Charles X

Charles X (born Charles Alexander Louis Phillipe de Charmaine;16 February, 1797- 1 July, 1895) also known as **Charles the Great** *(Charles le Grand)* was King of France from June 22nd 1815 to 1st of July 1895. His reign of 80 years, and 8 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in history. Charles reigned as an absolute monarch but surrounded himself with countless advisors, generals, nobles and peasants giving him a wide range of problems, and beliefs. This varied group of people helped him become popular, and helped the French Monarchy Survive.

Charles began his rule after the French Succession Crisis He was a third cousin, once removed to Louis XVIII, fourth cousin to Louis XVII and fourth cousin, once removed to Napoleon's son. Charles was hurriedly chosen by the Royal Council of Successors to succeed Napoleon due to the failure of Louis XVIII and the Bourbons to keep the throne secure. He was the Great Great Grandson of Phillip V of Spain, and Great Great Great Great Grandson of Louis XIV, 2 times over.

During his long reign France emerged as the greatest power on continental Europe, and a world Superpower. Its massive empire only grew to encompass swathes of Africa, Europe, and Asia. The Rhine War was a globe spanning conflict fought from 1822-1831 against Prussia, Belgium, Spain, and Sardinia. The French Side, with support from Russia, Austria and Britain won. The French Economy surpassed that of Britain and America, becoming the most prominent in the world and several more wars were Fought.

## Early Life

Charles X was born on February 16th, 1797 on the Families Estate north of Paris to Louis de Charmaine and Princess Louisa. He was named Charles, after his grandfather, Alexander, after his uncle, Louis, after his father, and Phillipe after his Great Great Grandfather Phillip V. Charles was the eldest of 7 and his mothers favorite. When he was born, his father remarked:

> *"My wife has given me a boy! I am overjoyed. He has light brown eyes, a good chin, light brown hair and mimics me perfectly. My wife is having much fun and I cannot wait to spend all of my hours with him. God has gifted me, more than blood and nature brings"*
>
>

Charles was very close with his Mother, most likely due to her often being the only one home. He didn't know much about his father because he Louis was always away in combat. Thanks to his fathers actions though, Charles and his siblings were raised in great prominence and wealth.

Charles was raised almost entirely by his mother, and his governess Maria de Lansac. When he was 6, his father died of Yellow Fever in Haiti and his Grandfather took him and his 6 siblings in, moving them north to Amsterdam. Upon hearing of the coronation of Napoleon, Charles "*the elder"* moved back to France and went back to his honorary career as a Judge. Charles was enrolled in an elite boarding school in Marseille up until age 16. There he learned Math, Poetry, Latin, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish. Charles took a profound like in his history and government classes which Charles believed were necessary for success in the real world.

## Consolidation of Power

As the Napoleonic wars came to a close, Charles the elder died in his sleep. He was buried at the families estate, and the whole family was shaken. Now, only his mother was left to take care of 7 children.

### Heir Apparent

Charles the elder was chosen to be Heir to the Childless King of Sweden and Norway, Carl XIII, and II in 1810. Charles never boasted about the title so too much of the family his position was never known. Charles' eldest Grandson was chosen to succeed him as heir apparent. In order to get used to Sweden, thinking this was his destiny, Charles took a trip to Sweden to meet with the King. About 2 months into his stay, he was informed that Napoleon had taken control of France from the Bourbon dynasty. Charles was sent back but by the time he arrived the united armies of Prussia, France, and the United Kingdom had already pushed him out.

Planning to head back to Sweden, Charles was supposed to leave on June 25 but on June 22 after the Surrender of Napoleon, a council met with him.

### Ascension

The Royal Council of Successors met with Charles to inform him of his new position. Louis d'état spoke:

> *"The Royal Council of Successors has chosen you , Charles Alexander Louis Phillipe de Charmaine as King of France to succeed his Imperial Majesty, Napoleon I Bonaparte and His Majesty Louis XVIII de Bourbon due to their incompetence to properly restrict Napoleonic forces from returning to France. Charles de Charmaine, born February 16th, in the year of our lord 1797 shall return with this Guard to Paris at once. We welcome him. God Save the Gracious King!"*
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At that instant, Charles remarked: "I do not believe you." It took much for the council to convince Charles and they brought him to the Palace at Versailles where he chose his regnal name. Charles chose his birth name, Charles which gave him the regnal number X. The title of Heir Apparent of the United Kingdoms was passed to his brother Alexander, who was also made Heir to the French Empire.

### Coronation

The Coronation of Charles X took place on July 10th, 1816 and was attended by much of European Royalty, nobles, and famous people. The coronation of Charles X had over 13,000 present and over 700,000 watched the parade throughout France. The coronation was a meaningful event as it solidified his position via gods will. The coronation lasted from 6:00am on July 10th, to 9:00pm on July 15th. The populous celebrated for months after that but soon after everyone awaited the unmarried King to find a wife and have a suitable heir besides his brothers.

### Reforms 1815-1822

Charles intended to keep the absolutist style of reign in France alive but he realized he would need great reforms to make that possible. He first enacted the 'Charline Laws' which stated that their shall be 5 councils all directly controlled by the King. The Council of Nobles, The Council of Commoners, The Council of Clergy, The Council of State, and The Council of Province. With the creation of the 5 councils, not one was above the other but one big thing was that the Council of Commoners was the first legal representation of commoners, peasants, farmers, and any other normal man. This greatly improved his popularity, but also made it much easier to administer the vast empire. The Council of State helped control matters directly in France, while the Council of Provinces helped control matters outside of the mainland. Charles was also intended to greatly expand the Empire through certain means but first he had to recentralize the confused state.

Charles split mainland France into 25 districts called Provinces, which were on the basis on duchies, and each held within them 50 smaller counties. This would not follow the borders of the feudal system, but instead create a more simple system to help administer the empire. The remaining part of the empire was split into 52 for every colony, and that number would rise depending on the expansion of the empire. These reforms greatly helped the empire's economy and stability expand far faster than the remainder of Europe.

Charles signed the Education Act of 1818 which ensured that every man aged 4-15 had some sort of education and knew basic math and French. By doing this, the national literacy rate was increased along with the general education index. In 1862 this act was changed to allow every women aged 5-14 some sort of education in just French. The act of 1818 also ensured that schools be set up nation wide to make sure that every corner of the state had an education center. These education centers varied from area but they still were created to help the poor.

These reforms helped ensure that the population was happy, and completly loyal to their King. If Charles helped the people advance, the people helped Charles stay in power.

### Relation with Citizens

Charles followed the ideas of Louis XIV in believing that by holding all nobles in his court would lead to a centralized state. However, Charles believed in Napoleon's ideas of supreme rule of 1. So, his nobles became puppets to each respective council and Charles installed himself as Supreme Council of State.

Charles followed the ideas of more liberal republics when it came to relations with the lower classes. He believed in slight egalitarian ideas, and enacted them along with his absolutist policies. Charles was greatly respected by the lower classes and was remarked as the "Freedom King" due to his great stance on the beliefs in Freedom of the peasant class.

## Early Conquests

The Early Conquests of Charles time as King are considered the time period from 1815 to 1855, the first half of his reign.

### Annexation of Catalonia

During the Rhine War, after the surrender of Spain in 1824, a private treaty was signed between the two which gave all of Catalonia under direct French Control. The annexation had a much greater affect than what was expected. The annexation greatly boosted the economy of France and has sense served as a primary center of French dominance, being by far the most loyal of regions prior to any others

### Annexation of the Rhine

After the Treaty of Paris, 1828 every territory west of the Rhine was given to France as a medal of victory. The territory, though mostly flat, was the second piece to Charles core belief in the Natural Borders of France. The Rhine area has always served as a great region for defense, beauty, culture, and farming. The French took full advantage of the region and have since made it the second wealthiest region of the modern French state.

### Capture of Sardinia

After 1828, the Franco-Piedmont alliance broke off due to rising tensions. As internal chaos began in Sardinia, France waited for the right moment to strike. After the death of Charles Felix of Savoy, the French Navy occupied the Island of Sardinia in 1831 and forced the remaining soldiers to surrender themselves to the Kingdom. No war was caused due to the internal revolution in Sardinia. Today, Sardinia is a incorporated region of France and has very close relations with its other Mediterranean states, and serves as a trade port to the French Colonies.

### Purchase of Western Piedmont

After the revolutionaries took full control of Western Piedmont, needing money and supplies they sold off the territory to France in 1839. In return, France gave them weapons and loans to fend off the monarchy. Since its Purchase, western Piedmont has served as a culturally mixed region with large remains of Italian Culture and more modern French Culture. Like Corsica and Sardinia, French Piedmont serves as a very popular vacation region in France.

#### Dispute

After the end of the Piedmontese Revolution, the Kingdom of Sardinia has claimed that the territory was illegally sold and was still territory of Piedmont. Up until 1854 they only held a grudge but the first real attempt to get it back was after Piedmontese troops entered the land. A fierce battle began but the Austrians to the east forced the Piedmontese to end their claim. The Piedmontese removed their troops but never gave up their claim and today they still call it theirs.

### Purchase of the Balearic Islands

The Purchase of the Balearic Islands in 1854 was due to the rising tensions of Pedro V, Charles Grand Nephew and King of Portugal's accession to the throne. Queen Isabella II wished to declare war on Portugal but knew that France protected it. They attempted to squeeze a deal with France in 1849,1850, and 1852 to end their treaty but they never did. In 1854 Spain offered to sell the Balearic Islands for 200,000 pesos to France if they got rid of their treaty. King Charles X accepted, and openly stated that the Spanish Offer was stupid. The French took control of the Islands and their ports, and began making mass amount of money on trade through the Islands. Spain's trade economy was almost single handedly dependent on the Islands, and Galicia. With the sale of the Balearic Islands to France, Spain lost a huge amount of its income and ended up never going to war with Portugal

## Rhine War

The Rhine war was a major turning point in the young reign of Charles X

### Cause

The cause of the war was due to the conflict between French and Prussian troops in Bastogne. Charles was present at the battle but left due to reports of his wife giving Birth. The battle was a result of both nations interference in the Belgian Revolt. France was the center of the war, fighting against Prussia, Spain, The Netherlands, and a few others. Charles let his generals take control on the battle and served very little in the war, taking care of affairs at home

### War

When the war began, Charles originally stayed at home with his family but once Spain joined in July 1822, Charles joined his soldiers in Spain and marched south towards Barcelona. The King, along with 43 generals and 2 marshals marched into Spain and quickly took over northern Spain. Within 7 weeks Catalonia and the region of Navarre had been captured.

Charles allowed French Troops to continue campaign while he joined the 3rd army in crossing the Rhine and Marching on Berlin. By 1825, the French troops were outside of Berlin and on the 4th of July they attacked. After a 2 week battle the French entered Berlin and celebrated before chasing the remaining Prussian Army. They chased the Prussian around and around until March of 1827 when both armies were exhausted. Both armies set up temporary encampments in territory preparing for a final battle. French and Russian soldiers started to lose moral while the structure of the Prussian army had all but collapsed. Austria stopped fighting after winning in Silesia, and the people of Prussia were starving. On June 7th, 1827 a French force numbering 327,000 supported by a Russian force of 52,000 fought a Prussian force of 765,000 at Stettin. The sight of the French force, along with the starvation and exhaustion of Prussian troops led to internal chaos. After the King and his generals refused to let the soldiers retreat they began to mutiny and shoot each other. A final battle was fought, not between Prussia and their enemies but between Prussia and themselves. At 6:32 am, Prussia raised a white banner ending the fighting

### The 6 months

After the surrender of Prussia, all belligerents in the war met together and discussed how to divide Europe. For 4 months all of the states argued before the 17 conferences at Vienna ended. France then held the conference and after 12 conferences over 2 months a final solution was found. After 6 long years, war was over.

## Height of Power

Charles X height of power was between the years of 1855 and 1875 when he was at his most popular, and when he began the great industrialization of France. This is also the first part of the Golden Age, a period from 1865 to 1965. However, this is most likely considered his Height of Power due to the French State becoming the most dominant in Europe in all ways.

### Center of Europe

By the 1860s, Charles had greatly augmented French Influence and Power all across the world just like Louis XIV and Napoleon. Domestically, Charles succeeded in making himself the complete absolute monarch in France and single handedly making the Monarch survive. He also successfully put the influence of the crown in the church and aristocracy, helping the French Ideas of divine right and core belief system. Under Charles, France became the leading power in Europe, and almost every major event had something to do with France. No European compared to France in its population, wealth, central location, and professional army. The state avoided the devastation of the Rhine war, helping France grow much quicker than the rest of Europe.

Charles made France the greatest nation in Europe, and a sole world superpower which built on his belief of divine right, and his legacy. Charles believed that Making France the greatest nation on Earth was his glory, and legacy.

## Personal Life

The personal life of Charles X, and his family was not discussed at the time but was documented by Charles, his children and others who lived at the palace.

### Marriage

King Charles X married Princess Charlotte on May 9th 1819. She only married Charles because her father thought she could be used as a tool to keep peace in Europe. The marriage ceremony was attended by over 3,000 and both populations thought this was an extremely joyful moment, even with the tense situation in Europe. Despite their marriage being purely for politics, they had a very happy marriage, something quite surprising for the time.

### Culture

Charles, a devout catholic married his protestant wife Charlotte. Even with a deep religious behavior, Charlotte always made sure to be a good pies catholic in Public and kept her own religious feeling to herself. She made sure to raise her Children Catholic, making sure they would be popular with the French People. The family is said to have spent a lot of time in the families chapel at Versailles.

### Art

Charles believed that art was the true way to express yourself and as a result, every event of Charles life, and that of France in his reign was documented and can be found somewhere. Much of the art found in great museums throughout France, or in the Palace at Versailles is thanks to Charles devotion to art.

### Golden Jubilee

Charles celebrated his Golden Jubilee in 1865 with a banquet attended by Nobel's, Princes, Dukes, Counts, King, and Presidents from all around the world. The following day a religious service was held in the Notre Dame and a party was held in the halls of Versailles. The following day a final banquet was held, before the King and his family began a month long tour all around France. This year is marked as the start of France's golden age.

### Widower

Princess Charlotte died in 1871 at age 73 while in Portugal. Princess Charlottes body was sent back to France and her funeral began. It was a 6 day event. On the first day, Princess Charlotte's body was placed in the Chapel at Versailles so the family could mourn her. On the second day a private ceremony was held at the chapel with just the family in attendance. On the third and fourth days her body was placed in the Notre Dame for public viewing. On the 5th day her Funeral began, and on the 6th day she was buried at Chambord the family home. After 51 years of marriage, Charles who was greatly devoted to his wife was now a widower. He became severally depressed and did not appear in public for 11 months after that.

### Diamond Jubilee

Charles celebrated his Diamond Jubilee in 1875 at age 78. Charles along with his son, grandson, and Great Grandson took an extensive tour of France and the colonies. It was a 4 month adventure, but it was cut back to 14 weeks due to the King becoming extremely ill.

### Platinum Jubilee

Charles celebrated his Platinum Jubilee in 1885 at age 88 with a visit to southern France. The King believed himself to ill to travel abroad or all around France like previous times so many small ceremonies were held, while the Grandson and Great Grandson of the King toured the nation.

### Regency

Charles installed his eldest son, Grand Prince de Royal, Charles as Prince regent in 1886, when the king was 89. The King had become ill and light headed and required assistance in his rule. He installed his eldest son, Charles as Prince Regent to help him with duties. After the death of the Prince Regent, the title passed to his son.

### Longest Reigning Monarch

Charles surpassed Louis XIV, as longest reigning monarch in late 1887. A small church ceremony was held and parties all around France began to honor the King.

### Death

Charles died peacefully in his sleep at age 98, on a London visit with Queen Victoria. He was found at 6:30 am by 2 morning servants who were in charge of waking the old King. He died peacefully in his sleep. His body was transported to Paris from London and a 13 day ceremony began. On days 1-3, a private ceremony was held attended by the family. On days 4-10, his coffin was put on display in the Notre dame, and on day 11 a final funeral service began. On day 12, his body was removed from the Notre dame and placed at the Chapel in Versailles. On the final day, he was buried next to his wife, Charlotte.

At 98, Charles was monarch of France for 80 years and 8 days. His oak jubilee's planned date was only 8 days after his death. The King is still to this day the longest reigning monarch in all of French History, and World history.

### Succession

At Charles time of death, the line of succession was nimble. The line of succession to the French throne upon the death of Charles X in 1815 only included the main line decedents of the eldest senior line. This was because, many of Charles Children, Grandchildren, and Great Grandchildren became King in their own right meaning they were excluded from the French Line of Succession. Charles made it law, in 1855, presuming he had an heir every future King of France had to be a direct descendent of Charles X through a strict male only line. This meant that no descendent of his father Louis, or his brothers could become King unless they descended from Charles.

Charles X eldest son, Charles died in 1893. His eldest son, Prince Louis (1844-1895) died on January 2, 1895, 6 months before the King. His eldest son, Prince Louis (1865-1894) died on December 30, 1894. Both Louis' died to the Winter Plot. That left his 1 year old Great Great Grandson, Alexander as heir.

## Children

With Princess Charlotte, Charles had 8 children between 1820-1829.

* Charles Alexander Louis Jacques de Charmaine (June 9th, 1820- June 29th, 1893) Grand Prince de Royal, and Future Prince Regent from 1887 to his death
* Princess Charlotte Alice Louisa de Charmaine (February 14th, 1821-June 9th, 1886) Madame Royal until her death, married Otto I of Greece
* Princess Alice Charlotte Victoria de Charmaine (March 8th, 1822-April 1st, 1886) Married her first cousin Charles, the future Carl XIV and III of Sweden-Norway
* Prince Jacques Alexander Napoleon de Charmaine (May 7th, 1824-September 15th, 1892) Married Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria, and father of Otto I
* Prince Francis Jerome Lucien de Charmaine (October 16th, 1825-March 31st, 1897) Future King of Rome from 1862 till his death.
* Princess Maria Louise de Charmaine (October 12th, 1827-October 9th, 1881) Married Grand Duke Konstantin of Russia
* Princess Sophia Elisabeth de Charmaine (June 20th, 1828-July 1st, 1869) Married her first cousin Henry, the Future Henry II of Egypt
* Princess Elisabeth Alexandra de Charmaine (January 19th, 1829-July 4th, 1913) Married Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria