"The Bourbons have learned nothing and forgotten nothing" - Talleyrand.
My favorite tit-bit from 19th century French history is that the Count of Chambord had a legit shot at becoming Henry V of France but blew it because he insisted (among other things) that the white flag of Bourbon France replace the tricolor.
Honestly, one has to wonder if there’s a Bourbon tradition of concussing every child in the moments after birth. It’s practically the only thing that would explain why they’ve been so consistently tone deaf and incompetent since Louis XIV.
Well, that's kind of the point, isn't it? Louis Philippe realized that the way forward for the monarchy was to restyle himself as King of the French (implicitly including the nation itself into the monarchy). Napoleon III was a monarch who appealed to the populace for his support. To try to turn back time to a absolute monarchy as of 1815, even in as small a matter as the flag, was indicative of being utterly out of touch.
My favorite tit-bit from 19th century French history is that the Count of Chambord had a legit shot at becoming Henry V of France but blew it because he insisted (among other things) that the white flag of Bourbon France replace the tricolor.