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Louis XVI (Louis Auguste; French: [lwi sɛːz]; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution . The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir-apparent of King Louis XV ), and Maria Josepha of Saxony, Louis became the new Dauphin when his father died in 1765.
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- Overview
- Early life and accession
- Louis’s reaction to the Revolution
- Attempt to flee the country
- Condemnation to death
Louis XVI’s father was the dauphin (heir apparent) Louis, and his mother was Maria Josepha of Saxony. Although Louis was his father’s third son, he was the eldest male child to survive to adulthood.
What were Louis XVI’s siblings’ names?
All of Louis’s elder siblings died when they were children. His younger brothers would succeed him as Louis XVIII and Charles X. His sister Elizabeth would follow him to the guillotine.
How did Louis XVI change the world?
Louis XVI approved French military support for the American colonies in their successful struggle against the British, but the expense nearly bankrupted the country. Louis convened the Estates-General in an effort to solve his budget crisis, but by doing so he unwittingly sparked the French Revolution.
How did Louis XVI die?
Louis was the third son of the dauphin Louis and his consort Maria Josepha of Saxony. At first known as the duc de Berry, he became the heir to the throne on his father’s death in 1765. His education was entrusted to the duc de La Vauguyon (Antoine de Quélen de Caussade). He was taught to avoid letting others know his thoughts, which has led to sharp disagreement about his intelligence. Louis nevertheless possessed an excellent memory, acquired a sound knowledge of Latin and English, and took an interest in history and geography. In 1770 he married the Austrian archduchess Marie-Antoinette, daughter of Maria Theresa and the Holy Roman emperor Francis I.
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On the death of his grandfather Louis XV, Louis succeeded to the French throne on May 10, 1774. At that time he was still immature, lacking in self-confidence, austere in manner, and, because of a physical defect (later remedied by an operation), unable to consummate his marriage. Well-disposed toward his subjects and interested in the conduct of foreign policy, Louis had not sufficient strength of character or power of decision to combat the influence of court factions or to give the necessary support to reforming ministers, such as Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot or Jacques Necker, in their efforts to shore up the tottering finances of the ancien régime.
After 1789 Louis XVI’s incapacity to rule, his irresolution, and his surrender to reactionary influences at court were partially responsible for the failure to establish in France the forms of a limited constitutional monarchy. He allowed himself to be persuaded that royal dignity required him to avoid communication with the deputies assembled at Versailles, and he made no attempt to lay out a program that might have attracted their support. At critical moments, he was distracted by the illness and death of his eldest son, the dauphin (June 4, 1789).
By this time the fundamental weakness of the king’s character had become evident. Lethargic in temperament, lacking political insight, and therefore incapable of appreciating the need to compromise, Louis continued to divert himself by hunting and with his personal hobbies of making locks and doing masonry. His dismissal of Necker in early July 1789 set off popular demonstrations culminating in the storming of the Bastille, which forced the king to accept the authority of the newly proclaimed National Assembly. Despite his reluctance, he had to endorse its "destruction" of the feudal regime and its Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August. The king privately continued to believe that the Revolution would burn itself out. Publicly, however, he appeared ready to accept his new role as constitutional monarch, and gestures such as his visit to Paris after the storming of the Bastille led to an upsurge in his popularity; in early August 1789 the National Assembly proclaimed him the “restorer of French liberty.”
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Louis’s resistance to popular demands was one of the causes of the forcible transfer of the royal family from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace in Paris on October 6. Yet he made still more mistakes, refusing to follow the secret advice tendered to him after May 1790 by the comte de Mirabeau, abdicating his responsibilities, and acquiescing in a disastrous attempt to escape from the capital to the eastern frontier on June 21, 1791. Caught at Varennes and brought back to Paris, he lost credibility as a constitutional monarch. Thenceforward he seems to have been completely dominated by the queen, who must bear the chief blame for the court’s subsequent political duplicity.
From the autumn of 1791 the king tied his hopes of political salvation to the dubious prospects of foreign intervention. At the same time, he encouraged the Girondin faction in the Legislative Assembly (which had succeeded the National Assembly in September 1791) in their policy of war with Austria, in the expectation that French military disaster would pave the way for the restoration of his authority. Prompted by Marie-Antoinette, Louis rejected the advice of the moderate constitutionalists, led by Antoine Barnave, to faithfully implement the constitution of 1791, which he had sworn to maintain, and committed himself to a policy of subterfuge and deception.
Despite the last-minute efforts of the Girondins to save him, Citizen Capet, as he was then called, was found guilty by the National Convention and condemned to death on January 18, 1793, by 387 votes (including 26 in favour of a debate on the possibility of postponing execution) to 334 (including 13 for a death sentence with the proviso that it sh...
Apr 2, 2014 · Louis XVI was the last king of France (1774–92) in the line of Bourbon monarchs preceding the French Revolution of 1789. He was married to Marie Antoinette and was executed for treason by ...
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Sep 5, 2022 · Louis XVI (l. 1754-1793) was the last king of France (r. 1774-1792) before the monarchy was abolished during the French Revolution (1789-99). An indecisive king, his attempts to navigate France through the crises of the 1780s failed, leading to the Revolution, the destruction of the monarchy, and his death by guillotine on 21 January 1793.
- Who was Louis XVI?Louis XVI (1754-1793) was the last king of France before the French Revolution (1789-99), which abolished the monarchy. He opposed most of the Revo...
- What did Louis XVI do during his reign?In the early part of Louis XVI's reign, he involved France in the American Revolution, restored civil rights to French Protestants, and commissione...
- Why was Louis XVI unpopular?Louis XVI became alienated from his people by his indecisiveness, inability to deal with France's crises, and defense of Marie Antoinette. He const...
- Why was Louis XVI executed?Louis XVI was tried for high treason in December 1792 by the French National Convention. He was convicted of conspiring with foreign powers and gui...
Louis XVI, oil on canvas by Antoine-François Callet, 1786; in the Musée Carnavalet, Paris. Louis XVI, (born Aug. 23, 1754, Versailles, France—died Jan. 21, 1793, Paris), Last king of France (1774–92) in the Bourbon line preceding the French Revolution. In 1770 he married Marie-Antoinette, and in 1774 he succeeded to the throne on the ...
Louis XVI was the king of France from May 1774 until his execution in January 1793. The French Revolution unfolded under his rule and eventually toppled him from power. 2. At birth, Louis was third in line to the French throne. He became heir after the deaths of his father and older brother.
Oct 5, 2022 · The trial and execution of King Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792) was one of the most impactful events of the French Revolution (1789-99). In December 1792, the former king, now referred to as Citizen Louis Capet, was tried and found guilty of numerous crimes that amounted to high treason, and he was sentenced to death by guillotine. Louis XVI ...
