Will Kürlich Kerl
Banned
What happens if Louis Philip, the Duke of Orleans, wasn't killed in the French Revolution in 1793?
What happens if Louis Philip, the Duke of Orleans, wasn't killed in the French Revolution in 1793?
Considering he voted to execute King Louis XVI? Nothing good. If he escapes he's estranged from his cousins, the French Émigrés and most of the European sovereigns and nobles. No one likes a regicide. I'd imagine that he would flee to most likely Britain, Germany or Italy, sense I can't see Spain, Austria or Russia accepting him. What would really be interesting is how his survival effects relations from the main Bourbon branch and their cousins, as the Duc would remain the head of the House of Orleans. I can see Marie Therese using him as a way to convince Charles X to keep the d'Orleans at arms length and that would perhaps allow the Bourbons to remain on the throne, via Henri V (Duc de Bordeaux & Comte de Chambord).
Would the duc de Orleans even be allowed/invited back to France following a successful Restoration? He might be able to claim he only voted in favor in order to save his own life, as voting against the execution would be seen as throwing his lot in with Louis XVI, but I doubt that'd hold much weight with a romantic reactionary like Louis XVIII.
No way would he be allowed to return. In Marie Therese and Louis XVIII's eyes the Duc murdered their father/brother with his vote. Remember that in 1789-1792 the Duc clearly threw his lot in with the revolutionaries, in hopes of being made King. No chance that the King and Comte d'Artois would have forgotten that.
I wouldn't agree that he'd voted in favor purely in order to get a chance at the throne, or even that such a line of thinking was a major component in his decision, but I suppose that's one point of historical contention that we'll never truly know the answer to.
What about his sons, would they also be permanently banned for lack of a better term? Without the Orleans for the French liberals to rally around I'm not sure how the opposition doesn't give into republicanism in face of the Restoration's reactionary policies & attempts to put the genie back in the bottle, as it were, in regards to equality, liberty, etc. That would have major implications for not just French but European history.
Heck actually thinking about this further, would there even be a Bourbon Restoration? The British were in favor of it upon Napoleon's abdication in 1814, but the Austrians wanted Napoleon's son Francois under a Regency (I assume under Marie Louise, ?), and the Russians were split between offering the throne to Louis Philippe (the younger, obviously), and Jean Bernadotte, who by then was already Crown Prince & Regent of Sweden. Bernadotte would likely refuse, at least in my estimation, and with Louis Philippe the elder still alive the Orleans option isn't available, so could the Russians throw their support behind young Francois? I mean Napoleon himself had been offered to keep the throne if he agreed to return France to its 1792 borders, so obviously there wasn't a huge anti-Bonapartist feeling in the Great Powers.
If not then they remain in exile. As for Republicanism, it really wasn't a power during the Bourbon restoration or if it was it was a minority. First off the only other Republic France has had at this point was an abysmal failure in terms of Governing. And second this was the era of the Holy Alliance intervening against revolutionary activity across Europe. If the Bourbons were replaced with a Revolutionary republic then we might just see the various HA nations rally to intervene and place the Bourbons on the throne for a third time. Or maybe even the d'Orleans. Who know really.
How about America?Considering he voted to execute King Louis XVI? Nothing good. If he escapes he's estranged from his cousins, the French Émigrés and most of the European sovereigns and nobles. No one likes a regicide. I'd imagine that he would flee to most likely Britain, Germany or Italy, sense I can't see Spain, Austria or Russia accepting him.