Charles de Morny

France state institutions Monarchy and royalism 1811–1865 ○ Natural causes

Half-brother of Louis Napoleon who helped engineer the coup of 2 December 1851 and presided over the Legislative Body

Born in Switzerland in 1811, the extra-marital son of Hortense de Beauharnais and the Comte de Flahaut, he was the half-brother of Louis Napoleon. Commissioned in the army, he served in Algeria in 1834–1835 during the French conquest, and from 1838 built a fortune in beet sugar and other speculation. He sat as deputy for Clermont-Ferrand from 1842 and supported Louis Philippe. Temporarily ruined by the revolution of 1848, he entered his half-brother's intimate circle, helped engineer the coup of 2 December 1851 and next day took the ministry of the interior, resigning after six months. From 1854 until his death he was president of the Legislative Body. Created a duke in 1862, he pressed for the liberal policies that led to the "Liberal Empire" and died in Paris in 1865.

Also known as: Duke of Morny · Duc de Morny · Charles Auguste Louis Joseph de Morny