Reprehensible Facts About King Charles X Of France, The Enemy Of The People
He Just Wanted To Be King
Charles X of France lived in the lap of luxury and privilege once he ascended to the throne following the Bourbon Restoration—but his ultra-royalist policies clashed with the new liberal views of the French people post-Revolution.
It all came to a head with a harrowing escape—and a humiliating exile.
1. He Was Far From The Throne
Charles Philippe was born in 1757 at the Palace of Versailles in what seemed like the halcyon days of the Bourbon dynasty. As the son of the Dauphin Louis and Dauphine Marie Josèphe, he enjoyed luxury beyond imagination. His grandfather, King Louis XV, even created the title “Count of Artois” just for him.
However, as the youngest son of the heir to the throne, it seemed highly unlikely that he would ever get the crown. But fate was already working in his favor.
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2. His Family’s Losses Were His Gain
In 1761, a terrible family tragedy brought Charles one step closer to the throne. His eldest brother, the Duke of Burgundy, passed from a sudden illness at the age of nine. Then, not even five years later, his father also passed on, making Charles second-in-line for the throne after his next oldest brother, Louis Auguste.
But fate wasn't finished with Charles's family just yet.
3. He Was An Orphan Royal
Charles’ mother, Marie Josèphe, took the loss of her husband and eldest son particularly hard and never truly recovered. In a cruel and ironic twist, she wouldn’t have to suffer long.
In 1767, she succumbed to tuberculosis, making Charles and his four surviving siblings orphans.
Suddenly, the survival of the Bourbon family line was in doubt.
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4. His Wife Was No Looker
In an effort to shore up his family’s lineage and power, Charles performed his first royal duty at the age of 16 when he married Marie Thérèse of Savoy. But she wasn’t exactly a catch. Charles’ contemporaries described his new wife as “diminutive, somewhat ill-shaped, clumsy and with a long nose”.
It’s not like she was a great conversationalist either.
