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Louis XVI
He climbed the steps of the scaffold, his hands bound behind his back. A huge crowd had gathered on the Place de la Révolution, the square that had once borne the name of his predecessor. He tried to speak to the people, but after only a few words, a deafening drum roll rang out. The executioner seized him, strapped him to the board, the board tipped, and the blade fell. Vive la République!
rang out from all sides. The spectators took out their handkerchiefs and tried to catch the blood that was running down from the wooden frame. Louis XVI would have preferred to become a locksmith or a carpenter, but his birth had made him heir to the throne. He was executed because he was king – that alone was his crime.
1754 - 1793
- August 23, 1754 · Born in Versailles as Louis Auguste, Duke of Berry.
- May 16, 1770 · Marriage to Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Austrian Empress.
- May 10, 1774 · Upon the death of Louis XV, he becomes king.
- July 14, 1789 · Storming of the Bastille. Outbreak of the Revolution in France. Louis writes in his diary:
Nothing.
- October 6, 1789 · Forced relocation of the royal family to Paris.
- June 21, 1791 · An escape attempt by the royal family fails in Varennes.
- September 14, 1791 · Oath on the new constitution that turns France into a constitutional monarchy.
- August 10, 1792 · Storming of the Tuileries. The king flees with his family to the parliament.
- September 21, 1792 · Proclamation of the Republic; Louis Capet is now a common citizen held in the Temple.
- December 11, 1792 · Beginning of Louis’s trial for treason.
- January 17, 1793 · The National Convention condemns the former king to death.
- January 21, 1793 · Execution on the Place of the Revolution in Paris.
Quotes
No, Sir. This is a revolution.
Reply of the Duke of La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt to Louis’s question whether the storming of the Bastille was a revolt.
I have come here to prevent a great crime, and I believe that I can find no greater safety anywhere than in your midst, gentlemen.
Louis, upon his appearance in Parliament, after his flight from the Tuileries Palace
People! I die innocent. I pardon those who have occasioned my death and I pray to God that the blood you are going to shed may never be visited on France.
The last words of Louis XVI
Le Moniteur
Mercredi 23 Janvier 1793. L'an deuxieme de la République Française
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Jan Knupper 2025 | CCXXXIV
