Campaign launched for return of remains of French king from Slovenia

The association of historians, royalists and descendants of the king wants the remains of Charles X to be buried along with other French royals in Saint-Denis cathedral north of Paris.

"He is the only king not buried here," Julien Morvan, one of the founders of the association, told the press last weekend according to French paper Le Parisien.

He said he would meet staff at the Slovenian Embassy in Paris and noted that the association would be tactful.

"The tombs are a Slovenian tourist attraction. We are planning just the return of the remains of the Bourbons, the tombs will remain in Kostanjevica," said the honorary president of the association, the historian Philippe Delorme.

The Slovenian Embassy in Paris told the STA they had for years had regular contacts with the representatives of Institut de la Maison de Bourbon, a renowned institution working to preserve French heritage and tradition.

They have learnt from the initiative from French media, but the embassy has not yet been officially informed about the motion.

Charles X was crowned in May 1825, but was forced to abdicate five years later and fled, eventually ending up in Prague at the invitation of Emperor Francis I of Austria.

In 1836, shortly after he turned 79, he caught cholera and died in Gorizia. He was buried in the Kostanjevica Monastery near present-day Nova Gorica.

The Tomb of the Bourbons is a major attraction at Kostanjevica. King Charles X and half a dozen other French royalty are buried there in stone sarcophagi containing lead caskets with the embalmed bodies of the Bourbons.

There is also a special urn in the sarcophagus of Charles X that contains his heart.