Louis Philippe (1773–1850) is France's first "constitutional monarch", having being properly elected by the National Assembly. He lived through the French Revolution, during which he saw his brother and sister-in-law, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, guillotined by extreme revolutionaries. Then, Napoleon Bonaparte seized the throne, declared himself emperor, and began the conquest of Europe; after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, France welcomed Louis Philippe back as an elected King. His reign was based on the principle of union of king and people, and marked the first real shift away from the “divine right to rule” approach to kingship; as such, Louis Philippe is the best embodiment of the passage from the Ancien Regime to the truly modern world.
This collection of audiobooks will help you understand a crucial part of the history of French monarchy. For each King, you will find a detailed description of the style of his reign and his political achievements, narrated in a lively way.
