HENRI D’ARTOIS

Unlike Louis XVIII, Charles X had sons and heirs.

His elder son married his cousin, Marie-Thérèse, the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.
They were married in exile. With the returned monarchy under Charles X they were next in line to
the throne. However, they never had children so the fate of the Bourbon monarchy depended on
Charles X’s younger son, known as the Duke de Berri.

The Duke de Berri married  Princess Marie-Caroline of Naples and Sicily after the re-establishment of the Bourbon monarchy in France.

Duke of Berri
Duchess of Berri
Henri d’Artois’ cradle, first used by his older sister, was used during official visits, having much the same function as the royal “lit de parade”. The interior was decorated with white velvet trimmed with silver. It is displayed at the Arts Decoratifs museum in Paris.

Unfortunately the prospects for an heir from them were also not looking good when the Duchess’ first two babies died within days of their birth.

Their third child was a girl (who therefore could
not inherit the throne). Five months after his
daughter’s birth, the Duke de Berri was
assassinated. It meant the end of the Bourbon dynasty – EXCEPT that the Duchess de Berri happened to be several weeks pregnant at the time.

The Bourbons awaited the birth with baited breath.

The “miracle child” was born in September 1820 and occupied this oak cradle with a veneer of
ash, elm, walnut and amaranth and extensive gilded bronze trim. Silver braided white velvet
lined the inside with two green silk curtains with a border of gold fleur de lys hanging from the
top of the horn of abundance above two other gold fringed muslin curtains.

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs
Les Arts Décoratifs

When Charles X was forced to abdicate in 1830, he convinced his reluctant elder son to
abdicate at the same time. He made it known they were abdicating in favour of his grandson,
who was then 9 years old.*

The Chambers did not agree and Louis-Philippe was named King of the French.

*This “miracle child” grew up to be known as the Comte de Chambord. He almost became king many
years later when Napoleon III was defeated but his insistence that the French tricolour flag be replaced
with a white fleur de lys flag was unacceptable and a Third Republic took over from the Second Empire.

FRANÇOIS BAUDRY EXHIBITION BED

The François Baudry bed was presented to Arts Decoratifs in 1963

Made from poplar, it was trimmed with five different blonde woods – ash, elm, lemon tree, oak and sycamore.   The bed won an award presented by King Charles X’s son the Duke of Angouleme.

Boat beds continued to be popular during the reign of the next King Louis-Philippe.

*The painting of the Duke of Angouleme presenting the award is regarded as most likely having been commissioned by Baudry as a souvenir.  The presentation actually took place at the Tuileries Palace, not at the exhibition as depicted.

Louis-Philippe