Falling out of favor with the Russian Empire, Cantacuzino was deposed ahead of Ghica himself, and was an unsuccessful candidate in the princely election of December 1842. After years in self-imposed exile, Cantacuzino returned with the Ottoman Army in September 1848, helping to quell the 1848 Revolution—although his own son, Ion C. Cantacuzino, had been active within the revolutionary movement. Supervised by Fuad Pasha, Constantin sent the revolutionary leadership, including his immediate predecessors, into exile. He then oversaw the imprisonment and mistreatment of various others, being allegedly responsible for the death in custody of writer Ion Catina. He also disarmed the rebel forces, while restoring both "Regulamentul" and its symbols of power, as well as reintroducing slavery.