Blog category: Bourbon restoration
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When an Englishman Met a Napoleonic Captain in Restoration France
September 18, 2020
After Napoleon was exiled to Elba in 1814, English visitors flocked across the English Channel, eager to see Paris now that France was under the rule of England’s ally, King Louis XVIII. One of those making the trip was British journalist John Scott, who left the following account.
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What did the Duke of Wellington think of Louis XVIII?
June 2, 2017
Though Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, is usually associated with Napoleon Bonaparte, he had an equally large impact on Napoleon’s successor, King Louis XVIII. It was thanks to Wellington’s and Prussian Field Marshal von Blücher’s victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 that Louis XVIII, a member of the House of Bourbon, regained the throne of France. While Louis had a pronounced fondness for the British field marshal, Wellington thought rather less of the French king.
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Watching French Royals Eat: The Grand Couvert
December 9, 2016
The grand couvert was a ceremony in which French kings and queens ate their dinner in front of members of the public. When Napoleon became Emperor of the French, he re-introduced the custom.
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Charles Fabvier: Napoleonic Soldier & Greek Hero
April 15, 2016
Charles Fabvier was a hotheaded French soldier who began his career under Napoleon Bonaparte. After Napoleon’s defeat, Fabvier tried working for King Louis XVIII. He was so outraged by ultra-royalist excesses that he wound up plotting against the crown. A disastrous attempt to subvert the French army at the Bidassoa River led to Fabvier being branded as a traitor. He salvaged his career by serving with distinction in the Greek War of Independence. Fabvier finished his days as a respected French politician and diplomat. He even gets a mention in War and Peace.
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The 1823 French Invasion of Spain
September 11, 2015
In 1823, France invaded Spain to restore absolutist King Ferdinand VII to the throne. It was a huge deal at the time, both in Europe and the Americas.
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Joseph de Villèle, the Least Unreasonable Ultra-Royalist
August 28, 2015
Joseph de Villèle served as prime minister of France from 1822 to 1828 under Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X. Often vilified as an ultra-royalist, Villèle tried to steer a prudent course between the far right and the political centre, and was the architect of a sound economic policy. Although Villèle was a capable politician, it is said that “outside of business, [he] was incapable of sustaining a conversation.”
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Restoration Policeman & Spymaster Guy Delavau
August 21, 2015
Guy Delavau, the police chief who interrogates Pierre Viriot in Napoleon in America, presided over an elaborate and inefficient network to spy on suspected enemies of Bourbon rule during the Second Restoration. Those targeted range from the exalted, such as the Marquis de Lafayette, to the lowly, many of them innocent of wrongdoing.
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The Count of Artois: Charles X of France
January 31, 2014
Charles Philippe, the Count of Artois – later Charles X of France – was a wastrel and a reactionary whose behaviour helped to discredit French royalty. Known as the “Don Juan” of Versailles, he became a royal pain in the side of his brother, King Louis XVIII.
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Louis XVIII of France: Oyster Louis
January 24, 2014
Louis XVIII le Desiré (the Desired), King of France. was born in the wrong place and time. He had to flee his country as his brother and sister-in-law were guillotined in the French Revolution. He then spent years shuffling around Europe while Napoleon ran France.
We must confess that fate, which sports with man, makes merry work with the affairs of this world.
Napoleon Bonaparte