Jules, prince de Polignac
Encyclopedia
Prince Jules de Polignac, 3rd Duke of Polignac (Auguste Jules Armand Marie; 14 May 17802 March 1847), was a French statesman
. He played a part in ultra-royalist
reaction after the Revolution
. He was appointed Prime minister by Charles X
just before the 1830 July Revolution
which overthrew the Bourbon Restoration
.
In 1789, the outbreak of the French Revolution
, Jules's mother Gabrielle and her circle were forced to flee abroad due to threats against their lives. Gabrielle had been one of the most consistent supporters of absolutism and she was strongly opposed to anti-monarchism; throughout much of 1788 and 1789, she had been actively involved in various schemes to discredit the reformist movement, led by the Prince Charles, comte d'Artois
, her close personal friend. She bequeathed these political sympathies to her son and following her premature death in 1793, Charles took a protective interest in her son's career.
Jules's mother Gabrielle died in Austria
shortly after the execution of Queen Marie-Antoinette in France; the cause of death was given either as cancer or consumption
, depending on conflicting sources. Ten years later, Jules's sister, Agläié, the duchesse de Guîche, died in an accidental house fire.
Jules married twice. Firstly, in 1816 to Barbara Campbell (1788–1819), who later returned with him to France, with whom he had two children:
After her death in 1819, he married Maria Charlotte Parkyns (1792–1864) in 1824 and had 5 children:
Returning to France, which was then ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, Jules continued in his zealous loyalty to the exiled Royal Family. In 1804, a year after his sister's death, Jules was implicated in the conspiracy of Cadoudal
and Pichegru
to assassinate Bonaparte, and was imprisoned until 1813. After the restoration of the Bourbon
s, he was rewarded with various honours and positions. He held various offices, received from the pope his title of "prince" in 1820, and in 1823 King Louis XVIII made him ambassador to Great Britain. A year later, his mother's former friend ascended the throne as King Charles X. Polignac's political sympathies did not alter and he was one of the most conspicuous ultra-royalist
s during the Restoration era.
At the time, it was rumoured that Polignac supported the hardline Ultra (-royalist) policies because he thought he was receiving Divine inspiration from the Virgin Mary. There is little historical evidence for this story, however. There is no mention of such motivation in Polignac's personal memoirs or in the memoirs of the Restoration court.
On 8 August 1829 Charles X
appointed him to the ministry of foreign affairs and in the following November Polignac became president of the council, effectively the most powerful politician in France. His appointment was considered a step towards overthrowing the constitution and Polignac, with other ministers, was held responsible for the decision to issue the Four Ordinances
, which were the immediate cause of the revolution of July 1830
.
Upon the outbreak of revolt he fled, wandering for some time among the wilds of Normandy
before he was arrested at Granville
. At his trial before the chamber of peers he was condemned and sentenced to 'perpetual' imprisonment at the château in Ham
. But he benefited by the amnesty of 1836, when the sentence was commuted to exile. During his captivity he wrote Considerations politiques (1832). Afterwards, he spent several years in exile in England before being permitted to re-enter France on condition that he never again take up his abode in Paris.
From his second marriage to Maria-Charlotte, Jules de Polignac had fathered seven children, including the noted mathematician Prince Alphonse de Polignac, inventor of the theory of twin primes; Prince Ludovic de Polignac, a lieutenant-colonel in the French Army who participated in the colonization of Algeria
; Prince Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac
, a major-general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War
and Prince Edmond de Polignac
, a composer, musical theorist and proponent of the octatonic scale
.
Jules died at St. Germain in 1847; about one month prior he had assumed the title of Duc de Polignac upon the death of his older brother, Armand, who had died without children.
From a branch of the de Polignac family is descended Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois of Monaco.
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
. He played a part in ultra-royalist
Ultra-royalist
Ultra-Royalists or simply Ultras were a reactionary faction which sat in the French parliament from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration...
reaction after the 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 was appointed Prime minister by Charles X
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...
just before the 1830 July Revolution
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...
which overthrew the Bourbon 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...
.
Biography
Born in Versailles, Jules was the younger son of Jules, 1st Duke of Polignac, and Yolande de Polastron, a confidante and favourite of Queen Marie-Antoinette. Due to his mother's privileged position, the young Jules was raised in the environment of the court of Versailles, where his family occupied a luxurious suite of thirteen rooms. His sister, Agläié, was married to the duc de Guîche at a young age, helping to cement the Polignac family's position as one of the leaders of high society at Versailles.In 1789, the outbreak of 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...
, Jules's mother Gabrielle and her circle were forced to flee abroad due to threats against their lives. Gabrielle had been one of the most consistent supporters of absolutism and she was strongly opposed to anti-monarchism; throughout much of 1788 and 1789, she had been actively involved in various schemes to discredit the reformist movement, led by the Prince Charles, comte d'Artois
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...
, her close personal friend. She bequeathed these political sympathies to her son and following her premature death in 1793, Charles took a protective interest in her son's career.
Jules's mother Gabrielle died 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...
shortly after the execution of Queen Marie-Antoinette in France; the cause of death was given either as cancer or consumption
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, depending on conflicting sources. Ten years later, Jules's sister, Agläié, the duchesse de Guîche, died in an accidental house fire.
Jules married twice. Firstly, in 1816 to Barbara Campbell (1788–1819), who later returned with him to France, with whom he had two children:
- Armand (1817–1890)
- Seyna-Camille (1818–1833)
After her death in 1819, he married Maria Charlotte Parkyns (1792–1864) in 1824 and had 5 children:
- Alphonse (1826–1863)
- Louis (1827–1904)
- Yolande (1830–1855)
- Camille (1832–1913)
- Edmond (1834–1901)
Georges Cadoudal
Georges Cadoudal , sometimes called simply Georges, was a French/Breton politician, and leader of the Chouannerie during the French Revolution....
and Pichegru
Charles Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru was a French general and political figure of the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars.-Early life and career:...
to assassinate Bonaparte, and was imprisoned until 1813. After the restoration of the Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
s, he was rewarded with various honours and positions. He held various offices, received from the pope his title of "prince" in 1820, and in 1823 King Louis XVIII made him ambassador to Great Britain. A year later, his mother's former friend ascended the throne as King Charles X. Polignac's political sympathies did not alter and he was one of the most conspicuous ultra-royalist
Ultra-royalist
Ultra-Royalists or simply Ultras were a reactionary faction which sat in the French parliament from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration...
s during the Restoration era.
At the time, it was rumoured that Polignac supported the hardline Ultra (-royalist) policies because he thought he was receiving Divine inspiration from the Virgin Mary. There is little historical evidence for this story, however. There is no mention of such motivation in Polignac's personal memoirs or in the memoirs of the Restoration court.
On 8 August 1829 Charles X
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...
appointed him to the ministry of foreign affairs and in the following November Polignac became president of the council, effectively the most powerful politician in France. His appointment was considered a step towards overthrowing the constitution and Polignac, with other ministers, was held responsible for the decision to issue the Four Ordinances
July Ordinances
July Ordinances, also known as the Four Ordinances of Saint-Cloud, were a series of decrees set forth by Charles X and Jules Armand de Polignac, the chief minister, in July 1830....
, which were the immediate cause of the revolution of 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...
.
Upon the outbreak of revolt he fled, wandering for some time among the wilds of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
before he was arrested at Granville
Granville, Manche
-Sights:The old town preserves all the history of its military and religious past. The lower town was partly built on land reclaimed from the sea. The upper part of the old town is surrounded by ramparts from the fifteenth century...
. At his trial before the chamber of peers he was condemned and sentenced to 'perpetual' imprisonment at the château in Ham
Ham, Somme
Ham is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ham is situated on the D930 and D937 crossroads, some southwest of Saint-Quentin, in the far southeast of the department, near the border with the department of the Aisne....
. But he benefited by the amnesty of 1836, when the sentence was commuted to exile. During his captivity he wrote Considerations politiques (1832). Afterwards, he spent several years in exile in England before being permitted to re-enter France on condition that he never again take up his abode in Paris.
From his second marriage to Maria-Charlotte, Jules de Polignac had fathered seven children, including the noted mathematician Prince Alphonse de Polignac, inventor of the theory of twin primes; Prince Ludovic de Polignac, a lieutenant-colonel in the French Army who participated in the colonization of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
; Prince Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac
Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac
Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac was a French nobleman, scholar and soldier who joined the Confederate States Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War and became major general before the end of the war...
, a major-general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and Prince Edmond de Polignac
Prince Edmond de Polignac
Prince Edmond Melchior Jean Marie de Polignac was a French composer.- Heritage, prison sentence :Edmond was a descendant of one of the more illustrious families of France. His grandmother, the duchesse de Polignac, had been the close friend of Queen Marie-Antoinette...
, a composer, musical theorist and proponent of the octatonic scale
Octatonic scale
An octatonic scale is any eight-note musical scale. Among the most famous of these is a scale in which the notes ascend in alternating intervals of a whole step and a half step, creating a symmetric scale...
.
Jules died at St. Germain in 1847; about one month prior he had assumed the title of Duc de Polignac upon the death of his older brother, Armand, who had died without children.
From a branch of the de Polignac family is descended Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois of Monaco.
Ancestry
Literature
- W. Schlésinger, Les femmes du XVIIIe siècle: La duchesse de Polignac et son temps (Paris, 1889)