Chapter 3 The new Regime, Part I
The Chateau de Saint-Cloud, favored residence of Marie-Therese Charlotte, Duchesse d’Angouleme
On August 16th Henri V and the Royal court arrives at the Chateau de Saint-Cloud and are met by the new Regent, the rest of the Regency council and the new Prime Minister, the Marquis de Lafayette. Now 72 years old, Lafayette has seen and experienced so much, from fighting for American independence, the birth and death of the French Republic and empire and a second French Revolution. Now President of the Council of Ministers (1), he is afforded the respect of an elder statesmen, but not expected to do much in terms of policy. Accompanying Lafayette is another famous name, and perhaps the most respected diplomat of his time, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. Talleyrand, also in his 70s, has been excluded from the halls of government for over fifteen years, since the end of his short term as Prime Minister. The young Ferdinand Philippe, Duc de Chartres and elderly Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé are a contradiction of each other. Chartres, at only twenty, is the youngest member of the regency council, while Condé, at 74, is the oldest living member of the house of Bourbon, older even than the former Charles X. Chartres has spent his whole life in France, growing up in the luxurious Palais Royal, Paris residence of the Orleans, while Condé has spent more longer in exile than Chartres has been alive. Neither has held any government position before.
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
After the political niceties are exchanged, the new Regency Council convenes for the first time, under the Presidency of d’Orleans. The first order of business is calming the people of Paris. As previously mentioned, the Parisians are mollified by Charles’ abdication and the appointment of a Liberal Unity Government, the underlying problems is still there. After much debate, the council recommends, over the objections of the Duchess d’Angouleme and Dowager Duchesse de Berri, to repeal many laws passed under Charles X. These laws included the Anti-Sacrilege Act, the increased censorship laws, and the giving billions in reparations to the nobles whose properties were sized during the revolution. Also debated is who will tutor the young Henri V. It is decided that François-René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand will be placed in charge of his education with Marie Therese overseeing, an acceptable compromise to both the Duchesses and d’Orleans. Other things debated include razing the age of majority for Henri from thirteen to sixteen, granting expanding the Electoral College and permanently ending censorship. However no consensus can be produced and eventually it is decided that these questions will be answered by the Lafayette Ministry and the Parliament. Finally the meeting is over, with d’Orleans, Chartres Lafayette and Talleyrand returning to Paris and the d’Angoulemes, the Duchesse de Berri and the Prince de Condé staying at Saint-Cloud.
The Royal Family In Happier times.
From Left to right,
First Row: Marie Therese Charlotte de France, Duchesse d’Angouleme and Madame Royal, Louis-Antoine d’Artois, Duc d’Angouleme, Charles de France Comte d’Artois, holding Henri d’Artois Duc de Bordeaux, Marie Caroline Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies, Dowager Duchesse de Berri
Second Row: the late Louis XVIII, Madame Louise d’Artois, sister of Henri V and daughter of the late Charles Ferdinand d’Artois Duc de Berri