CHAMBERY, a city of France, capital of the department of Savoie, pleasantly situated on the Leisse, in a fertile valley among the Alps, 79m. by rail S.S.W. of Geneva. Pop. (1931) 20,896. It was formerly capital of the duchy of Savoy, and remains, with its quiet narrow streets and its girdle of boulevards, a typical old provincial capital of France. The neighbouring country is dotted with summer resorts, and the town is a favourite centre for excursions. Chambery grew up around a castle of the counts of Savoy, who resided there in the 13th, 14th and 15th cen turies. A Roman station (Lemincum) in the vicinity has given its name to the rock of Lemenc, which overlooks the town on the north. Between 1536 and 1713 Chambery was several times occu pied by the French; in 1742 it was captured by a Franco-Spanish army; and in 1792 it was occupied by the Republican forces, and became the capital of the department of Mont Blanc. Re stored to the house of Savoy by the treaties of Vienna and Paris, it was again surrendered to France in 186o.
The principal buildings are the cathedral, dating from the 14th and 15th centuries; the Hotel-Dieu, founded in 1647, and the castle, a modern building serving as the prefecture, with only a great square tower belonging to the original structure ; Chambery is the seat of an archbishop (raised from a bishopric in 1817) and of a superior tribunal. It has long been famous as a regional cul ture-centre, and possesses an academy (1819) and several learned societies. Local benefactions have profited greatly from the for tune of General Boigne (1751-183o), amassed in India. Among the manufactures are silk-gauze, lace, leather and hats : there are also aluminium-works.
C H A M B O R D, HENRI CHARLES FERDINAND MARIE DIEUDONNE, COMTE DE (182o-1883), the "King Henry V." of the French legitimists, was born in Paris on Sept. 29, 182o, son of the duc de Berry, the elder son of the comte d'Artois (afterwards Charles X.), and princess Caroline Ferdi nande Louise of Naples. Born seven months after the assassina tion of his father, he was hailed as the "enfant du miracle," and was made the subject of one of Lamartine's most famous poems. He was created duc de Bordeaux, and in 1821, as the result of a subscription organized by the Government, received the château of Chambord. His education was inspired by detestation of the French Revolution and its principles. After the revolution of July, Charles X. vainly endeavoured to save the Bourbon cause by abdicating in his favour and proclaiming him king under the title of Henry V. (Aug. 2, 183o). The comte de Chambord ac companied his grandfather into exile, and resided successively at Holyrood, Prague and Gorz. The death of his grandfather, Charles X., in 1836, and of his uncle, the duc d'Angouleme, in 1844, left him the last male representative of the elder branch of the Bourbon family; and his marriage with the archduchess Maria Theresa, eldest daughter of the duke of Modena (Nov. 7, 1846), remained without issue. The title to the throne thus passed to the comte de Paris, as representative of the Orleans branch of the house of Bourbon, and the history of the comte de Chambord's life is largely an account of the efforts made to unite the Royalist party by effecting a reconciliation between the two princes.
Though he continued to hold an informal court, both on his travels and at his castle of Frohsdorf, near Vienna, yet he allowed the revolution of 1848 and the coup d'etat of 1851 to pass with out any decisive assertion of his claims. It was the Italian war of 1859, with its menace to the pope's independence, that roused him at last to activity, thus making common cause with the Church. The Royalists now began an active campaign against the Empire. On Dec. 9, 1866, Chambord addressed a manifesto to Gen. Saint-Priest, in which he declared the cause of the pope to be that of society and liberty, and held out promises of retrench ment, civil and religious liberty "and above all honesty." Again, on Sept. 4, 187o, after the fall of the Empire, he invited French men to accept a Government "whose basis was right and whose principle was honesty," and promised to drive the enemy from French soil. Fortune favoured him. The elections placed the Republican party in a minority in the National Assembly; the abrogation of the law of exile against the royal family permitted him to return to his castle of Chambord ; and it was thence that on July 5, 1871, he issued a proclamation, in which for the first time he publicly posed as king, and declared that he would never abandon the white standard of the Bourbons, "the flag of Henry IV., Francis I., and Joan of Arc," for the tricolour of the Revolu tion. He again quitted France, and answered the attempts to make him renounce his claims in favour of the comte de Paris by the declaration (Jan. 25, 1872) that he would never abdicate. A constitutional programme, signed by some 28o members of the National Assembly was presented for his acceptance, but without result. The fall of Thiers in May 1873, however, offered an opportunity to the Royalists by which they hastened to profit. The comte de Paris and the prince de Joinville journeyed to Frohsdorf, and were formally reconciled with the head of the family (Aug. 5). The Royalists were united, the premier (the duc de Broglie) an open adherent, the president (MacMahon) a benevolent neutral. MM. Lucien Brun and Chesnelong were sent to interview the comte de Chambord at Salzburg, and obtain the definite assurances that alone were wanting. They returned with the news that he accepted the principles of the French Revolu tion and the tricolour flag. But a letter to Chesnelong, dated Salzburg, Oct. 2 7, declared that he had been misunderstood : be would give no guarantees; he would not inaugurate his reign by an act of weakness, nor become "le roi legitime de la Revolu tion." "Je suis le pilote necessaire," he added, "le seul capable de conduire le navire au port, parce que j'ai mission et autorite pour cela." A last effort was made in the National Assembly in June 1874 by the duc de la Rochefoucauld-Bisaccia, who formally moved the restoration of the monarchy. The comte de Cham bord on July 2 issued a fresh manifesto, which added nothing to his former declarations. The motion was rejected by 272 to 79, and on Feb. 25, 1875, the Assembly definitely adopted the Re public as the national form of Government. The count died at Frohsdorf on Aug. 24, 1883.
See Manifestes et programmes politiques de M. le comte de Chambord, 1848-73 (1873), and Correspondance de la famille royale et principalement de Mgr. le comte de Chambord avec le comte de Bourne (1884) . Of the enormous literature relating to him, mention may be made of Henri V. et la monarchie traditionnelle (1871) ; Le Comte de Chambord etudie dans ses voyages et sa correspondance (188o) ; H. de Pene, Henri de France (1885) , and P. Rocher, Le Duc de Bordeaux (4 parts) of which two only, La Jeunesse du Dernier Bourbon . . . 183o-44 (1923), and Le Dernier Enfant de France . . . 182o-3o (1925), have as yet appeared.