Louis Philippe I: The King Who Was Like Us!

Born on October 6, 1773, at the Palais-Royal, Louis Philippe was the eldest son of the Duke of Orléans. As a member of the House of Bourbon, he was born into the highest levels of French society. However, his upbringing was unconventional.

Under the guidance of the Countess of Genlis, he was exposed to Enlightenment philosophy, which fostered a liberal worldview that would define his later political career. In 1788, his early sympathy for the changing social order was demonstrated when he helped dismantle a prison cell at Mont Saint-Michel. As the French Revolution began in 1789, he and his father aligned themselves with the revolutionary cause, with Louis Philippe even joining the Jacobin Club.

This period of his life was characterized by a tension between his royal heritage and his desire to support the emerging democratic ideals that were reshaping the European continent.

Louis Philippe’s military career began early and was marked by rapid advancement. By 1791, he was a colonel, and by 1792, he had been promoted to lieutenant general. His service during the French Revolutionary Wars saw him participate in significant engagements, including the Battle of Valmy in 1792.

He was noted for his personal bravery, such as his efforts to protect priests from angry mobs and his rescue of a drowning engineer. Despite his military successes, the political climate in Paris became increasingly radical. The execution of King Louis XVI and the rise of the Reign of Terror forced him to choose between his loyalty to the army and his survival.

After becoming implicated in a plot to restore the constitution, he fled France in 1793. This departure marked the beginning of a long period of instability for his family, as his father, Philippe Égalité, was eventually executed during the Terror.

For 21 years, Louis Philippe lived as an exile, traversing Europe and the Americas. His journey took him through Switzerland, where he worked as a schoolteacher under the name Monsieur Chabos, teaching mathematics and geography. He later traveled to Scandinavia, Finland, and the United States.

During his time in America from 1796 to 1798, he visited major cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, meeting influential figures such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. He later noted that his experiences in the United States significantly influenced his political beliefs. After returning to Europe, he spent time in England, where he integrated into the aristocracy and formed a lasting friendship with the Duke of Kent.

These years of displacement were formative, providing him with a broad perspective on governance and international relations that would later inform his reign.

In 1830, the July Revolution forced King Charles X to abdicate, leading to the proclamation of Louis Philippe as King of the French. His reign, known as the July Monarchy, was characterized by a focus on stability, economic growth, and the influence of the wealthy middle class, including bankers and industrialists. Under the guidance of statesman François Guizot, his government pursued conservative policies and sought to maintain peace with the United Kingdom.

He also oversaw the French conquest of Algeria, signaling a period of colonial expansion. Despite his efforts to position himself as the 'Citizen King'-a monarch who ruled by the will of the people rather than divine right-his popularity eventually waned. Economic hardship in 1847 led to widespread dissatisfaction, culminating in the French Revolution of 1848.

The revolution of 1848 forced Louis Philippe to abdicate his throne, bringing an end to his 18-year reign and the era of the French monarchy. He spent the remainder of his life in exile in the United Kingdom, where he passed away on August 26, 1850. His legacy is complex; he was the last French monarch to hold the title of 'King' and the only one from the Orléans branch of the Bourbon family.

His descendants went on to hold significant positions across Europe, including royalty in Belgium, Mexico, Bulgaria, and Spain. Among French royalists, his supporters became known as Orléanists. His life serves as a bridge between the old world of absolute monarchy and the modern era of constitutional governance, reflecting the turbulent shifts in 19th-century European history.