Louis-Philippe I
Louis-Philippe was the last king of France and was called the citizen king. Born in Paris in 1773, he was the son of the Duke of Orléans, who supported the Revolution, renamed himself Philippe Égalité, voted for Louis XVI's execution, and was guillotined anyway in 1793. Louis-Philippe joined the Jacobin Club, fought in the revolutionary army at Valmy and Jemappes, and defected with Dumouriez in 1793. He then spent twenty-one years in exile, teaching mathematics and geography at a school in Switzerland under an assumed name, travelling in Scandinavia and the United States, and living in England on a British pension. He returned in 1814 and positioned himself carefully during the Bourbon restoration — attending court, keeping liberal company, and saying nothing that could be quoted. When Charles X's ordinances provoked the July Revolution of 1830, the republicans had the streets and the liberal deputies wanted a monarchy. Lafayette appeared with him on a balcony at the Hôtel de Ville wrapped in a tricolour and embraced him, and that settled it. He was made king of the French rather than of France, accepted the tricolour, and widened the franchise from about 100,000 to 170,000 in a population of thirty-two million. His reign favoured the wealthy bourgeoisie; his minister Guizot answered demands for reform by telling the country to enrich itself. He survived at least seven assassination attempts, walked the streets with an umbrella, and was caricatured as a pear. The banning of reform banquets triggered the February Revolution of 1848. He abdicated and fled to England as Mr Smith, dying there in 1850.
- Lived: 1773 CE – 1850 CE
- Nationality: French
- Roles: king, head_of_state
