Louis XVIII (November 17, 1755 - September 16, 1824) was King of France from 1814 (although he declared that he considered his reign to have begun in 1795) until his death in 1824.

Early Life

Louis-Stanislas-Xavier was born on November 17, 1755 in the Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, the fourth son of Louis, dauphin de France, and grandson of King Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska. At birth, he received the title of Count of Provence but throughout most of his life he was known as "Monsieur." After the death of his two elder brothers and the accession of his remaining elder brother as Louis XVI of France in 1774, he became heir presumptive.

The birth of two sons to King Louis XVI, left him third in line to the throne of France. He was living in exile in Westphalia when the King was guillotined in 1793. On the king's death, Louis-Stanislas-Xavier declared himself Regent for his nephew, the new King Louis XVII. On the 10-year-old king's death in prison on June 8, 1795, Louis-Stanislas-Xavier proclaimed himself as King Louis XVIII. At the time however, the move was far from being ofifically sanctioned or recognized. France was still embroiled in the government of the First Republic, in which voicing support for the deposed monarchy was considered a high crime.

Reign as King

In 1814, he gained the French throne with the assistance of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand after Napoleon's downfall. Eventually, he fled Paris on the news of the return of Napoleon to Ghent, but returned after the Battle of Waterloo had ended Napoleon's rule of the Hundred Days. Although Louis had hoped to return and rule as his brother had before the Revolution, he quickly realized that the 25 years since the revolution could not be ignored, and granted a Charter which created a bicameral legislature - a hereditary/appointive Chamber of Peers and an elected Chamber of Deputies, to create the appearance, at least, of constitutional government. Louis's regime also allowed much greater freedom of expression than the Napoleonic regime which had preceded it.

King Louis' chief ministers were at first moderate, including Talleyrand, the Duc de Richelieu, and Élie Decazes. The ultraroyalists, led by Louis's brother, the Comte d'Artois (later King Charles X), triumphed after the assassination of Artois's ultrareactionary younger son, the Duc de Berry. The new ministry headed by the Comte de Villèle was thoroughly reactionary.

Louis XVIII died on September 16, 1824, and was interred in the Saint Denis Basilica. His brother, the Comte d'Artois, succeeded him as Charles X.

See also

• Bourbon Dynasty, Restored