose the liberal minister of finance, Jacques Necker.

Charles X's flight was historically attributed to personal fears for his own safety.

Charles X meanwhile left Turin and moved to Trier in Germany, where his uncle, Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, was the incumbent Archbishop-Elector.

Charles X prepared for a counter-revolutionary invasion of France, but a letter by Marie Antoinette postponed it until after the royal family had escaped from Paris and joined a concentration of regular troops under Francois Claude Amour, marquis de Bouille at Montmedy.

The Count of Provence was sending dispatches to various European sovereigns for assistance, while Charles X set up a court-in-exile in the Electorate of Trier.

Charles X lived in Edinburgh and London with his mistress Louise de Polastron.

In 1802, Charles X supported his brother with several thousand pounds.

In January 1814, Charles X covertly left his home in London to join the Coalition forces in southern France.

On several occasions, Charles X voiced his disapproval of his brother's liberal ministers and threatened to leave the country unless Louis XVIII dismissed them.

Charles X's birth was hailed as "God-given", and the people of France purchased for him the Chateau de Chambord in celebration of his birth.

The coronation of Charles X therefore appeared to be a compromise between the tradition of the Ancien Regime and the political changes that had taken place since the Revolution.

The reign of Charles X began with some liberal measures such as the abolition of press censorship, but the king renewed the term of Joseph de Villelle, president of the council since 1822, and gave the reins of government to the ultraroyalists.

Charles X got closer to the population by the trip he made to the north of France in September 1827, then to the east of France in September 1828.

Charles X was accompanied by his eldest son and heir-apparent, the Duke of Angouleme, now Dauphin of France.

Charles X gave his prime minister, Villelle lists of laws to be ratified in each parliament.

Charles X's government attempted to re-establish male-only primogeniture for families paying over 300 francs in tax, but this was voted down in the Chamber of Deputies.

That Charles X was not a popular ruler in the mostly-liberal minded urban Paris became apparent in April 1827, when chaos ensued during the king's review of the National Guard in Paris.

On 5 August 1829, Charles X dismissed Martignac and appointed Jules de Polignac, who lost his majority in parliament at the end of August, when the Chateaubriand faction defected.

On Marmont's request, the prime minister applied to the king, but Charles X refused all compromise and dismissed his ministers that afternoon, realizing the precariousness of the situation.

That evening, the members of the Chamber assembled at Jacques Laffitte's house and elected Louis Philippe d'Orleans to take the throne from King Charles X, proclaiming their decision on posters throughout the city.

Charles X then set out for the Trianon at five in the morning.

Later that day, after the arrival of the Duke of Angouleme from Saint-Cloud with his troops, Charles X ordered a departure for Rambouillet, where they arrived shortly before midnight.

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 repaid in full.

However, the family was able to use money Charles X's wife had deposited in London.

Charles X refused the Duchess' demands, but after protests from his other daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Angouleme, he acquiesced.

Charles X was interred in the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady, in the Franciscan Kostanjevica Monastery, where his remains lie in a crypt with those of his family.

Charles X is the only King of France to be buried outside the country.