The English Civil Wars and the French Revolution

Abstract

The collapse of monarchical authority during the English Civil Wars and French Revolution followed a sustained period of delegitimization of the respective royal families of England and France. During the reigns of Charles I and Louis XVI, the queen had been judged within the popular ideological climate concerning the place of women within their families without respect for her position. This process, which occurred before an ever expanding public sphere, stripped away the royal mystique and reduced each consort to the position of any other vulnerable public figure, creating the potential for the seeming paradox of “royal treason.” The delegitimization of the queen also served as a framework for observers to critique the state of monarchical government without directly attacking the king because his consort was perceived to occupy the role of advisor. The accessibility of the positions of wife and mother to a broad audience made critiques of the queen possible for all social estates, which was facilitated by the increased proliferation of printed political tracts. Dismantling the queen’s legitimacy in her domestic role was a crucial part of the process wherein new governments asserted their rule. If the consort was not fulfilling her duties in roles that combined both domestic and political implications, the king appeared unable to act as the head of his household or his kingdom.¹