Ulrik Langen:
"By the grace of Heaven our Kings finally returns to us..."
Studies in the royal ceremonies of the Bourbon Restoration 1814-1830

The Bourbon Restoration (1814-30) is an elusive period in modern French history. The political culture of the Restoration was reflected in the royal ceremionies of the time. In spite of the formally constitutional nature of the regime the royal household emphasized the task of incorporating elements from the old regime ceremonies in the new ceremonies as long as they did not interfere with the official policies of the Restoration. The remembrance of the revolutionary troubles came to play a major role in these ceremonies. The expiation of the revolutionary crimes was explained as the means to unite the divided french people. Thus, the royal ceremonies were partly based upon references to the reprehensible revolutionary upheaval and partly connected to the prerevolutionary notion of the mythical nature of royalty. This ambiguity was the main dilemma of the ceremonies and indicated that the political compromise which the Restoration was built upon was the very scourge of the regime.