Charles X of France Facts & Worksheets

PERSONAL LIFE

• In November 1773, Charles married Princess Marie Thérèse of Savoy. Both were only sixteen years old. Their marriage was arranged to strengthen the friendship between France and the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1775, they had their first son, Louis Antoine, who became Duke of Angoulême. Three years later, in 1778, their second son, Charles Ferdinand, was born and given the title Duke of Berry.
• Many people at court thought Charles was the most handsome member of the royal family. His wife, however, was not considered beautiful, and Charles soon became known for his many love affairs. He had several romantic relationships, including one with Anne Victoire Dervieux, a famous actress, and later a long and loving partnership with Louise de Polastron, who remained close to him for the rest of his life.
• Charles was also a close friend of Queen Marie Antoinette. They met when she first came to France in 1770 and often acted together in plays at her private theatre in the Petit Trianon. Gossip in Paris falsely claimed they were lovers, but they were simply good friends who enjoyed the same lively social circle.
• Charles’s playful nature sometimes caused trouble. In 1778, at a masked ball, he argued with the Duchess of Bourbon and, in anger, pulled her nose. Her husband, the Prince of Condé, challenged him to a duel, and Charles was slightly hurt in the hand. The event became famous as the “Incident at the Opera Ball.”
• Although he lived wildly when young, Charles was also religious and loyal to his family. After his wife’s death in 1805 and many years spent in exile, he became more serious and devoted to his faith. 

CHARLES X'S ROLE DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789–1799)

• Before the French Revolution began, France was already in serious financial trouble. By 1786, the country was nearly bankrupt after fighting expensive wars, such as the Seven Years’ War and the American War of Independence. Charles, then the Count of Artois, believed that France’s money problems needed fixing, but he did not want to change the old system of government. He agreed that the rich nobles should pay more taxes, but he wanted to keep the special rights of the Church and the nobility. He said that France needed “repair, not demolition.”
• In 1789, King Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates-General to discuss how to solve the financial crisis. It was the first time this assembly had met in more than 150 years. Charles and his sister Élisabeth were among the most conservative members of the royal family. They opposed the Third Estate (the group representing common people) when it asked for more power. His brother even joked that Charles was “more royalist than the king,” meaning he was stricter and more traditional than Louis XVI himself.
• Charles soon got involved in court politics. With Baron de Breteuil, he tried to remove the king’s finance minister, Jacques Necker, who wanted more reforms. But Charles acted too soon as he pushed for Necker’s dismissal on 11 July 1789. This helped lead to the storming of the Bastille three days later.
• Charles left France on 17 July 1789, with the king’s permission. While it looked like he was escaping danger, Louis XVI wanted his brother free to act as a representative of the monarchy abroad if things got worse. Charles first went to Savoy, his wife’s home country, and later to Trier in Germany.
• From exile, Charles worked with other royalists to try to restore the monarchy. He joined his brother Louis, Count of Provence and the Princes of Condé. They gathered supporters and soldiers and asked for help from other European rulers, like the King of Prussia and the Holy Roman Emperor. These rulers signed the Declaration of Pillnitz in 1791, which called on other countries to help the French royal family.
• After the royal family’s failed escape from Paris (the Flight to Varennes) in 1791, Charles continued his plans from abroad. But in 1792, the French government declared all nobles who had fled the country traitors and took away their lands. Later that year, the monarchy was abolished, and in 1793, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed.
• Charles escaped to Great Britain, where King George III gave him money and a place to live. He stayed in Edinburgh and London with his companion, Louise de Polastron. His brother Louis XVIII moved to Italy and later to Latvia, and Charles often sent him money and support. By the end of the 1790s, Charles had lost his home, his power, and many of his loved ones.

RETURN AND REIGN OF CHARLES X OF FRANCE (1814–1830)

• After many years in exile, Charles returned to France in 1814 when Napoleon Bonaparte’s power was collapsing. He secretly left London and joined the armies fighting Napoleon in southern France. His brother, Louis XVIII, who was in poor health, made Charles Lieutenant General of the Kingdom, meaning he could act in the king’s place. When Paris was captured on 31 March 1814, Napoleon gave up the throne soon after. The Bourbon family returned to power, and Charles ruled as regent until Louis XVIII came back from England. During this short time, Charles set up a secret royalist police that reported only to him.
• When Louis XVIII became king, the people of Paris welcomed him warmly. On the advice of France’s allies, he created a new constitution, the Charter of 1814, which gave the country a parliament, allowed freedom of religion, and let some citizens vote. But after Napoleon’s brief return to power in 1815, royalists took revenge on those who had supported him. Thousands of officials lost their jobs, and violence spread across southern France. This period became known as the White Terror.
• As heir to the throne, Charles became a strong supporter of the ultra-royalists (people who wanted the king to have full power again and to restore the influence of the Church and nobles). He often argued with his brother’s more liberal ministers and even threatened to leave France if they were not dismissed.
• In 1820, Charles’s younger son, the Duke of Berry, was murdered outside the Paris Opera. This raised worries about the royal family’s future because Charles’s older son had no children. However, a few months later, the Duke of Berry’s widow gave birth to a son, Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, also called the Count of Chambord. This brought hope to royalists.
• When Louis XVIII died in 1824, Charles became King Charles X at the age of sixty-six. He was the last king from the Bourbon family. His coronation took place in Reims Cathedral in 1825, following old royal traditions. At first, Charles tried to appear fair and even ended press censorship. But he soon became more conservative and gave power to the ultra-royalists. In 1825, he approved two unpopular laws: one that gave large payments to nobles whose lands were taken during the Revolution, and another that punished offences against the Church.
• These decisions made Charles very unpopular, especially in Paris, where many people wanted more freedom and less royal control. When Parisians shouted against his ministers during a parade in 1827, Charles angrily disbanded the National Guard, which increased public anger.