The King's Bodyguards
First and Second Restoration – Private Collections
In 1814, with the return of the Bourbons to the throne of France, Louis XVIII re-established the King's Military Household, thus reviving a tradition deeply rooted in the history of the French monarchy.
Among its most prestigious units are the King's bodyguards, direct heirs of a corps created under the Ancien Régime and charged with watching over the person of the sovereign.
An elite horseman as well as a trusted soldier, the bodyguard accompanies the king on his travels, participates in court ceremonies and ensures his service and protection.
Thus, his uniform and equipment are not simply military clothing: they express rank and proximity to the sovereign while symbolizing loyalty to the restored monarchy.
The First Restoration (1814-1815) saw the reconstitution of a substantial Military Household, in which the traditions of the Ancien Régime coexisted with practices inherited from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon's return during the Hundred Days abruptly interrupted this initial experiment. After Waterloo, Louis XVIII reorganized his Military Household: the bodyguards were retained, but their organization was reduced so that they now constituted only one part of a larger military apparatus—alongside, notably, the Royal Guard.
Under Charles X, who succeeded Louis XVIII in 1824, the bodyguards continued their service until the July Revolution of 1830, which led to the fall of the senior branch of the Bourbons and the definitive disappearance of the corps.
The collection presented bears witness to a time of transition, where France, after twenty-five years of revolutionary and imperial upheavals, sought to reconnect with its monarchical past while retaining the forms and requirements of a modern army.
Through these pieces, the figure of the king's bodyguard emerges: that of an elite horseman, servant of the sovereign and embodiment, in his uniform as in his function, of the restored monarchy.
FCP Coridon • Le Carré, Marché Serpette, aisle 3, stand 9 • 110, rue des Rosiers, 93400 Saint-Ouen