Louis XVIII

(1755-1824)

   king of France

   King of France from 1814 to 1824, Louis XVIII was born at Versailles, the grandson of louis XV and brother to louis XVI and the count of Artois (later charles x). He was first known as the count of Provence and as "Monsieur" on the accession of his brother. Married in 1771 to Marie-Joséphine of Savoy, he had no children. More intelligent than either of his brothers, he was also popular and, after the revolution of 1789, remained in Paris. In 1791, however, he was forced to leave France, joining the count of Artois and other émigrés at Koblenz, Germany. After the execution of Louis XVI in January, he took the title of regent and, after the death of the dauphin in 1795, that of king as Louis XVIII. During the course of his exile, and because of the victories of the revolutionary and then the imperial French forces, he was forced to relocate frequently, but he never ceased to work for the restoration of the French monarchy. He sent agents to the Midi and the Vendée and made contact with paul barras and napoléon i to further this end. And he renewed diplomatic efforts after Napoleon's initial defeats. In 1814, with the support of Britain and a provisional government headed by talleyrand, he was recalled to power at the same time that the Senate voted for the overthrow of Napoléon I (April 1814). Landing at Calais in late April, he was installed in the Tuileries and, on June 4, 1814, signed the Constitutional Charter, establishing a constitutional monarchy in France. This first restoration, however, was interrupted by Napoléon's return of the hundred days, during which Louis XVIII again went into exile. Returning after Napoléon's second abdication, Louis XVIII, as king, signed the Constitutional Charter and issued the proclamation of Saint-ouen, which explained that the charter sought to reconcile the Revolution and the Empire with the restored monarchy, founded on the maxim that he "must not be the king of two peoples." Influenced by his liberal minister élie decazes, he tried to extend the franchise and relax censorship. But after 1820, he was increasingly dominated by his reactionary brother, who succeeded him in 1824 as King Charles X.