Editing Charles X of France (section)

==Reign==

=== Ascension and Coronation ===
{{Main|Coronation of Charles X}}
Charles' brother King Louis XVIII's health had been worsening since the beginning of 1824.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lever |first=Évelyne |title=Louis XVIII |date=1988 |publisher=Librairie Arthème Fayard |location=Paris |page=553 |lang=fr}}</ref> Having both [[gangrene|dry and wet gangrene]] in his legs and spine, he died on 16 September of that year, aged almost 69. Charles, by now aged 66, succeeded him to the throne as King Charles X.<ref>Price, pp. 113–115.</ref> On 29 May 1825, King Charles was anointed at the cathedral of [[Reims]], the traditional site of [[Coronation of the French monarch|consecration of French kings]]; it had been unused since 1775, as Louis XVIII had forgone the ceremony to avoid controversy and because his health was too precarious.<ref name="Price119">Price, pp. 119–121.</ref> It was in the venerable cathedral of Notre-Dame at Paris that Napoleon had consecrated his [[First French Empire|revolutionary empire]]; but in ascending the throne of his ancestors, Charles reverted to the old place of coronation used by the kings of France from the early ages of the monarchy.<ref name="Redhead2012">{{Cite book |last=Redhead |first=T. W. |title=The French Revolutions |date=January 2012 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-8640-3428-2 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DIZjqeZFsloC&pg=RA2-PA176 176]}}</ref> The last coronation to be held there was the [[Coronation of Louis XVI]] in 1775. 

[[File:Coronation of Charles X of France by François Gérard, circa 1827.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Coronation of Charles X]]'' by [[François Gérard]]. Consecration of Charles X as King of France in the Cathedral of Reims|400x400px]]
[[File:Palais du Tau - manteau du sacre de Charles X.jpg|thumb|Coronation robe of King Charles X. Preserved in the palais du Tau in Reims (Marne, France).]]
Like the regime of the Restoration itself, the coronation was conceived as a compromise between the monarchical tradition and the [[Charter of 1814]]: it took up the main phases of traditional ceremonial such as the seven anointings or the oaths on the Gospels, all by associating with it the oath of fidelity taken by the King to the Charter of 1814 or the participation of the great princes in the ceremonial as assistants of the Archbishop of Reims.

A commission was charged with simplifying and modernizing the ceremony and making it compatible with the principles of the monarchy according to the Charter (deletion of the promises of struggle against heretics and infidels, of the twelve peers, of references to Hebrew royalty, etc.) – it lasted three and a half hours.

In fact, the choice of the coronation was applauded by the royalists in favor of a constitutional and parliamentary monarchy and not only by those nostalgic for the Ancien Régime; the fact that the ceremony was modernized and adapted to new times encouraged [[François-René de Chateaubriand|Chateaubriand]], a non-absolutist royalist and enthusiastic supporter of the Charter of 1814, to invite the king to be crowned. In the [[brochure]] ''The King is Dead! Long live the king!''&nbsp;Chateaubriand explains that a coronation would have being the "link in the chain which united the oath of the new monarchy to the oath of the old monarchy"; it is continuity with the Ancien Régime more than its return that the royalists extol, Charles X having inherited the qualities of his ancestors: "pious like [[Louis IX of France|Saint Louis]], affable, compassionate and vigilant like [[Louis XII]], courteous like [[Francis I of France|Francis I]], frank as [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]]".

The coronation showed that dynastic continuity went hand in hand with political continuity; for Chateaubriand: "The current constitution is only the rejuvenated text of the code of our old franchises".

This coronation took several days: the May 28, vespers ceremony;&nbsp; May 29, ceremony of the coronation itself, chaired by the Archbishop of Reims, [[Jean-Baptiste de Latil|Mgr. Jean-Baptiste de Latil]], in the presence in particular of Chateaubriand, [[Alphonse de Lamartine|Lamartine]], [[Victor Hugo]], and a large audience; May 30, award ceremony for the Knights of the [[Order of the Holy Spirit]] and finally, May 31, the [[Royal touch|Royal touch of scrofula]].[[File:Charles X, King of France - Lawrence 1825.jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of Charles X]]'' by [[Thomas Lawrence]] 1825. Commissioned by the British king [[George IV]] it now hangs in [[Windsor Castle]].]]

The coronation of Charles X therefore appeared to be a compromise between the tradition of the Ancien Régime and the political changes that had taken place since the Revolution. The coronation nevertheless had a limited influence on the population, mentalities no longer being those of yesteryear. From then on, the coronation caused incomprehension in certain sectors of public opinion.

It was [[Luigi Cherubini]] who composed the music for the [[Coronation Mass]]. For the occasion, the composer [[Gioachino Rossini]] composed the Opera ''[[Il viaggio a Reims|Il Viaggio a Reims]].''

=== Domestic policies ===
[[File:Médaille Charles X.jpg|thumb|Medal engraved by Alexis-Joseph Depaulis with, on the reverse, Charles X's oath on the Constitutional Charter, September 17, 1824.]]
Like Napoleon and then Louis XVIII before him, Charles X resided mainly at the [[Tuileries Palace]] and, in summer, at the [[Château de Saint-Cloud]], two buildings that no longer exist today. Occasionally he stayed at the [[Château de Compiègne]] and the [[Palace of Fontainebleau|Château de Fontainebleau]], while the Palace of Versailles, where he was born, remained uninhabited.

The reign of Charles <abbr>X</abbr> began with some liberal measures such as the abolition of press censorship, but the king renewed the term of [[Joseph de Villèle|Joseph de Villèlle]], president of the council since 1822, and gave the reins of government to the [[Ultra-royalist|ultraroyalists]].

He got closer to the population by the trip he made to the north of France in September 1827,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1827 |title=King's journey to the Saint-Omer camp and in the northern departments , Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1827, p. 237 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k28479p.texteImage |journal=Imprimerie Royale}}</ref> then to the east of France in September 1828.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1828 |title=King's trip to the eastern departments and to the Lunéville maneuver camp , Paris, Imprimerie Royale,1828, III + 213 p. |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4259115/f2.item.texteImage |journal=Imprimerie Royale,1828}}</ref> He was accompanied by his eldest son and heir-apparent, the Duke of Angoulême, now [[Dauphin of France]].

In his first act as king, Charles attempted to bring comity to the House of Bourbon by granting the style of [[Royal Highness]] to his cousins of the [[House of Orléans]], a title denied by Louis XVIII because of the former Duke of Orléans' vote for the death of Louis XVI.

Charles gave his prime minister, Villèlle lists of laws to be ratified in each parliament. In April 1825, the government approved legislation originally proposed by Louis XVIII to pay an [[indemnity]] (the ''[[biens nationaux]]'') to nobles whose estates had been confiscated during the Revolution.<ref name="Price116" /> The law gave approximately 988 million [[francs]] worth of government bonds to those who had lost their lands, in exchange for their renunciation of their ownership. In the same month, the [[Anti-Sacrilege Act]] was passed. Charles'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.<ref name="Price116">Price, pp. 116–118.</ref>

That Charles 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 (France)|National Guard]] in Paris. In retaliation, the National Guard was disbanded but, as its members were not disarmed, it remained a potential threat.<ref name="Price119" /> After losing his parliamentary majority in a general election in November 1827, Charles dismissed Prime Minister Villèle on 5 January 1828 and appointed [[Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac|Jean-Baptise de Martignac]], a man the king disliked and thought of only as provisional. On 5 August 1829, Charles dismissed Martignac and appointed [[Jules de Polignac]], who, however, lost his majority in parliament at the end of August, when the Chateaubriand faction defected. Regardless, Polignac retained power and refused to recall the Chambers until March 1830.<ref name="Price122">Price, pp. 122–128.</ref>

===Conquest of Algeria===
{{Main|Invasion of Algiers in 1830}}
{{See also|Shipwreck of Dellys}}
On 31 January 1830, the Polignac government decided to send a military expedition to Algeria to end the threat of Algerian pirates to [[Mediterranean]] trade, hoping also to increase his government's popularity through a military victory. The pretext for the war was an outrage by the [[Dey|Viceroy of Algeria]], who had struck the French consul with the handle of his [[Fly-killing device|fly swat]] in a rage over French failure to pay debts from [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|Napoleon's invasion of Egypt]].<ref name="Price122" /> French troops occupied Algiers on 5 July.<ref name="Price136">Price, pp. 136–138.</ref>

===July Revolution===
{{Main|July Revolution}}
[[File:CHARLES X IN THE ROLE OF THE GREAT NUTCRACKER.jpg|thumb|THE GREAT NUTCRACKER OF JULY 25th.  In this caricature Charles X attempts to break a billiard ball marked "charter" with his teeth, but finds the nut too hard to crack.]]
The Chambers convened on 2 March 1830, but Charles's opening speech was greeted by negative reactions from many deputies. Some introduced a bill requiring the King's minister to obtain the support of the Chambers, and on 18 March,&nbsp;221 deputies, a majority of 30, voted in favor. However, the King had already decided to hold general elections, and the chamber was suspended on 19 March.<ref>Price, pp. 130–132.</ref>

The elections of 23 June did not produce a majority favorable to the government. On 6 July, the king and his ministers decided to suspend the constitution, as provided for in Article 14 of the Charter in case of emergency. On 25 July, at the [[Château de Saint-Cloud|royal residence]] in [[Saint-Cloud]], Charles issued four [[July Ordinances|ordinances]] that [[Censorship|censored the press]], [[Dissolution of parliament|dissolved]] the newly elected chamber, altered the [[electoral system]], and called for elections under the new system in September.<ref name="Price136" />

The Ordinances were intended to quell the popular discontent but had the opposite effect. Journalists gathered in protest at the headquarters of the ''[[Le National (newspaper)|National]]'' daily, founded in January 1830 by [[Adolphe Thiers]], [[Armand Carrel]], and others. On Monday, 26 July, the government newspaper ''[[Le Moniteur Universel]]'' published the ordinances, and Thiers published a call to revolt signed by forty-three journalists:<ref>Castelot, André, ''Charles X'', Librairie Académique Perrin, Paris, 1988, p. 454 {{ISBN|2-2620-0545-1}}</ref>
"The legal regime has been interrupted: that of force has begun... Obedience ceases to be a duty!"<ref>''Le régime légal est interrompu; celui de la force a commencé... L'obéissance cesse d'être un devoir!''</ref> In the evening, crowds assembled in the gardens of the [[Palais-Royal]], shouting "Down with the Bourbons!" and "Long live the Charter!". As the police closed off the gardens, the crowd regrouped in a nearby street where they shattered [[Street light|streetlamps]].<ref>Price, pp. 141–142.</ref>

The next morning of 27 July, police [[Police raid|raided]] and shut down newspapers including ''[[Le National (Paris)|Le National]]''. When the protesters, who had re-entered the Palais-Royal gardens, heard of this, they threw stones at the soldiers, prompting them to shoot. By evening, the city was in chaos and shops were looted. On 28 July, the rioters began to erect barricades in the streets. [[Auguste de Marmont|Marshal Marmont]], who had been called in the day before to remedy the situation, took the offensive, but some of his men defected to the rioters, and by afternoon he had to retreat to the [[Tuileries Palace]].<ref>Price, pp. 151–154, 157.</ref>

The members of the Chamber of Deputies sent a five-man delegation to Marmont, urging him to advise the king to assuage the protesters by revoking the four Ordinances. On Marmont's request, the prime minister applied to the king, but Charles 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 I|Louis Philippe d'Orléans]] to take the throne from King Charles, proclaiming their decision on posters throughout the city. By the end of the day, the authority of Charles' government had evaporated.<ref>Price, pp. 158, 161–163.</ref>

A few minutes after midnight on 31 July, warned by General Gresseau that Parisians were planning to attack the Saint-Cloud residence, Charles X decided to seek refuge in Versailles with his family and the court, with the exception of the Duke of Angoulême, who stayed behind with the troops, and the Duchess of Angoulême, who was taking the waters at [[Vichy]]. Meanwhile, in Paris, Louis Philippe assumed the post of Lieutenant General of the Kingdom.<ref>Price, pp. 173–176.</ref> Charles' road to Versailles was filled with disorganized troops and deserters. The Marquis de Vérac, governor of the Palace of Versailles, came to meet the king before the royal [[cortège]] entered the town, to tell him that the palace was not safe, as the Versailles national guards wearing the revolutionary tricolor were occupying the ''Place d'Armes''. Charles then set out for the [[Grand Trianon|Trianon]] at five in the morning.<ref>Castelot, ''Charles X'', p. 482.</ref> Later that day, after the arrival of the Duke of Angoulême from Saint-Cloud with his troops, Charles ordered a departure for [[Château de Rambouillet|Rambouillet]], where they arrived shortly before midnight. On the morning of 1 August, the Duchess of Angoulême, who had rushed from Vichy after learning of events, arrived at [[Rambouillet]].

The following day, 2 August, King Charles X abdicated, bypassing his son the Dauphin in favor of his grandson [[Henri, Count of Chambord|Henry, Duke of Bordeaux]], who was not yet ten years old. At first, the Duke of Angoulême (the Dauphin) refused to countersign the document renouncing his rights to the throne of France. According to the Duchess of Maillé, "there was a strong altercation between the father and the son. We could hear their voices in the next room."  Finally, after twenty minutes, the Duke of Angoulême reluctantly countersigned his father's declaration:<ref>Castelot, ''Charles X'', p. 491.</ref>

{{Blockquote|"My cousin, I am too deeply pained by the ills that afflict or could threaten my people, not to seek means of avoiding them. Therefore, I have made the resolution to abdicate the crown in favor of my grandson, the Duke of Bordeaux. The Dauphin, who shares my feelings, also renounces his rights in favor of his nephew. It will thus fall to you, in your capacity as Lieutenant General of the Kingdom, to proclaim the accession of Henri V to the throne. Furthermore, you will take all pertinent measures to regulate the forms of government during the new king's minority. Here, I limit myself to stating these arrangements, as a means of avoiding further evils. You will communicate my intentions to the diplomatic corps, and you will let me know as soon as possible the proclamation by which my grandson will be recognized as king under the name of Henri V."{{Efn|Charles X's abdication {{In lang|fr}}: ''"Mon cousin, je suis trop profondément peiné des maux qui affligent ou qui pourraient menacer mes peuples pour n'avoir pas cherché un moyen de les prévenir. J'ai donc pris la résolution d'abdiquer la couronne en faveur de mon petit-fils, le duc de Bordeaux. Le dauphin, qui partage mes sentiments, renonce aussi à ses droits en faveur de son neveu. Vous aurez donc, en votre qualité de lieutenant général du royaume, à faire proclamer l'avènement de Henri V à la couronne. Vous prendrez d'ailleurs toutes les mesures qui vous concernent pour régler les formes du gouvernement pendant la minorité du nouveau roi. Ici, je me borne à faire connaître ces dispositions : c'est un moyen d'éviter encore bien des maux. Vous communiquerez mes intentions au corps diplomatique, et vous me ferez connaître le plus tôt possible la proclamation par laquelle mon petit-fils sera reconnu roi sous le nom de Henri V."''}}
}}

Louis Philippe ignored the document and on 9 August had himself proclaimed [[King of the French]] by the members of the Chamber.<ref>Price, pp. 177, 181–182, 185.</ref>