historical figure · king of france · pragmatic · political intrigue · 19th century · french revolution · conservative · diplomatic · exile · bourgeois
The portrait of Louis Philippe I hangs in the gallery, his title 'Citizen King' a weight upon the frame. His eyes hold the years of his reign, 1830 to 1848. Once Duke of Chartres, he led soldiers as a lieutenant general at nineteen, only to turn his back on the Republic when it executed the king. In 1793, he escaped to Switzerland, his flight tied to a plot to restore the crown. His father, Philippe Égalité, died beneath the guillotine during the Terror. you stands before this legacy, and the king's painted gaze seems to settle upon them.