KING LOUIS XVIII (FRANCE) - MILITARY APPOINTMENT SIGNED 12/12/1818 CO-SIGNED BY: LOUIS ANTOINE "DUKE OF ANGOULEME" D'ARTOIS - HFSID 136760

KING LOUIS XVIII and DUKE OF ANGOULEME
As King, he signed this military appointment of a lieutenant of naval artillery on December 12, 1818. On verso is a confirmation of the appointment, signed one month later by the Duke of Angouleme as Admiral of France. In 1830, the Duke would reign for 20 minutes as Louis XIX
Military Appointment Signed: "Louis". 2p, 14½x10½ (front and verso). Paris, December 12, 1818. In French. Appointment of Louis Noel Bertot as a 1st Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery of Marine, with a date of rank of July 12, 1813. Affixed on verso is a confirmation of this appointment, signed in Paris, January 15, 1819 by "Louis Antoine"  as "Fils de France", Duke of Angouleme and Admiral of France. KING LOUIS XVIII, born Louis Stanislas Xavier (1755-1824), the younger brother of King Louis XVI, was Count of Provence but had little influence during his brother's reign. He fled France in 1791, at the same time his brother the King attempted to do so. After Louis XVI was executed in 1793 and his son, whom legitimists called Louis XVII, died in prison in 1795, the Count of Provence became Louis XVIII, a hollow title while the revolutionaries and then Napoleon ruled in France. With Napoleon's defeat, Louis XVIII was restored to the French throne by the victorious allied powers, reigning until his death in 1824 (except for the "Hundred Days" of Napoleon's return from exile. Louis XVIII had learned from the experience of the revolution, tried to rule as a constitutional monarch, and enjoyed some popular support. He feared correctly that his younger brother, the Count of Artois, who became Charles X after his death, would try to rule autocratically, and would be consequently be overthrown, as he was in 1830. Louis Antoine d'Artois, the DUKE OF ANGOULEME (1755-1844) was the son of Charles X. Since Louis XVIII had no surviving children, the Duke was next in line to the throne after his father, hence the title of "Fils de France" (Son of France). When Charles X was forced to abdicate by the Revolution of 1830, the Duke of Angouleme actually reigned as Louis XIX for twenty minutes, reportedly using the time to argue with his wife about whether he, too, should abdicate. He lived the rest of his life in exile, again claiming the empty title of Louis XIX after his father's death in 1836. Vertical fold at center. Lightly soiled. Corners moderately worn. Minor show-through of text on verso to front. Otherwise, fine condition.