Louis Philippe definition of Louis Philippe in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Louis Philippe (lwē fēlēp`), 1773–1850, king of the French (1830–48), known before his accession as Louis Philippe, duc d'Orléans. The son of Philippe Égalité (see Orléans, Louis Philippe Joseph, duc d' Orléans, Louis Philippe Joseph, duc d' (lwē fēlēp` zhôzĕf` dük dôrlāäN`)
..... Click the link for more information. ), he joined the army of the French Revolution, but deserted (1793) with Gen. Charles François Dumouriez Dumouriez, Charles François (shärl fräNswä` düm
..... Click the link for more information. . Although in exile for the next 20 years, he did not collaborate with France's enemies. Reconciled with the Bourbons Bourbon (b
..... Click the link for more information. , he returned to France after their restoration and soon recovered his huge fortune. He figured in the liberal opposition to kings Louis XVIII Louis XVIII, 1755–1824, king of France (1814–24), brother of King Louis XVI . Known as the comte de Provence, he fled (1791) to Koblenz from the French Revolution and intrigued to bring about foreign intervention against the revolutionaries.
..... Click the link for more information. and Charles X Charles X, 1757–1836, king of France (1824–30); brother of King Louis XVI and of King Louis XVIII, whom he succeeded. As comte d'Artois he headed the reactionary faction at the court of Louis XVI.
..... Click the link for more information. and was supported by the discontented upper bourgeoisie and by the liberal journalists.

In the July Revolution July Revolution, revolt in France in July, 1830, against the government of King Charles X . The attempt of the ultraroyalists under Charles to return to the ancien régime provoked the opposition of the middle classes, who wanted more voice in the government.
..... Click the link for more information. of 1830, Louis Philippe was made lieutenant general of the realm and, with the support of the marquis de Lafayette Lafayette, or La Fayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, marquis de
..... Click the link for more information. , was chosen "king of the French." His reign, known as the July Monarchy, marked the triumph of the wealthy bourgeoisie and a return to influence of many former Napoleonic officials. Although the constitutional charter of 1814 was revised (1830) in a liberal direction, the new legislature was unresponsive to the economic needs and political desires of the lower classes.

In the early years of his reign, Louis Philippe's basically conservative outlook was strengthened by a number of workers' demonstrations and by several attempts on his life, notably that of Giuseppe Fieschi Fieschi, Giuseppe (j
..... Click the link for more information. (1835). Although the king was a constitutional monarch, he gained considerable personal power by splitting the liberal movement and appointing weak ministers, such as Louis Molé Molé, Louis Mathieu, Comte (lwē mätyö` kôNt môlā`), 1781–1855, French politician.
..... Click the link for more information. . Eventually a conservative ministry, dominated (1840–48) by François Guizot Guizot, François (fräNswä` gēzō`), 1787–1874, French statesman and historian.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had the king's confidence, came to power.

In foreign policy, Louis Philippe promoted Anglo-French friendship and supported colonial expansion; Algeria was conquered in his reign. He cooperated with England in support (1831) of Belgian independence and in the Quadruple Alliance Quadruple Alliance, any of several European alliances. The Quadruple Alliance of 1718 was formed by Great Britain, France, the Holy Roman emperor, and the Netherlands when Philip V of Spain, guided by Cardinal Alberoni , sought by force to nullify the peace
..... Click the link for more information. of 1834. The Franco-British rapprochement was ended (1846), however, by the Spanish marriages (see Isabella II Isabella II, 1830–1904, queen of Spain (1833–68), daughter of Ferdinand VII and of Maria Christina . Her uncle, Don Carlos , contested her succession under the Salic law , and thus the Carlist Wars began (see Carlists ).
..... Click the link for more information. ), which violated a previous Franco-British agreement.

In France, Louis Philippe became increasingly unpopular. On the right he was opposed by the legitimists (who supported the senior Bourbon line) and by the Bonapartists. The leftist elements organized numerous secret revolutionary societies. The opposition to the government undertook (1847–48) a banquet campaign to propagate the demand for electoral reform. The campaign led to the February Revolution February Revolution, 1848, French revolution that overthrew the monarchy of Louis Philippe and established the Second Republic. General dissatisfaction resulted partly from the king's increasingly reactionary policy, carried out after 1840 by François Guizot ,
..... Click the link for more information. of 1848. Louis Philippe abdicated in favor of his grandson (see Orléans Philippe I, duc d'Orléans, 1640–1701, a brother of King Louis XIV. A notorious libertine, Philippe was excluded from participation in state affairs, though he fought in the Dutch War and won the victory of Cassel (1677).
..... Click the link for more information. , family), but a republic was set up. The king fled to England, where he died. Louis Philippe was known as the "citizen king" because of his bourgeois manner and dress, and he and his regime were satirized by Honoré Daumier Daumier, Honoré (ônôrā` dōmyā`), 1808–79, French caricaturist, painter, and sculptor.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See J. Lucas-Dubreton, The Restoration and the July Monarchy (tr. 1929); biographies by J. S. C. Abbott (1902), C. Gavin (1933), A. de Stoeckl (1958), T. E. Howarth (1961), and P. H. Beik (1965).