Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry
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Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry
(Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, fils de France, duc de Berry; 24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the younger son of the future king, Charles X of France
, and his wife, Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy.
His maternal grandparents were Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
and Maria Antonietta of Spain
. She was the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain
and Elisabeth Farnese.
. As a son of a fils de France
not being heir apparent
, he was only himself a petit-fils de France, and that is how he was known in emigration
. However, during the Restoration
, he was given the higher rank of a fils de France (used in his marriage contract, his death certificate, etc.).
Since he was already dead when his father became king, he always had "d'Artois" as his surname.
At the French Revolution
he left France
with his father, then comte d'Artois
, and served in the émigré
army
of his cousin, Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé, from 1792 to 1797. He afterwards joined the Russian army, and in 1801 took up his residence in England
, where he remained for thirteen years. During that time he had a relationship with an Englishwoman, Amy Brown Freeman
, by whom he had two daughters whom he only recognized on his deathbed: Charlotte Marie Augustine de Bourbon comtesse d'Issoudun (13 July 1808- 13 July 1886), by marriage in 1823 to Ferdinand de Faucigny-Lucinge, princesse de Lucinge, and Louise Marie Charlotte de Bourbon comtesse de Vierzon (29 December 1809- 26 December 1891), by marriage in 1827 to Charles de Charette, baronne de la Contrie.
In 1814, the duke set out for France. His frank, open manners gained him some favor with his countrymen, and Louis XVIII
named him commander-in-chief of the army at Paris
on the return of Napoleon
from Elba
. He was, however, unable to retain the loyalty of his troops, and retired to Ghent
during the Hundred Days
war. In 1816 he married Princess Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Luisa of Naples and Sicily (1798–1870), oldest daughter of the Duke of Calabria (heir to the Neapolitan throne)
, following negotiations with the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily
by the French ambassador, the Count (later Duke of Blacas) of Blacas
.
Three children were born before the duke's death: the last and only surviving one, Louise d'Artois, born in 1819, later married Charles III of Parma.
On 13 February 1820 the Duke of Berry was stabbed and mortally wounded, when leaving the opera house
in Paris with his wife, by a saddler named Louis Pierre Louvel. He died on 14 February. Seven months after his death, the duchess gave birth to a son, Henri, who received the title of duc de Bordeaux, but who is better known in history as the comte de Chambord
.
The Duchess of Berry was compelled to follow Charles X to Holyrood
after July 1830
, but it was with the resolution of returning speedily and making an attempt to secure the throne for her son. From Britain she went to Italy
, and in April 1832 she landed near Marseille
, but, receiving no support, was compelled to make her way towards the loyal districts of Vendée
and Brittany
. Her followers, however, were defeated, and, after remaining concealed for five months in a house in Nantes
, she was betrayed to the government and imprisoned in the castle of Blaye
.
Here she gave birth to a daughter, the fruit of a secret marriage contracted with an Italian nobleman, Count Ettore Lucchesi-Palli (1805–1834). The announcement of this marriage at once deprived the duchess of the sympathies of her supporters. She was no longer an object of fear to the French government, who released her in June 1833. She set sail for Sicily
, and, joining her husband, lived in retirement from that time until her death, at Brunnsee in Austria
, in April 1870.
Duke of Berry
The title of Duke of Berry in the French nobility was frequently created for junior members of the French royal family. The Berry region now consists of the départements of Cher, Indre and parts of Vienne. The capital of Berry is Bourges. The first creation was for John, third son of John II, King...
(Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, fils de France, duc de Berry; 24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the younger son of the future king, Charles X of France
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
, and his wife, Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy.
His maternal grandparents were Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III was King of Sardinia from 1773 until his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until declaring war on revolutionary France in 1792...
and Maria Antonietta of Spain
Maria Antonietta of Spain
Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain was an Infanta of Spain and the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese. She was the wife of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia whom she married in 1750...
. She was the youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
and Elisabeth Farnese.
Biography
He was born at VersaillesVersailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. As a son of a fils de France
Fils de France
Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France .The children of the dauphin, who was the king's heir apparent, were accorded the same style and status as if they were the king's children instead of his...
not being heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
, he was only himself a petit-fils de France, and that is how he was known in emigration
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
. However, during the Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
, he was given the higher rank of a fils de France (used in his marriage contract, his death certificate, etc.).
Since he was already dead when his father became king, he always had "d'Artois" as his surname.
At the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
he left France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with his father, then comte d'Artois
Counts of Artois
The counts of Artois were the rulers over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French revolutionaries in 1790.-List of Counts of Artois:*Odalric...
, and served in the émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
army
Army of Condé
The Army of Condé was a French field army during the French Revolutionary Wars. One of several émigré field armies, it was the only one to survive the War of the First Coalition; others had been formed by the Comte d'Artois and Mirabeau-Tonneau...
of his cousin, Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé, from 1792 to 1797. He afterwards joined the Russian army, and in 1801 took up his residence in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he remained for thirteen years. During that time he had a relationship with an Englishwoman, Amy Brown Freeman
Amy Brown Freeman
Amy Brown was the English-born first wife of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, younger son of King Charles X of France and Marie Thérèse of Savoy. They married in a secret ceremony which was conducted in England by her father, a Protestant pastor...
, by whom he had two daughters whom he only recognized on his deathbed: Charlotte Marie Augustine de Bourbon comtesse d'Issoudun (13 July 1808- 13 July 1886), by marriage in 1823 to Ferdinand de Faucigny-Lucinge, princesse de Lucinge, and Louise Marie Charlotte de Bourbon comtesse de Vierzon (29 December 1809- 26 December 1891), by marriage in 1827 to Charles de Charette, baronne de la Contrie.
In 1814, the duke set out for France. His frank, open manners gained him some favor with his countrymen, and Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
named him commander-in-chief of the army at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on the return of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
from Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
. He was, however, unable to retain the loyalty of his troops, and retired to Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
war. In 1816 he married Princess Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Luisa of Naples and Sicily (1798–1870), oldest daughter of the Duke of Calabria (heir to the Neapolitan throne)
Francis I of the Two Sicilies
-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
, following negotiations with the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, commonly known as the Two Sicilies even before formally coming into being, was the largest and wealthiest of the Italian states before Italian unification...
by the French ambassador, the Count (later Duke of Blacas) of Blacas
Pierre Louis Jean Casimir de Blacas
Pierre Louis Jean Casimir de Blacas d'Aulps, first comte, then duc, and finally prince de Blacas d'Aulps was a French antiquarian, nobleman and diplomat during the Bourbon Restoration.-Youth:He was baptized at Avignon on 11 January 1771...
.
Three children were born before the duke's death: the last and only surviving one, Louise d'Artois, born in 1819, later married Charles III of Parma.
On 13 February 1820 the Duke of Berry was stabbed and mortally wounded, when leaving the opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
in Paris with his wife, by a saddler named Louis Pierre Louvel. He died on 14 February. Seven months after his death, the duchess gave birth to a son, Henri, who received the title of duc de Bordeaux, but who is better known in history as the comte de Chambord
Henri, comte de Chambord
Henri, comte de Chambord was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Henry V, although he was never officially proclaimed as such...
.
The Duchess of Berry was compelled to follow Charles X to Holyrood
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...
after July 1830
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
, but it was with the resolution of returning speedily and making an attempt to secure the throne for her son. From Britain she went to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and in April 1832 she landed near Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, but, receiving no support, was compelled to make her way towards the loyal districts of Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
and Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. Her followers, however, were defeated, and, after remaining concealed for five months in a house in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, she was betrayed to the government and imprisoned in the castle of Blaye
Blaye
Blaye is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:Its inhabitants are called Blayais or the Blayaises.-Geography:...
.
Here she gave birth to a daughter, the fruit of a secret marriage contracted with an Italian nobleman, Count Ettore Lucchesi-Palli (1805–1834). The announcement of this marriage at once deprived the duchess of the sympathies of her supporters. She was no longer an object of fear to the French government, who released her in June 1833. She set sail for Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, and, joining her husband, lived in retirement from that time until her death, at Brunnsee in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, in April 1870.
Issue
- Princess Louise Élisabeth of France (13 July 1817 – 14 July 1817)
- Prince Louis of France (born and died 13 September 1818)
- Louise Marie Thérèse d'ArtoisPrincess Louise Marie Thérèse of FranceLouise Marie Thérèse d'Artois was a duchess and later a regent of Parma. She was the eldest daughter of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, younger son of King Charles X of France and his wife Carolina of Naples and Sicily, daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies.-Biography:Louise's father...
(21 September 1819 – 1 February 1864) - Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné de France, Duke of Bordeaux and Count of Chambord (29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883)