1-624-942 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Charles X, King of France, 19th century. The brother of Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, Charles (1757-1836) came to the throne in succession to the latter in 1824. His coronation, at the traditional site of Reims, was a grandiose affair comparable in scale (and cost) to that of George IV of England in 1821. In style his rule harked back to the pre-revolutionary Ancien Regime, making him unpopular with the liberal elements of French society. In 1830 he elected to abdicate rather than rule as a constitutional monarch.