Editing Louis XVIII (section)

===England, 1807–1814===
[[Image:Hartwell House, Bucks.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire]], Louis XVIII's court-in-exile from 1808 until the Restoration]]
In 1808, Louis brought his wife and queen, Marie Joséphine, to join him in England. His stay at [[Gosfield Hall]] did not last long; he soon moved to [[Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire|Hartwell House]] in Buckinghamshire, where over one hundred courtiers were housed.{{sfn|Nagel|2008|page=235}} The King paid £500 in rent each year to the owner of the estate, Sir George Lee. The Prince of Wales (the future [[George IV]]) was very charitable to the exiled Bourbons. As Prince Regent, he granted them permanent [[right of asylum]] and extremely generous allowances.{{sfn|Nagel|2008|page=243}}

The Count of Artois did not join the court-in-exile in Hartwell, preferring to continue his frivolous life in London. Louis's friend the Count of Avaray left Hartwell for [[Madeira]] in 1809, and died there in 1811. Louis replaced Avaray with the [[Pierre Louis Jean Casimir de Blacas|Comte de Blacas]] as his principal political advisor. Queen Marie Joséphine died on 13 November 1810.{{sfn|Nagel|2008|page=241}} That same winter, Louis had a particularly severe attack of [[gout]], which was a recurring problem for him at Hartwell, and he had to take to a wheelchair.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=147}}

In 1812, Napoleon I embarked on an [[French invasion of Russia|invasion of Russia]], initiating a war which would prove to be the turning point in his fortunes. The expedition failed miserably, and Napoleon was forced to retreat with an army in tatters.

In 1813, Louis XVIII issued another declaration from Hartwell. The Declaration of Hartwell was even more liberal than his Declaration of 1805, asserting that those who had served Napoleon or the Republic would not suffer repercussions for their acts, and that the original owners of the {{lang|fr|[[biens nationaux]]}} (lands confiscated from the nobility and clergy during the Revolution) would be compensated for their losses.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=162}}

Allied troops entered Paris on 31 March 1814.{{sfn|Price|2008|p=143}} Louis, unable to walk, had sent the Count of Artois to France in January 1814 and issued [[letters patent]] appointing Artois Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom in the event of his being restored as king. On 11 April, five days after the [[Sénat conservateur|French Senate]] had invited Louis to resume the throne of France, Napoleon I abdicated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=texte |first=France Auteur du |date=1 July 1814 |title=Bulletin des lois de la République française |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4861135 |publisher=Imprimerie nationale |via=gallica.bnf.fr}}</ref>