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Royal Double
Chin -
Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre
Louis XVI 1754-1793
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Image Above
Detail of Antoine
François Callet's oil on canvas, 1775
Versailles |
Louis XVI, also called Louis-Auguste
or Duc de Berry, was
king of France from 1774 until 1792.
Royal Arm -
Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre
Detail of Antoine
François Callet's oil on canvas, 1775
Versailles
The Family of Louis XVI
In 1770, Louis married
Marie-Antoinette, who,
after 8 years of marriage, gave birth to a girl, later all
in all four children:
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Marie-Thérèse
Charlotte de France
born December 19, 1778, died October
19, 1851
Or Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de
Bourbon. Her title was Madame
Royale. Her mother nicknames her
Mousseline la sérieuse, or
Serious Mousseline.
She is
the only child that survived the
French Revolution. In 1799, she
married her cousin Louis Antoine
d'Artois, and thus became the
Duchesse d’Angoulême.
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Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François
born October 22, 1781, died
June 4, 1789
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Louis-Charles de France
born March 27, 1785, died
June 8, 1795
His mother nicknamed him Chou
d'amour, or Little Darling.
For royalists, however, he was Louis
XVII. Wee Louis died in his prison
cell aged 10. |
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Sophie-Beatrice
born July 9, 1786, died June 19, 1787 |
His grandfather,
Louis XV, died on
May 10, 1774, thus vacating the throne.
On June 6, 1774, Louis appointed
Vergennes as his
Foreign Minister.
In August 1774, Louis XVI
retired Chancellor Maupeou and repealed Maupeou's reforms
that kept the parlements in check.
Here is a
list of the men who acted as
Controller General under Louis XVI.
Royal Insignia
- Louis' Hand
of Justice and Crown
Detail of Antoine
François Callet's oil on canvas, 1775
Versailles
In French history, the Main
de Justice (Hand of Justice) goes back to 1226.
The thumb symbolizes the king, the index finger symbolizes
reason,
the middle finger stands for charity,
and the ring and little finger stand for the Catholic faith.
Louis decided to flee the
country but was caught on June 21, 1791, at Varennes.
On August 10, 1792, the
Tuileries palace was stormed by the mob and the French were
done with the monarchy. Louis, Antoinette, their children,
and then some, were locked up, on August 13, 1792, in the
Temple prison.
Royal Hat and
Sword - Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre
Detail of Antoine
François Callet's oil on canvas, 1775
Versailles
Louis signed his last will on
December 25, 1792.
Here you can read
The Last Will of Louis XVI.
A victim of the
French Revolution,
he was executed on January 21, 1793.
Royal Feet -
Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre
Detail of Antoine
François Callet's oil on canvas, 1775
Versailles
Here is more about Louis'
family, the
House of Bourbon.
See also
Governments of France.
Regarding Louis' finances, see
also
Taxation in Pre-Revolutionary France
and a
list of all controller generals of
finance.
Louis XVI,
King of France and Navarre
Full portrait by
Antoine François Callet's oil on canvas, 1775
Versailles
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