Louis XVI

Lore & Background

Louis-Auguste was born at the Palace of Versailles on 23 August 1754, the second surviving son of Louis, Dauphin of France, and Maria Josepha of Saxony. Overlooked by his parents who favored his older brother, he was shy but excelled in studies, particularly Latin, history, geography, and astronomy, and became fluent in Italian and English. His mathematics instructor Le Blonde wrote that his studies were 'proofs of [his] intelligence and the excellence of [his] judgement.' He also enjoyed locksmithing. He became Dauphin at age eleven upon his father's death on 20 December 1765, and his mother died of tuberculosis on 13 March 1767. His education from Paul François de Quelen de la Vauguyon did not prepare him for the throne he inherited in 1774. In 1770, he married Marie Antoinette of Austria, a union unpopular with the French public due to the Austrian alliance that had pulled France into the disastrous Seven Years' War. The marriage was initially distant and unconsummated for several years, leading to public ridicule and obscene pamphlets questioning 'Can the King do it? Can't the King do it?' The couple eventually had four children, though both sons died in childhood; only his daughter Marie Thérèse survived to adulthood, eventually dying childless in 1851. Louis XVI's reign began with attempts at Enlightenment-inspired reforms, such as increasing tolerance toward non-Catholics and abolishing the death penalty for deserters, but the nobility opposed them. His deregulation of the grain market, advocated by minister Turgot, led to bread price increases and food scarcity, prompting revolt during a bad harvest in 1775. From 1776, he actively supported the North American colonists seeking independence from Great Britain, realized in the Treaty of Paris (1783), but the ensuing debt and financial crisis contributed to the unpopularity of the ancien régime. This led to the convening of the Estates General of 1789. His indecisiveness and conservatism, punctuated by violent riots such as the storming of the Bastille, forced him to recognize the National Assembly. His unsuccessful flight to Varennes in June 1791 undermined his legitimacy. He was arrested during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792, the monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792, and he was tried by the National Convention, found guilty of high treason, and executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793.

Reader's Guide

Louis XVI's significance lies in his role as the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. His attempts at reform, though aligned with Enlightenment ideas, were thwarted by the nobility, and his economic policies worsened conditions for the common people. His support for the American Revolution, while successful, deepened France's debt and contributed to the financial crisis that forced the summoning of the Estates General of 1789. His indecisiveness and conservatism, especially after the failed flight to Varennes in June 1791, eroded public trust and made the constitutional monarchy untenable. His execution ended more than a thousand years of continuous French monarchy and marked a turning point in European history, symbolizing the overthrow of the ancien régime. The legacy of Louis XVI is complex: he is remembered both as a well-intentioned but weak ruler and as a symbol of royal tyranny, whose death paved the way for the French First Republic.

Did You Know?

• Louis-Auguste was given the title Duke of Berry at birth and was the second surviving son of the Dauphin.
• He became fluent in Italian and English and excelled in mathematics, with his instructor praising his 'intelligence and the excellence of [his] judgement.'
• His marriage to Marie Antoinette was initially unconsummated for several years, leading to obscene pamphlets mocking their infertility.
• He was the only king of France to be executed, found guilty of high treason by the National Convention and guillotined on 21 January 1793.
• Both of his sons died in childhood; his only surviving child, Marie Thérèse, was released to Austrian relatives in exchange for French prisoners of war and died childless in 1851.