Louis Philippe I
Louis Philippe was born in the Palais-Royal on the 6th of October 1773. He grew up as a Prince of the Blood within the House of Bourbon. His mother Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon was an extremely wealthy heiress descended from Louis XIV through a legitimized line. The elder branch of the House of Bourbon deeply distrusted the intentions of his family. They confined themselves to studies of literature and sciences emerging from the Enlightenment.
In 1782, a Countess named Genlis began tutoring him. She instilled in him a fondness for liberal thought. It is probably during this period that he picked up his slightly Voltairean brand of Catholicism. In 1788, with the French Revolution looming, the young man showed his liberal sympathies. He helped break down the door of a prison cell in Mont Saint-Michel during a visit there with the Countess of Genlis. From October 1788 to October 1789, the Palais Royal became a meeting-place for revolutionaries.
In June 1791, Louis Philippe got his first opportunity to become involved in the affairs of France. He had been given the hereditary appointment of Colonel of the Chartres Dragoons in 1785. With war imminent in 1791, all proprietary colonels were ordered to join their regiments. He demonstrated personal bravery in two famous instances three days after Louis XVI's flight to Varennes.
A crowd surrounded an inn where priests were staying and demanded blood. The young colonel broke through the crowd and extricated them. A peasant armed with a carbine threatened the priests at a river crossing on the same day. Louis Philippe put himself between the peasant and the priests to save their lives. The next day he dived into a river to save a drowning local engineer. For this action he received a civic crown from the local municipality.
His regiment moved north to Flanders at the end of 1791 after the 27th of August 1791 Declaration of Pillnitz. He served under Armand Louis de Gontaut the Duke of Biron. In October 1792 he returned to the Army of the North. On the 6th of November 1792, Dumouriez chose to attack an Austrian force on the heights of Cuesmes and Jemappes. Louis Philippe's division sustained heavy casualties as it attacked through a wood. He rallied a group of units dubbing them the battalion of Mons. At age nineteen he was already ranked as a Lieutenant General.
He moved from town to town throughout Switzerland never staying more than forty-eight hours in one place. In October 1793 he was appointed a teacher of geography history mathematics and modern languages. The school owned by Monsieur Jost stood in Reichenau a village on the upper Rhine. His salary was 1,400 francs and he taught under the name Monsieur Chabos. He heard news from Paris that his father had been guillotined on the 6th of November 1793 after a trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal.
After leaving Reichenau Louis Philippe traveled extensively through Europe and then to the United States between 1796 and 1798. He stayed in Philadelphia where his brothers Antoine and Louis Charles were in exile. He also visited New York City where he most likely stayed at the Somerindyck family estate on Broadway north of modern 75th Street. In Boston he taught French for a time and lived in lodgings over what is now the Union Oyster
House.
During their sojourn the Orléans princes traveled as far south as Nashville and as far north as Maine. They were even held in Philadelphia briefly during an outbreak of yellow fever. Louis Philippe met with American politicians including George Clinton John Jay Alexander Hamilton and George Washington. In 1839 while reflecting on his visit to the United States he explained in a letter to François Guizot that his three years there had a large influence on his political beliefs when he became king.
In 1830 the July Revolution overthrew Charles X who abdicated in favor of his ten-year-old grandson Henri Duke of Bordeaux. Charles X named Louis Philippe Lieutenant général du royaume. Louis Philippe did not announce his desire to have his grandson succeed him to increase his own chances of succession. The chamber was aware of his liberal policies and proclaimed him the new French king displacing the senior branch of the House of Bourbon.
The device
consisted of twenty-five gun barrels fastened to a wooden frame that could be fired simultaneously. It was fired from the third level of number 50 Boulevard du Temple which had been rented by Fieschi. A ball only grazed the King's forehead. Eighteen people were killed including Lieutenant Colonel of the 8th Legion together with eight other officers. Marshal Mortier died alongside General Girard and Captain Villate. The King and the princes escaped essentially unharmed while Horace Vernet was ordered to make a drawing of the event.
On the 24th of February 1848 during the February 1848 Revolution King Louis Philippe abdicated in favor of his nine-year-old grandson Philippe comte de Paris. Fearful of what happened to the deposed Louis XVI he quickly left Paris under disguise. He rode in an ordinary cab under the name of Mr Smith. He fled to England with his wife on board a packet boat offered to him by the British consul at Le Havre.
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Common questions
When was Louis Philippe I born and where did he grow up?
Louis Philippe I was born on the 6th of October 1773 in the Palais-Royal. He grew up as a Prince of the Blood within the House of Bourbon.
What role did Louis Philippe play during the French Revolution and early wars?
Louis Philippe served as Colonel of the Chartres Dragoons starting in 1785 and demonstrated personal bravery by saving priests from angry crowds in 1791. He later became a Lieutenant General at age nineteen after rallying units at the battle of Jemappes on the 6th of November 1792.
How long did Louis Philippe stay in the United States between 1796 and 1798?
Louis Philippe traveled to the United States for three years between 1796 and 1798 while his family was in exile. He visited cities including Philadelphia New York City Boston Nashville and Maine before returning to Europe.
Who attempted to assassinate King Louis Philippe on the 28th of June 1835?
An Italian revolutionary named Fieschi attempted to kill King Louis Philippe using a device with twenty-five gun barrels. The attack occurred on the third level of number 50 Boulevard du Temple but only grazed the King's forehead.
When did Louis Philippe abdicate and where did he flee afterward?
King Louis Philippe abdicated on the 24th of February 1848 during the February 1848 Revolution. He fled to England under the disguise of Mr Smith by riding in an ordinary cab to Le Havre.