It was at St.
Cloud that Monsieur died of an attack of apoplexy, brought on by
overeating after his return from a visit to the king at Marly.... The
chateau continued to be occupied by Madame, daughter of the Elector, the
rude, the original, and satirical Princess Palatine, in whom the modern
House of Orleans has its origin, and here she died during the regency of
her son....
The Regent d'Orleans, nephew of Louis XIV., received Peter the Great at
St. Cloud in 1717. In 1752 his grandson, Louis Philippe d'Orleans, gave at
St. Cloud one of the most magnificent fetes ever seen in France.
In 1785 the Due d'Orleans sold St. Cloud for six million francs to Queen
Marie Antoinette, who made great alterations in the internal arrangements
of the building, where she resided during the early days of the
Revolution.
It was at St. Cloud that the coup d'etat occurred which made Napoleon
first-consul. This led him to choose the palace of St. Cloud, which had
been the cradle of his power, as his principal residence, and, under the
first empire, it was customary to speak of "le cabinet de Saint-Cloud," as
previously of "le cabinet de Versailles," and afterward of "le cabinet des
Tuileries.
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